Edward H Bohlin

[Handstitched]

G'Day,

About a year ago, I got this  totally mind blowing  book from one of the many markets I attend. I bought it for just  $10- .

Its got a little bit of wear but otherwise in great condition. The quality, precision, and saddles that are just o'h so beautiful  , and with soooo much history . 

But , when I opened it up for the first time I noticed something quite special .

It was autographed by  ' James Nottage' .

The inscription inside reads:

"  For Tom, I'm glad you are keeping leather work alive in Australia , Best Wishes from your friend the author,

James Nottage"    I'm guessing its worth a bit more than $10 bucks now? 

I don't know who Tom is , and the bloke I bought it off wasn't a leather worker.  I don't buy books too often  , but this is the best book I have every bought 

'But wait, theres more', inside the book was a photo, which is a total mystery.On the back it reads: Roar ( Roa ?) Parade L.A.

I've brightened it up a bit.  Anyone know what & where this is, and perhaps what year? Or recognise the location or  building in the background ?  The horses seemed to be elegantly decorated. I can't quite see what the street sign says in the background . It looks around 1970's as the photo is on a very early format. 

Thanks for any help on that one  

HS 

[mikesc]

Very nice book.. :)

[sheathmaker]

It is most likely the Rose Parade in conjunction with the New Year's Day Rose Bowl.(Amercian football)  The parade usually had many fancy equestrian riders almost all of which sported Bohlin or Bohlin type parade saddles and tack.  It is a long standing annual event.

Edited September 16, 2019 by sheathmaker

[Sheilajeanne]

No doubt he did this saddle for Roy Rogers and Trigger! I think that type of edging was sort of a signature of his work:

And I think this is the same saddle the stuffed Trigger was wearing in the Roy Rogers Museum.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinterest.com%2Fpin%2F360076932679590293%2F&psig=AOvVaw3dSEXflah5KCc3KZRDlAkH&ust=1568753124688000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCMijkfma1uQCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAk

Edited September 16, 2019 by Sheilajeanne

[wizard of tragacanth]

I guessing that this is in Los Angeles, California, based on the Palm trees and that the book was published by the Autry Museum of Western Heritage, in Los Angeles.

I cannot remember when color photography really came around for the general public but I am thinking it was in the early 1960's. Based on that, I am guessing that the photo could have been taken in the 1950's.

However, some people still used B&W film after the advent of color. So, who knows?

Puzzling, however, is that I could not find a reference to the "Autry Museum of Western Heritage" having ever existed. The "Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum" was founded in November of 1988.

Perhaps the OP can cite the publishing date for the book but it is of no consequence because the photo could have been taken before or after the book was published.

Today, the Roar Parade is a motorcycle gathering.

nick

[SaddleBags]

Bill Reynolds knows more about Ed Bohlin than anyone else I know.  He used to own the Bohlin Company.  Can't remember but he might have done a forward for that book.  I'll check with him. 

[SaddleBags]

Nottage used to be the curator at the Autry Museum

[fredk]

Border-less and rounded corners on photo prints were common in the early 1970s. In the 1950s prints had fancy scalloped white borders and in the 1960s the prints had straight cut white borders, although straight white borders could be found for the late 1950s as well.

[Handstitched]

I am pretty sure that pic  is ' Pasadena' , perhaps the Rose Parade as @sheathmaker pointed out, thanks for that.  Heres a link from wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rose_Parade

Is that ' Sunset Boulevard ' ?  

I scoured a lot of pics of Pasadena in the 50's & 60's ,and a some of them did feature  a lot of palm trees, quite tall ones too  . So we're getting closer  .

Thanks for your help ,

HS 

[SaddleBags]

The picture is obviously the Rose Parade in Pasadena and looks to have been taken in the 1960s.  Very likely somewhere along Colorado Blvd. 

[K5HEP]

Here is a link to an interesting article written by James H Nottage discussing the "Bolin Brand"

[Sheilajeanne]

So, I was right about the Roy Rogers saddle... 

 

 

[SaddleBags]

We never doubted you, SheilaJane

[Sheilajeanne]

I didn't think you doubted me. But I wanted to post a bit of eye candy for a horse lover and former Roy Rogers fan... (me!).

He was a pretty special guy - adopted orphaned children no one else wanted. The day his little Downs syndrome girl died from mumps, his manager had to literally pull him away from a crowd of young admirers he was signing autographs for. He said he 'didn't want to disappoint the kids.'  

[Handstitched]

Thats a gorgeous pic of Roy Rogers ( and Trigger ). Love his gun belt and taperderos.  The gun belt looks hand tooled . That looks like a stunning  Palomino horse he's on too   (?) 

I'm loving this 'little mystery'   about the photo.....and it all started with a book . It will be solved. 

I don't have horses myself, but I do love them . I do have a thing for Shire horses/ Clydesdales .  I had my market stall at an equestrian event at the weekend, I didn't do much $$ , but the horses were stunning to watch , including a Clydesdale   

HS 

 

[Sheilajeanne]

Trigger, Roy's palomino horse, was so famous, he got second billing in most of Roy's movies!

When the original Trigger died, Roy had him stuffed, and put him in his museum. Unfortunately, visits at the museum dropped off after Roy's death, and his son, Roy Jr. closed it and auctioned everything off:

https://www.csmonitor.com/From-the-news-wires/2010/0716/Roy-Rogers-Trigger-along-with-dog-Bullet-sold-to-Nebraska-TV-network-at-auction

That's Bolin's saddle, breastplate, and (I'm guessing ) bridle that Trigger is still wearing.

P.S. The guy holding Roy's guitar in that picture has NO CLUE what he's doing!!  

Edited September 22, 2019 by Sheilajeanne

[jasj]

Hello Handstitched'

I believe the "Tom" who was the owner of the Bohlin saddle book, may have been the late Tom Lay, a very keen West Australian leatherworker who attended some of the 'Dimensions in Leather' conferences in Brisbane, Queensland during the 1990s. He sometimes submitted articles to The Leathercrafters and Saddlers Journal and had also attended Leather events in USA.

Although I only met him a couple of times, he struck me as a very kind and friendly person. I remember him telling us how he had seen a Native American design in an old Western movie, and in the days before dvd or video cassettes he had a friend run through the reel to reel film to find a "still" of that design that he then transferred to leather, and displayed at the conference.

Hope this may be of some help,

Jim

[Handstitched]

@jasj WOW !!!  wow wow wow  !!! OMG !!

What a revelation !!!!  

On 9/26/2019 at 7:15 PM, jasj said:

Hope this may be of some help

Yes, its been a great help. Thank you so much

 Check this out:

this is from the show results from ' Perth Royal Show' 2012  ( Western Australia) a show that I have Judged at, in recent years,  the  leatherwork  section of course  

https://www.perthroyalshow.com.au/wp-content/results/2012/index.php?file=CREATIVE_CRAFT.html

In the list of results , it mentions ' Thomas Lay '

0151:SCARECROW.First- Thomas Lay

0152:HANDBAG.Second- Thomas L

further down the list: 0160:ANY OTHER ARTICLE.First- Thomas Lay 

this can't be a coincidence , ..........surely ?? 

HS  

Edited November 19, 2019 by Handstitched

[Smartee]

What a great mystery to follow!

[Handstitched]

20 hours ago, Smartee said:

What a great mystery to follow!

Yes, and I'm enjoying it too    .And I have no doubt that it will be solved , thanks to the help from the good peeps on  this website .

@jasj I  also wonder if Tom Lay attended the ' Rose Parade' in the b/w pic  in his early days ? Perhaps he took the photograph ? 

I will have to have a word from the vendor that I bought it from for more info,  as he still attends some of the markets I attend. 

I guess the other question I would like answered, however irrelevant ,  how much would the book be worth...now...as I only paid $10  ( Australian  ) at S/H  market stall  . But whatever it is worth in $$ it will never be sold, I think the history or its ' provenance ' is priceless to me now 

HS 

[Smartee]

A quick "google" shows the book alone to be worth a good bit - I would imagine that this history could greatly increase the value.  Of course it would only be worth what someone is willing to pay for it

[Sheilajeanne]

Cool thread!!  

Handstitched, the top of that link mentions the Princess Margaret Hospital. That name is VERY familiar to me, as it's the name of a cancer hospital in downtown Toronto!  

I assume there's one in Australia as well...

Edited November 20, 2019 by Sheilajeanne

[jnottage]

Greetings. A leather worker friend of mine just sent me a link to this discussion. Saddlemaker to the Stars, which I authored and was published in 1996, continues to receive a gratifying level of interest. I have only a vague recollection of Tom Lay, but autographed hundreds of copies of the book. It can still be found; in fact, I have a few copies left myself. It has been out of print for many years. The museum was originally named the Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum, and has gone through a couple of name changes, including Autry Museum of Western Heritage. Happily, the institution still thrives in Los Angeles where you can see many projects from the Bohlin shop as well as a rich variety of great art and artifacts from the history and myth of the American West.

[Sheilajeanne]

jnottage, thank you for chiming in, and welcome to the forum! Handstitched is indeed lucky to have purchased this piece of western heritage which you authored!

Always interesting to learn about the history of our craft!

[Handstitched]

On 6/21/2022 at 2:24 AM, jnottage said:

Greetings.

Greetings to you too  .  I've only just noticed  these recent posts .. And thank you so much  for posting on here. Its not very often you meet the author .  I bought the ...your book from a vendor at a regular market. After some research, I realised just how much the book is worth.  Depending where you look, its in the hundred$, on another  site it was  up around the thousand $$ mark ...WOW !!  I only paid 10. To this day, I still haven't got the heart to tell the vendor how much its really  worth ...now, and thats without your autograph, and the bonus  historic photo that I found inside. That may add value, I'm not sure.   One day, I might tell him....mmmm..??.... or maybe not . 

On 11/20/2019 at 10:08 PM, Smartee said:

quick "google" shows the book alone to be worth a good bit - I would imagine that this history could greatly increase the value.  Of course it would only be worth what someone is willing to pay for it

I agree, but it ain't for sale   

On 11/20/2019 at 10:56 PM, Sheilajeanne said:

Handstitched, the top of that link mentions the Princess Margaret Hospital.

That was a childrens hospital in the Perth CBD  , now decommissioned and demolished  . I hate history being demolished and the politicians with no forethought  .  It was fully functioning and fully  operational.  With ongoing  hospital issues forever going on here in Oz , it could have been utilised,  we could have done with extra beds, despite its age, but instead, theres going to be yet another   supermarket and a fancy 'block of flats'  ( apartments) in place of it.

On 6/21/2022 at 8:40 AM, Sheilajeanne said:

Handstitched is indeed lucky to have purchased this piece of western heritage which you authored!

I've gone through it quite a number of times now, I'm still totally blown away . Those saddles are exquisite  works of art.  I would have loved to visit his workshop. 

HS