History:

The material in this collection was either donated to or purchased by the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum over many years. Some of this material was originally located in small, unprocessed catalog collections. Most of the photocopied catalogs are from a curator’s research files for a writing project concerning holsters, cartridge belts, and other gun leather. A small number of the original and reproduction items have been purchased by the Research Center in recent years. These materials were scattered in various locations with little or no accessibility. To improve access, the decision was made to pull these items together into an artificial collection of saddlery and cowboy gear catalogs and related materials.

Scope and Content:

The collection has been arranged into a single series, Trade Catalogs and Ephemera.

Trade Catalogs and Ephemera (1852-1998) series includes all or part of more than 375 saddlery and cowboy gear catalogs and related ephemeral items. Approximately one-third of the items in the collection are original, while the remainder are either photocopies or contemporary reproductions. When an item is a photocopy or reproduction, this is indicated in the container list within square brackets. Incomplete catalogs are indicated by the notation “selected pages.” Since it is believed researchers are primarily interested in the date of the content, the container list includes the date of original publication, not the date of the photocopy or reproduction, even if that information is known.

While the collection is not exhaustive, it does include a good cross-section of major saddle manufacturers and distributors along with a number of smaller and lesser-known makers. The collection is geographically diverse, with makers from all over the United States, as well as Canada and Mexico. The bulk of the collection covers the first half of the 20th century, but there is also good material from the late 19th century and the last half of the 20th century, including some very recent catalogs.

Among the saddlery manufacturers with the best coverage are Chas. P. Shipley Saddlery & Mercantile Co., Colorado Saddlery Co., Hamley & Co., N. Porter Co., and the Visalia Stock Saddle Co. The Shipley catalogs include several good examples of original catalogs from the early part of the 20th century; the Colorado Saddlery material (all photocopied) includes at least one item from each decade from the 1940s through the 1980s; the Hamley catalogs include a good range of items from 1912 through 1996; the Porter material includes an interesting 1940s-era publication entitled Know Your Saddle that goes into great detail about the saddle trees, fronts, cantles, horns, skirts and rigging, fenders, and stirrups available on Porter saddles; and Visalia is represented by more than a dozen catalogs, pocket calendars, brochures, and other items from the late 19th century and the first half of the 20th century. Other important saddle manufacturers represented in the collection includes Edward H. Bohlin, Fred M. Stern, Hermann H. Heiser Saddlery, R. T. Frazier Saddlery, and S. C. Gallup Saddlery.

Early catalogs in the collection include photocopies of an 1883 Denver Manufacturing Co. catalog, an 1898 Hermann H. Heiser catalog, an 1891 L. Frank Saddles & Harness catalog, an 1897 Main & Winchester catalog, an 1897 Marks Brothers Saddlery Co. catalog, and an 1892 S. D. Myres Saddle Co. catalog. Collection highlights include an original 1881 military saddle catalog from the Whitman Saddle Co., a beautiful 1852 advertising lithograph for J. R. Hewitt Saddle, Harness & Trunk Maker of Springfield, Massachusetts, and an elaborately decorated 1907 receipt issued by Hermann-Sanford Saddlery Co. of Springfield, Missouri.

Additional saddlery catalogs and related material can be found in the Ron Bledsoe Trade Catalog and Ephemera Collection.

Subject Terms:

Corporate Names:

A. D. Seitzler
Ahlstrom & Gunther Saddles
Al. Furstnow Saddlery Co.
Alfred Cornish & Co.
Allison’s Stockman’s Western Store
Askew Brothers Saddlery
August Buermann Manufacturing Co.
Baum’s Bits & Spurs
Ben Schroeder Saddle Tree Co.
Blake Miller
Bona Allen, Inc.
Bridger Creek Outfitters
Carl Carlock Saddle Co.
Carroll Saddle Co.
Champion Turf Equipment, Inc.
Chas. P. Shipley Saddlery & Mercantile Co.
Chattanooga Saddle Co., Inc.
Chicago Rawhide Manufacturing Co.
Clover Bar Saddlery & Cattle Co., Ltd.
Colorado Saddlery Co.
Crockett and Renalde
Crockett Bit & Spur Co.
De Luxe Saddlery Co.
Denver Dry Goods Co.
Denver Manufacturing Co.
Double R Leather Co.
Duhamel Co.
E. T. Amonett Saddlery
Easy Master Bits & Spurs
Edward H. Bohlin
Eiser’s Inc.
Ellsworth Haffner Co.
Ervin Quick
F. A. Meanea
Fred Harsant, Saddles of the Old West
Fred M. Stern, Ltd.
Fred Mueller Saddle & Harness Co.
Frontier Suppliers
G. A. Bischoff & Co.
G. J. Jedlicka Saddlery
G. S. Garcia
Garcia Bit & Spur Co.
George Lawrence Co.
Goldberg Staunton Saddlery Co.
Grimsley & Co.
Hamley & Co.
Harpham Brothers Co.
Hegland Harness Co.
Hermann H. Heiser Saddlery
Hermann-Sanford Saddlery Co.
Hitching Post Supply
Hulling Saddlery
J. H. Wilson Saddlery Co.
J. R. Hewitt Saddle, Harness & Trunk Maker
J. S. Sullivan Saddle Tree Co.
JT International
Karl’s Saddle & Silversmith Co.
Kelly Brothers
Keyston
Keyston Brothers
King’s Saddlery
Kingsville Lumber Co.
Kruse Hardware Co.
L. Frank Saddles & Harness
Leisure & Van Bebber, Inc.
Luis B. Ortega
M. L. Leddy
M. Morales
MacPherson Leather Co.
Main & Winchester
Main-Winchester-Stone
Marks Brothers Saddlery Co.
Marshall-Wells Co.
Miles City Saddlery Co.
Miller Stockman Supply Co.
Montgomery Ward Co.
Mueller’s Stockmen’s Supplies
N. Porter Co.
Olsen Nolte Saddle Shop
Otto F. Ernst, Inc.
Ozark Leather Co., Inc.
Padgitt Brothers Co.
La Palestina
Potts Longhorn Leather
Pratt & Letchworth
Prosser Martin
R. J. Andrew & Son
R. T. Frazier Saddlery
Ray Holes Saddle Co.
Renalde, Crockett & Kelly
Rowell Saddle Co.
The Ruwart Manufacturing Co.
Ryon’s Saddle & Ranch Supplies
S. C. Gallup Saddlery Co.
S. D. Myres Saddle Co.
Schoellkopf Co.
Sentinel Butte Saddlery Co.
Southern Saddlery Co.
Standard Saddle Tree Co.
Stockman-Farmer Supply Co
Talabarteria Camacho
Tex Tan Western Leather Co.
Utahn Saddle Co.
Van Voorhies-Phinney Co.
Veach Saddlery Co.
Victor Leather Goods, Inc.
Visalia Stock Saddle Co.
Weaver Leather
Western Novelty Supply
Western Ranchman Outfitters
Western Saddle Co.
Western Saddle Manufacturing Co.
Western Wholesalers, Inc.
White & Davis
Whitman Saddle Co.
Wilder & Co.
Williams Saddlery
Wilson Saddlery co.
Wofford Leather Co.
Wyeth Hardware & Manufacturing Co.

Subject Headings:

Advertising
Bits (Bridles)
Boots
Commercial catalogs
Harnesses
Headgear
Leather goods
Metal-work
Saddlery
Saddlery—Arizona
Saddlery—Arizona—Phoenix
Saddlery—Australia
Saddlery—California
Saddlery—California—Hollywood
Saddlery—California—Los Angeles
Saddlery—California—Sacramento
Saddlery—California—San Francisco
Saddlery—Canada
Saddlery—Colorado
Saddlery—Colorado—Denver
Saddlery—Colorado—Pueblo
Saddlery—Georgia
Saddlery—Idaho
Saddlery—Illinois—Chicago
Saddlery—Indiana
Saddlery—Maryland—Baltimore
Saddlery—Massachusetts
Saddlery—Mexico
Saddlery—Minnesota
Saddlery—Missouri
Saddlery—Missouri—Kansas City
Saddlery—Montana—Miles City
Saddlery—Nebraska
Saddlery—Nebraska—Omaha
Saddlery—Nevada
Saddlery—New Jersey
Saddlery—New Mexico
Saddlery—New York
Saddlery—North Dakota
Saddlery—Ohio
Saddlery—Oregon
Saddlery—Oregon—Pendleton
Saddlery—Oregon—Portland
Saddlery—South Dakota
Saddlery—Tennessee—Chattanooga
Saddlery—Texas
Saddlery—Texas—Dallas
Saddlery—Texas—El Paso
Saddlery—Utah—Vernal
Saddlery—Washington
Saddlery—Wyoming
Saddlery—Wyoming—Cheyenne
Saddles
Shoe industry
Spurs
Tools
Western saddles
Work clothes

Processing Note:

The Donald C. & Elizabeth M. Dickinson Research Center acquired the collection from many sources throughout the history of the Museum. Jonathan Nelson arranged the collection in October 2004.

Ownership and Literary Rights:

The Collection of Saddlery and Cowboy Gear Catalogs and Ephemera is the property of the Donald C. & Elizabeth M. Dickinson Research Center, National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. Literary right, including copyright, belongs to the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, with the exception of copyrighted artwork images and published literary works, which are the property of the respective copyright holders. It is the responsibility of the researcher, and his/her publisher, to obtain publishing permission from individuals pictured, relevant copyright holders, and the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.

Restrictions on Access:

The collection is open for research. It is advisable for researchers to discuss their proposed research with staff prior to visiting the Center.

Preferred Citation:

Collection of Saddlery and Cowboy Gear Catalogs and Ephemera, Title, Date, Dickinson Research Center, National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.