Ride Western gear for all their value

By Terry Maurer, What's it Worth

Several months ago What's It Worth answered a question about the value of modern Western riding spurs. In responding, we noted authentic "used-on-the-range" cowboy items are hot in the marketplace these days.

Now, two other readers want to know about their things, both of which are about as cowboy or cowgirl as you can get -- a hat and a saddle.

Q. My husband was willed his grandfather's saddle about 35 years ago. We believe it was made in early 1900s or late 1800s by the Frazier Saddle Co. At the time, there were supposedly two saddles made; one for Granddad and one for his brother. Our saddle has various marks stamped into the leather, including a star on the back seat under the initials F M. The name "Frazier" appears in three places on the saddle. Can you tell us something about the history and provide a value? Thanks. -- Nancy in Pasco

A. The stories of several Western saddle makers and their products are the stuff of legends. Ray Holes Saddle Co. of Grangeville, Idaho, Hamley of Pendleton (more on them in a bit), the Visalia Stock Saddle Co. and several Southwest makers including Frazier of Pueblo, Colo., would be included in that elite club.

Robert Thompson Frazier arrived in Pueblo in 1880, went to work for and later became a business partner in the S. C. Gallup Saddle Co. That relationship lasted until 1890, when Frazier went out on his own.

Gallup and Frazier generally are co-credited with developing the "Pueblo Saddle," a working cowboy's rig with skirts larger than most, measuring as large as 32 inches. Another feature was an exposed metal saddle horn, usually made of brass or nickel and highly polished.

Frazier's wife, Kitty, was highly involved in the new business and actually carried it on between her husband's death in 1931 and 1958, the year the firm folded.

Many cowboys didn't own a horse but with a good saddle they could get a job just about anywhere.

As far back as the 1870s, a custom-made saddle could cost between $30 and $50. It was a lot of money when a cowhand was making a dollar a day, but such a saddle could last as long as 20 years.

Today, authentic early Frazier saddles command a premium and one in excellent condition can go for as much as $4,000.

Q. This hat is a family heirloom, having belonged to an ancestor who was a working Western cowboy in the early 1900s. The inside label reads "Hamley." It is soft gray felt and in what I'd call very good condition. I understand some of these older items are valuable; is this? -- Della Mae in La Crosse.

A. Hamley is another one of those magical Western names and one very involved in the earliest history of the Pendleton Round Up.

Originally located in Kendrick, Idaho, the firm moved to Pendleton after a devastating fire in 1904. The business developed around saddles which became known throughout the West as among the finest you could ride.

In 1909 Hamley issued its first catalog and, just like the makers in Pueblo, mail orders soon were a very big part of the business, with orders coming in from around the world.

In 1910, Pendleton hosted its first Round Up and Hamley's awarded a trophy saddle for the winner of the World's Championship Bucking Contest.

As the Round Up approached the end of its first decade, rodeo organizers from across the West approached Hamley about developing a standard saddle tree for use in bronc riding competition. The famous Modified Association Tree was the solution. Hamley still is going strong today.

Hamley sold a wide range of cowboy gear in addition to saddles, chaps, bridles and the like. Clothing and hats were very popular items.

This hat is a classic and the family history just adds to the value. In such great condition, we'd set a retail price of $600.

tool name

Sunday, Apr. 20, 2008

Ride Western gear for all their value

By Terry Maurer, What's it Worth