SPECIAL ORDERS AT G. S. GARCIA-ELKO, NEVADA

Occasionally bits, spurs and saddles will show up with an extra special twist—made to order and personalized.  These pieces impart the full realization of the reason for the existence of the beautiful pieces of art which we so revere: the cowboys, ranchers and Hollywood stars who ordered them.  Most collectors focus on the makers and the history of the craftsmen and designs simply because there are so few custom pieces out there and such a dearth of written history on those great works.  There were two ways to have an effect on the finished product when it was being ordered, customization and personalization.  Keep in mind, these buyers were ordering the most expensive and best made items of the day.  The price of an intricate bit from the G. S. Garcia shop in 1924 was equivalent of a month’s wages for a ranch foreman; a saddle took a long time to save up for and so did spurs.  The availability of these items through mail order opened up a whole new market and allowed people from all over the world to own these objects. They were the best quality and quickly became the top status symbol.  The draw to spend such an amount of money was the exquisite workmanship, essentially a guarantee of lifelong usability.  This was enhanced by the artistry which never failed to impart the wearer with an air of impeccable taste and financial means.  G. S. Garcia offered the same special order customization capability through his catalog as he did to those who came to his shop in Elko.  On spurs, the shanks could be special ordered by choosing your preferred style from the catalog illustration (as shown).

Saddles could be customized by a mix and match option of fenders, tree styles, engraving and stamping patterns as well as stirrups and tapaderos—offered separately so the rider could choose which were to be used depending on whether riding in a parade or an event or simply riding the range.

 The taps shown are from the 1924 G. S. Garcia catalog and are found in excellent condition on the G. S. Garcia saddle from the same time, at Pure Cowboy.  Bits could be ordered with slobber bar or chain, and the style of rein chains could also be selected by the buyer.

Customization ensured the customer was getting the best match between the spur, bit or saddle and its intended use.  This also allowed us to have some insight into the various preferences which were important to the people who customized their equipment.  We often remark on how wonderful it would be for these items to talk.  That won’t happen; but sometimes we can get the faintest of whispers from examining the personal touches of the special orders.

This article is reprinted with permission from the April 2012 issue of the Pure Cowboy Newsletter, available for download at: http://www.purecowboy.us/April%20Newsletter%202012.pdf

EARLY AMERICAN WEST BARBER SET

This wonderful piece of American day-to-day history is a complete collection of barber's items in a pre-turn of the century cabinet.  The list of items within this collection is extensive and all pieces are period-perfect and individually represent a wealth of history.  Taken together, this is a collection that would easily fit into a museum collection or private display of interesting and unique Americana.

This collection is available at www.purecowboy.us

The Early Barber's Set Includes:

Wooden Cabinet and Leather Strop

Wooden Cabinet with Mirror, 2 Shelves and Drawer: The cabinet measures 12 and 1/4" Wide by 22 and 1/2" High by 8 and 3/4" at the base.  The top of the display is carved with 3 flowers, the middle being the largest (1 and 1/2" in diameter), flanked by 2 smaller (3/4" in diameter) matching flowers.  The drawer has a beautiful period hardware pull (presumably brass).  The hardware measures 2 and 3/4" wide and is scalloped at the base where it is affixed to the drawer.  The drawer's interior measurements are 10" Wide by 6 and 1/2" Deep by 2 and 1/2" High.  The mirror is beautiful old glass, beveled at the edges.  Its' dimensions are 10 and 3/4" by 11 and 1/2".  The right side of the cabinet has a knob installed to hold the sharpening strop.  Beautiful!

The strop is a great piece of thick tanned leather, well used and still flexible without any cracks.  The top of the strop is fitted with a metal attachment and 2 chain links for hanging as storage, also to keep tension while sharpening the razor.  Length 23" by 2" wide.

Shaving Cup and Shaving Brush

This very nice pre-1900's shaving cup is for the mixing of the shaving soap and has a raised portion (with holes to allow the draining of the soap back into the mail cup area) for setting the shaving brush.  The only marking on the cup is a number on the bottom: 1204.  The main pattern is floral and the focal point is a portrait of a man with full beard and mustache, smoking a cigar, wearing a hat and seems to have a rifle slung over his shoulder.  The overall design is classic Victoriana.  The cup is 3 and 3/4" in diameter, 3 and 1/2" high, and the handle comes out 1 and 1/4 inches from the side.

The shaving brush is a thing of beauty and elegance.  The handle is brown-painted wood and the bristles are made of blonde colored badger hair.  The brush is 4" long.  The hair is still solidly attached to the brush and the wood remains crack-free.

Clothing Brush - for Hair Removal

A wooden and horse-hair brush for post-clipping hair removal from the customer's neck and clothes.  This is beautifully made with the wooden handle lathed in a multiple tiered pattern rounds with a knob at the end.  The horsehair has been artfully inserted into the handle in bunches of dark and light colored hair so as to have a quite stunning striped effect.  The brush is appropriately large, measuring 9" long.  The handle makes up 5 and 1/4" of that length.

Graduated Celluloid Comb

This comb is a faux mother-of-pearl or tortoise-shell pattern made of celluloid, as was the practice pre-plastics.  The graduated sizing of the tines begins as 3/4" and reaches 1" at the large end.  It is missing 2 tines, which only adds to its' character as a true relic of days long ago.  Measures 7 and 1/8" long.

Blue Glass Aftershave Tonic Bottle

This a an amazing glass bottle - made of blue opaque glass with a gilt floral painted design. The bottle features an ornate metal top stopper.  It is 8 and 1/2" high and at the widest point, the bottle measures 3 5/8" in diameter.  A beautiful piece.

Bottle of Chamberlain's Hand Lotion - Half Full!

This truly unique vial of Chamberlain's Hand Lotion is still half full of this 49% alcohol hand lotion.  The glass bottle measures only 2 and 3/4" high and 1" W by 3/4" Deep.  It is stamped in the glass: CHAMBERLAIN'S HAND LOTION / ALCOHOL 49%. The top is stopped with a miniature cork.

Straight Razor - Incredibly Decorated Handle

 An intricately decorated straight razor, made in Solingen, Germany.  Stamped: C. W. Engels / Solingen - Foch / 57 / Marked with an angel.  This razor is listed as a rare razor on page 20 of Celluloid Handle Guide for Straight Razor Collectors, Reflecting 50 Years of Handle Designs 1870 - 1920, by Robert A. Doyle.

  This is a quite rare and collectible razor with a fancy celluloid handle.  The scene is that of a hunt with horse and riders following dogs chasing a deer through the woods.  It's colored in burgundy on celluloid-ivory.  The other side is fully decorated with symbols: a fox head, rifle, crossbow, spears, skull and cross, horn, wreath, etc... 

These are symbols of a Germanic hunting theme.  The cross is called the Hubertus Cross which is a symbol of a battle on November 3rd, 1444 and was also built in 1776 in the middle of Germany.  A beautiful and interesting piece.

Scissors (not pictured):

The pair of scissors may have been sold through Montgomery Ward . They are simply marked FORGED STEEL / U.S.A. and measure 7 and 3/4" long.

 Antique Barber's Set/ Item #UA551

MAY LILLIE TARGET CARDS - SHOT AT PAWNEE BILL'S SHOW!

May Lillie Target Cards, Handwritten Note and Cabinet Card, Framed

"Target Cards / Shot by May Lillie at Pawnee Bill's Show / given to spectator Grandfather Wills / 1912"  This description says it all.  Six gorgeous antique playing cards are framed around the card bearing that inscription.  Each card has precise areas shot out by differing caliber bullets.  The cards are beautifully illustrated and all measure 4 1/4inches by 2 1/2 inches.  Also in the frame is a cabinet card from Sword's Brothers Professional Photographers in York, PA showing Mae Lillie with her husband, famed Pawnee Bill. 

The framed piece measures 29 x 17 1/2. The shot out playing cards and note were glued to a black paper backing by around 1912.  The black paper with it's cards and note have been framed unchanged as the lower part of this set.  The upper part is an original cabinet card, as shown, of May Lillie and Pawnee Bill.  The piece has been professionally framed for archiving on acid-free, museum quality paper and matting, behind glass.

Mae Lillie was a fantastic shot and a contemporary rival of Annie Oakley.  "May Lillie, was a sharpshooter with the show as well. May was a graduate of Smith College and the daughter of a prominent Philadelphia physician.  She seemed an unlikely candidate to become a sharpshooter, until Lillie brought her, as a young bride, to his Kansas ranch, where he and his cowboy's taught her to shoot and ride sidesaddle.  She took readily to her new lifestyle.  She went on a hunt with the Pawnees in Indian Territory and killed eight prairie chickens and sixteen wild turkeys in one afternoon.  The Indians were so impressed with her skill that they gave her one of their horses, which she named Hunter.  May trained Hunter and rode him at Kansas fairs, where she was acclaimed "the most graceful lady rider in the state."  When she learned to shoot from Hunter's back, Pawnee Bill put her in his show and billed her as "May Lillie, Princess of the Prairie" and "World's Champion Woman Rifle Shot."  May was a small and vivacious woman whose costume in the Wild West arena looked remarkably similar to the ones Annie Oakley wore.  But despite that and despite May's claim to the world's championship, Annie apparently got along well with her.  They performed on the same bill for a month in the summer of 1888."*

Gordon Lillie married young and petite May Manning in 1886; May (aka "Mae"; born "Mary") was seventeen years old. In 1888 Gordon and May Lillie launched their own show: Pawnee Bill’s Historic Wild West. Mae starred in the show as the “Champion Girl Horseback Shot of the West.” Their first season was a financial disaster and they re-organized as a smaller operation called “Pawnee Bill’s Historical Wild West Indian Museum and Encampment Show.” The show traveled to Europe, performing in France and Belgium. The show was popular but not lucrative. They returned to the United States and added Jose Barrera to the cast; he was widely popular performing as Mexican Joe. In 1907 Gordon hired performers from a variety of backgrounds. He organized Mexican cowboys, Pawnee and Sioux scouts, Chinese and Japanese performers, and Arab jugglers. The ensemble debuted as the “Pawnee Bill’s Wild West and Great Far East Show.”

In 1908 rival showman 'Buffalo Bill' Cody’s managing partner, Bailey, died. Cody contacted Gordon and encouraged him to buy Bailey’s share of the show. The "Two Bills" merged shows and became "Buffalo Bill’s Wild West and Pawnee Bill’s Far East" with Gordon as the managing partner. The show was a great financial success. However, in 1913 Cody signed a short-term loan agreement with a Denver businessman. He foreclosed on the show while it was playing in Denver Colorado. After the show closed Gordon returned to live at the ranch full time.

Previously, Blue Hawk sold Gordon and May Lillie some of his land in Pawnee, and the couple built a cabin and established a buffalo herd there. Gordon objected strenuously and frequently to the sportsmanship hunting of buffalo. He approached Congress several times with proposals that the sport be outlawed. While Gordon toured, May supervised the buffalo ranch. The couple completed work on their Arts and Crafts style home on Blue Hawk Peak in 1910. Gordon invested in banking, real estate, and oil. In 1930 May and Gordon opened Pawnee Bill’s Old Town near the ranch. They sold Indian and Mexican crafts, and featured yearly rodeos.


Available for purchase at Pure Cowboy -- call 888-575-1890 to purchase.
May Lillie Target Cards Item #UA312  / $3,700.

1800s PLAINS INDIAN HORSEHAIR BRIDLE with HAND FORGED NAVAJO RING BIT and 1930s RAWHIDE REINS!

How is it that a piece of authentic Cowboy Western history can be made up of so many seemingly disparate parts and still be considered original?

These bridles were used and kept through generations. As parts and pieces wore out, additional parts were added to maintain the integrity and usefulness of a piece. Sometimes this practice drops the value of the piece to ‘wall-hanger’ status. Other times, the curious and rare combination of origin and workmanship can impact the value of such a piece in quite a pos-itive fashion, making a rare and beautiful example of many styles and different peoples come together to show the similarities be-tween all peoples of this great country—and how we all learn from each oth-er.

A case in point is the 1800’s Plains Indian hitched horsehair bridle with the fantastic hallmarks associated with such a piece. The bridle pieces are all round not pressed in a prison workshop, which was done to replicate the flatness of the more tradi-tional leather bridles. The lightening zig-zag design so deeply engrained into the Northern Plains culture is intricately woven in all parts and the only conchos present are simple trade pieces. Even though the bridle dates from the mid 1800’s, the Native Americans of the Northern Plains learned this art from the Southern Plains Tribes much earlier.

This brings our story to the Navajo ring bit, which was made in a Navajo forge prior to the 1850’s. The most skilled of metal smiths, the Navajos were taught their craft by their neigh-bors, the Mexicans and the influx of Spanish Missions. As evidenced from the writings of Richard Irving Dodge in 1880,

This art was then spread across the Western landscape by many means, but the hitching of horsehair more than any other art was passed through the prison system where time and materials were available to inmates who created beautiful pieces, some of which have been preserved and can be seen in the Pure Cowboy Collection of Bridles.

The Spanish influence described here not only made its way to the Native Americans through the Southern border, it also was the catalyst for all the Vaquero and California style spurs, bits and saddles—as well as bridles and reins.

The reins that are on this venerable bridle were braided by a first generation Californian Cowboy, the son of a Mexican-Spanish nobleman who brought the art of rawhide braiding to an exquisite level: Luis B. Ortega.

This piece carries within it the story of the American West—and, perhaps a bit of the story of America herself, the best of what the world has to offer, brought by hard-working people who share their knowledge with those they meet and end up with a result that is so much more than the sum of each part.

The bridle set that is the subject of this article, and other Hitched Horsehair Bridles, can be found at Pure Cowboy. (http://www.purecowboy.us/)

"The Southern Indians have learned from the Mexicans the art of plaiting horsehair, and much of their work is very artistic and beautiful, besides being wonderfully serviceable. A small smooth stick of one-fourth of an inch in diameter is the mould over which the hair is plaited. When finished, the stick is withdrawn. The hair used is previously dyed of different colors, and it is so woven as to present pretty patterns. This hair, not being very strong, is used for the headstall. The reins, which require strength, are plaited solid, but in the same pattern, showing both skill, taste and fitness."

G.S. GARCIA, ELKO NEV.

G. S. Garcia, Elko Nevada

By the start of 1904, the G. S. Garcia Harness and Saddlery would be one of Elko's largest employers.  The quality, craftsmanship and attention to detail was unmatched.    

Concho Buckle on the Headstall, likely to have been engraved by Rafael Gutierrez between 1911 and 1916

Guadalupe S. Garcia was born in Sonora, Mexico in 1864 and was raised in Santa Margarita, near San Luis Obispo, California.  In 1882, he apprenticed with the Arana Saddle Shop in San Luis Obispo, prior to opening his own shop in Santa Margarita in 1883.  In 1894, G. S Garcia moved to Elko, Nevada. 

 

The first Garcia catalog was published in 1897.  The Saddlery was employing about 20 craftsmen and apprentices at that time.   Alsalio Herrera was hired from Visalia, California for the post of master bit and spur maker.   He brought 35 years of experience of working with his father, a famous maker in his own right. 



When coupled with G. S. Garcia's natural marketing ability, there was no stopping the resulting success of the company.

G. S. Garcia Number 16 Snake Spurs - Extremely Rare!

G. S. Garcia was involved in every aspect of design and implementation.  By all accounts he was inspired by the elaborate and ornate styles of the early California vaqueros, many of which had their origins in Colonial Spain and Mexico. 



Beginning in 1899, G. S. Garcia employed the most distinguished spur makers of the time, including Gus Goldberg, Juan Estrada, Mike Morales, Adolf Biancani, Alsalio Herrera, and Raphael (Philo) Gutierrez. 



Early G. S. Garcia Bit, likely to have been engraved by Juan (John) Estrada between 1896 and 1906



These great artists are credited with producing Garcia's finest work.   Juan Estrada had been hired in 1896 to make the bits and mouthpieces.  Over the next 5 years, Estrada apprenticed in silver engraving under Herrera and became one of the best.





Spectacular Gus Goldberg Woolly Chaps







G. S. Garcia bits and spurs were marked in different ways, depending on the maker and the date made.  Those pieces marked with the backward "N" were made prior to 1910.






In 1904, G. S. Garcia won the Gold Medal for his silver show saddle entered at the St. Louis World's Fair - and thereby began his vast world-wide popularity and the overwhelming success that has been continued for generations.  The silver on that saddle, bridle and bit was the work of Alsalio Herrera.

A great pair of Henry Garcia Spurs from the Garcia Saddlery in Salinas, California



The Old G. S. Garcia Elko Stamp, showing the inverted or "Dutch" N

G. S. Garcia was involved in every aspect of design and implementation.  In 1904, G. S. Garcia won the Gold Medal for his silver show saddle entered at the St. Louis World's Fair - and thereby began his vast world-wide popularity and the overwhelming success that has been continued for generations.  Much later on, G.S. Garcia's granddaughter, Mrs. Dee Dee Garcia White, generously made that saddle available for viewing at the Nevada City Museum in Carson City, Nevada - where it is currently on display.



Henry Garcia, son of famed G .S. Garcia, left his father's shop in Elko, Nevada in 1935 to open a branch of the family's saddlery in Salinas, California (about 100 miles south of San Francisco).  The family had enough capital to establish a branch in a different area and felt that Salinas presented an opportunity to be in an area of more rapid economic recovery and higher population.  Henry was only 23 years old, but was thoroughly trained in all aspects of saddle making and bit and spur crafting.  The shop he rented was at 10 W. Gabilan Street.





By 1939, Garcia Saddlery was making the championship saddles for the Salinas Rodeo events.  Every year for over 15 years, Henry Garcia also donated a Garcia saddle to the Rodeo. The brothers convinced their mother (Mrs. Saturnina Garcia) to leave Elko and join them in Salinas, but not until that year.

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Pristine Garcia, Salinas Saddle in the Acorn Pattern

 During WWII, the store closed its doors temporarily.  Materials for saddle making were diverted to the wartime effort, and the US Army requisitioned the store building to use as a recruiting office.  Les Garcia entered the military and made some good contacts which allowed him to arrange for a contract with the Army to provide US soldiers with leather wallets.  Even mass-produced, those wallets were beautifully adorned with either the signature Garcia Acorn or Rose patterns and then hand-laced.



As soon as the Army contract was concluded and the war came to an end, Henry and Les Garcia re-opened the Garcia Saddlery and continued the family business.  By 1948, they were offering their wares in a newly styled 31-page catalog filled with saddles, headstalls, bits and spurs, boots, belts and buckles, trousers, shirts and cowboy hats. 



The Legendary World's Fair Saddle Set Prototype Bit by Alsalio Herera

Extremely Rare Biancani Eagle bit with Two Fish, Two Ducks and a Water Bucket