Did cowboys really decorate their holsters?

[icemaster109]

I've seen quite a few pictures of holsters with studs, conchos, hearts etc. I even checked out the book Packing Iron from the local library to view a bunch as well . However I wanted to know if anyone has done their own research on whether or not working cowboys decorated their holsters, or if it was a "city" thing?

Thanks

[Kayleen]

I did quite a bit of research on different topics and cowboy items several years ago.  When I was in Oklahoma City, at the cowboy heritage and museum, it was explained to me that cowboys more than likely did decorate their leather items. After a long day's work this would be their passtime. Also it would depend on their location, wealth and availability of tools.
There were many very ornate decorations to leather there, If you get the chance it is a great vacation.
Kayleen

[Cliff Fendley]

I don't think it was a "City" thing. There are even some examples of "well worn" rigs with some decoration. Not the norm for a working cowboy but if they were on a ranch where the materials and tools were available and he felt a little creative it probably happened. I'm sure it was a personal taste thing kind of like today.

[Books OToole]

A while back I did a quick survey of the holsters in Packing Iron that were decorated with studs/tacks.  The result was, most of the so decorated holsters were from the 20th century, with some back to the 1890s.

I was disappointed as my character is from the early 1880s

Books.

[Major 2]

similarly, when I researched basket weave embossed Holsters
I found very late 1880's at the earliest....but most were turn of the century and way later.

[Cliff Fendley]

I've noticed that too on the basket weave. When someone wants that type stuff I make sure they realize it is late for the 19th century in case the time frame matters to them.

I'm not saying the decorations didn't exist earlier but didn't seem to be popular if they did.

Does anyone have photos of working cowboys that show any of this?

[Delmonico]

I did a quick look in my files, if I've noticed one I didn't save it.  Did come up with a moulded one of sorts dated 1888 near Westerville, Custer County, Nebraska.



I must admit it's the only one of that type I remember seeing.

[WHSKYRUNER]

Howdy All, I have added studs and concho's to almost all of my cowboy holsters. I bought my first rig from Rick Bauchman at Old West reproductions the 3" belt has concho's and studs, my holsters were made to match the belt. I made mexican coin concho's and put them on my spur straps, gun belts, vest buttons and southwest pants. At the Cody musuem they had various holsters and belts with studs and concho's on them I enjoy the south west attire and have alot of studs and conchos on my gear. I've sold alot of studs and conchos to the shooters over the years
WR

[panhead pete]

If you look at some of the "incised" holsters in Packing iron, I would venture to guess some cowboys would use a nail or knife to scratch an image or initials in their gear.  The holsters in P/I appear professionally finished/incised, but I imagine some crafty cowboys would have done this.  The sailors who started Scrimshaw carving were not artisans (by our definition), but they amused themselves thusly.

PhP 

[River City John]

I wonder if a 'real' cowboy ever worried about the sun glinting off a spot or concho spooking the herd . . . or giving his position away when he needed to avoid someone?

I would guess this decoration was influenced more directly by the popularity of Wild West Shows in the latter 19th century. (and yes, where did the Wild West Shows pick up that kind of flashiness?- from the Vaqueros.)

What is more telling to me is that the large number of studio images showing side-armed cowboys do not reflect this fashion trend. Especially staged images. I would think if it was all the rage, the studio would have more suitably decorated props to satisfy the demand.

Just musing out loud.

RCJ

p.s.
WHSKYRUNER!, good to see you, my friend.

[Cliff Fendley]

I guess it's possible some didn't want anything to glare, especially outlaws. I would venture to guess the reason you didn't see any more than you do is because it just wasn't the style. If that was a huge concern you wouldn't have seen any carrying nickle plated guns.

I do believe some cowboys decorated their gear, I just think it was the exception and not the norm.

One thing to consider on many of the posed studio shots like in Packing Iron is they appear to be wearing all new duds and they didn't have a chance to decorate them yet. That said outdoors shots I've seen of men around chuck wagon don't show examples of rigs with conchos and spots either. Fact is a lot of them are not wearing guns at all.

There are a lot of early examples today with the decorations but that doesn't mean it was added when the rig was new.

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

      Cliff is right about spots and concho's not being the norm, but for the ones that did wear them, a lot of that came from the South West, the Mexicans used a lot of it, as did the Indians, silver was plentiful, I think over those years cowboys with their fancy adorned rigs  moving further north probably were a big influence to the bunk house cowboy. IMHO

            tEN wOLVES 

[Cliff Fendley]

Which explains why when you do see older examples adorned with spots the holsters are many times styles that were popular in the Arizona, New Mexico, Texas areas.

There is certainly a lot of Spanish/Mexican influence in the carving and embellishments you see used on leathercraft even today.

[Steel Horse Bailey]

Adding to what has already been said, there is also this.  The Old West was a pretty drab and dirty place.  It was hard on holsters, tack, clothes, etc.  It has been shown that folks tended to be as "flashy" as they could.  This was especially true of the real working cowboys.  Even 'tho "real" cowboys (trailhands, etc.) were actually not very numerous (I've seen the figure 2,500 tossed around, but I can't say by research myself) they tended to buy brightly colored shirts and such.  This was probably their "Sunday Go To Meetin' clothes" but what I'm getting at is that it isn't surprising to see some decorations on their leather.  In Packing Iron there are numerous holsters that were done "by hand" over the long winters, where there wasn't as much to do, so leather got fixed, re-sewn, and perhaps decorated while passing away the time over winter.  I'm pretty certain that the majority of "working" holsters may not have survived to this day, but the ones that DID survive were somewhat "special" and weren't used as much ... but they obviously DID enjoy the finer examples, or we wouldn't have so many surviving examples.  BUT ... I'm just as sure that much of what has survived is from late in the time period, so watch what is done carefully.  "They woulda' if they coulda" ISN'T the way to authenticity, but you CAN be sure that if YOU (21st Century person) like fancy leather goods, THEY (19th Cent.) probably liked something similar.  Not always, but ...


Fortunately, SOME fashion tastes DO/HAVE changed.  I'm sure glad that women's hairstyles especially (and clothes, to an extent)  DON'T look like what is shown in surviving photos from the 1860s, '70s, '80s, '90s, etc.!

[Jed Cooper]

Fortunately, SOME fashion tastes DO/HAVE changed.  I'm sure glad that women's hairstyles especially (and clothes, to an extent)  DON'T look like what is shown in surviving photos from the 1860s, '70s, '80s, '90s, etc.!

This comes from from a true fashion statement! I think some of the ladies are quite striking..... And, yes some could use a makeover    Sorry Jeffy, I couldn't resist    Yer purdy friend!!!!  Jed

[Cliff Fendley]

I'm certainly glad womens fashions have changed Not that a woman can't look nice in those clothes but not all the time.

[ChuckBurrows]

Simple answer is yes they did - to what point they did all depends on the ubiquitous who, when, and where.........

Harness spots have been around a long time and were used on cowboy gear at least as far back as the later 1860's - this is documented, but they really became popular in the late 1880's and later.

While the normal resources such as Packing Iron and Cowboys & Trappings of the Old West are very valuable, they represent actually a quite small database to work from. To add to one's documentation, look not only at the photos of the period - offered in many different books and from different areas - but also museums and their websites, auction house websites and catalogs, magazine articles, and even private collections can often be viewed when asked politely - Rick Backman for instance has a collection of several thousand pieces and the Gunfighters and Cowboys Museum in Colorado was once a private collection. Also keep on top of the current offerings, join the Nat'l Cowboy Hall of Fame for instance and again keep an eye on western auction sites such as Cowans, Greg Martin, Butterfields, and Gary Hendershott as well as antique cowboy gear sites.

As to whether one wore  fancy gear or not also depended on where one was from and often under what conditions one worked with. Texas cowboys from the brush country for instance tended to be less fancy since the conditions weren't conducive to wearing fancy gear, even with the Spanish influence. On the other hand the California cowpokes tended to be much fancier, since much of the cow country was open plains and rolling hill country and again a very with a very strong Spanish influence - actually almost all cowboy gear and the decoration used is based on Spanish gear and that goes back even to the earlier era of the 1820-30's.
On the Great Plains open grass country you get a mix of Texas along with some eastern/English influences in horse gear. Then you get a real mix of styles which became the buckaroo look in places like Montana, Wyoming, and the Great Basin where all types wound up mixing and matching gear. By the late 1870's you also start seeing the influence on cowboy gear due to the Wild West shows, which just like Hollywood made an impact, but even before that dime novels, etc. had an impact on the fashions worn by the men and women of the west.

As to the cowboys being plain working men using the cheaper gear - in general no - both the conditions they worked in as well as peer pressure played a big part in the gear they used. There is no doubt that some cowboys wore the cheaper gear but in general cowboys were the type who put a $40.00 saddle on a $10.00 horse and the rest of the gear was commensurate with that attitude. Cheap thin catalog holsters seldom held up to the rigors of working cattle in teh west and were commonly looked down upon and called chicken skin rigs. Hats, by far Stetson had the quality they wanted and good boots were a necessity - be it by need or fashion (Teddy Blue Abbott was so self conscious about his cheap rough farm boots he ruined them so he wouldn't have to be seen in them). Blue jeans aka dungarees, were pre-1900 considered farmer cloths - cowboys wore good wool britches generally. Like horsemen throughout the ages, the working cowhands of the late 1800's considered themselves a step or three above the rest of the humans, even if they often didn't have a pot to pee in, but their gear ws more often than not top of the line or at least the best they could afford.

Back when I worked as a cowhand in ranches in So California, in the late 1960's and early 1970's, most working cowhands  I worked with wouldn't think of buying anything less than a good custom saddle from Visalia, Hamley, or others, Paul Bond Boots were and still are considered top of the line by many - other brands were worn, but almost all were handmade and not off the rack Acme's or other catalog brands except maybe when mucking out stalls or such ground work, and gun gear came from either places like the previous mentioned saddleries or shops like George Lawrence or El Paso. And from the working cowhands I know today here in the SW and the Great Basin, most are still the same - although I know a few who wear farmer caps and running shoes because they don't want to get mistaken for a truck driver or C&W singer........    

Appearances then and now still count for something amongst caballeros of all types - especially when they're young, tough, and full of the ole pee and vee........

As for women's hairdos I've always liked the Gibson girl look and also like longer skirts - a quick peek of a well tuned ankle still makes this ole hivernant's heart flutter .......and put a woman in a bucksin skirt and outfit or even better an Indian dress and I be as happy as a man can be - mystique has it's own charm... for the rest well as Charlie Rich sang - I prefer it behind closed doors.........

[ChuckBurrows]

BTW - here'a a link to some of Gary Hendershotts' catalogs:
http://issuu.com/dreamedia/docs/catalog_148_comancheria

http://issuu.com/dreamedia/docs/catalog_141_issuu/1

http://issuu.com/dreamedia/docs/catalog_142_issuu/1

http://issuu.com/dreamedia/docs/catalog_144_issuu/1

To save pics you'll need to use screen capture software but there's lots of freebies out there - I like this one
MW Snap - real easy to use......http://www.mirekw.com/

Note the Plains Indian gear and deco also had an influence on cowboy gear - chaps are really nothing more than heavier weight Indian leggings with an integral belt, pockets, etc.

[ChuckBurrows]

Here's an 1868 pic - the Texas Ranger on the right has harness spots on his spur straps and his hat