Dating Holster tooling

[Major 2]

I have been hunting for specimens of the tooling on holsters.
For the late 1860's to late 1870's...
It seems Plain , Plain w/ border tooling , full or partial Floral were common....

When did basketweave come in ... the earliest I found is about 1885....?
I know it became quite popular by 1900.

[Marshal Will Wingam]

When did basketweave come in ... the earliest I found is about 1885....?
I know it became quite popular by 1900.

You probably have found the earliest for that. I didn't know basket weave was done before 1890. The 1890's certainly is when it gained popularity.

[St. George]

Pick up a copy of 'Packing Iron' - by Rattenbury.

It's an excellent reference source - with great pictures - and addresses your search.

Basketweave is more closely associated with the 1920's than anything else.

Floral is older, as is plain machine embossing on the hosters sold through the big Mail Order houses.

Vaya,

Scouts Out!

[Flinch Morningwood]

I don't have my copy Packing Iron with me, but I made a couple holsters (pictures in old post) based on an example I seem to rememeber was in the later part of the California Style section...it was a hand done basket weave and I think they dated it it to the 1880's...but I've been wrong before.

By hand done, I mean no basket weave stamp - just a knife and a beveler.

From my limited research/understanding, it seems that, in general, tooling and full decoration (floral) was big on California (Slim Jim) type holsters, then went more to border stamps with the rise of the Mexican loop and then various types of tooling came back during the late 1880's and onward...probably fueled by the availibility of catalog ordering and machinery back East. 

My feeling is that, like any other artifact, the nicer or more costly something is, the more likely it might survive...whether it's a Roman sword or medieval glassware or a cowboy holster.  Having thrown that out, it might explain why a really nice tooled Mexican loop is still around while plain working holsters aren't represented in the numbers to indicate their use "back when."

Just my two cents and, as I said above, I've been wrong before...

[Major 2]

Pick up a copy of 'Packing Iron' - by Rattenbury.

It's an excellent reference source - with great pictures - and addresses your search.

Basketweave is more closely associated with the 1920's than anything else.

Floral is older, as is plain machine embossing on the hosters sold through the big Mail Order houses.

Vaya,

Scouts Out!

right your are ...I have PI that's were I found the 1885 example ...
dang,  I have three fine made Basketweave holsters ... and they will be out of my date window