|
Great-grandpa's old stock saddle that's been sitting on a rack in the barn for decades, or the long-tarnished set of spurs hanging in the tack room might just be what Bob Mattson and his friends Bruce Haener and Griff Durham are looking for. The three have teamed up to assemble an exhibit of historic cowboy memorabilia for the annual Monterey Cowboy Poetry, Music Festival and Art and Gear Show, which will be held Dec. 9-11 at the Monterey Conference Center. Mattson owns Bob Mattson's Saddlery on Robinson Canyon Road near Carmel Valley Road; Haener of Los Osos restores and replicates old-time cowboy spurs, bits and other range hardware, and Durham, of Reno, is a historian, exhibitor and consultant to cowboy museums throughout the Western states. Antique saddles are a passion for Mattson, who has been a saddler for 33 years, first apprenticing himself to saddler Bill Long of Spokane, Wash. That interest was kindled when Mattson lived in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, where "I was making a living buying and selling antique wood-burning stoves," he said. He had gone to an Indian reservation in Montana to pick up a stove and the price for taking it was to haul away the other contents of the shed where it was stored. Uncertain what to do with them, Mattson took them to Long's shop in Spokane, and "as soon as I walked through the door, I was ruined." The smell and texture of leather, the shaping and crafting of saddles, took over from there. "Until then, I thought a saddle just came with the horse. I didn't know such things were possible." Old, neglected saddles can "disintegrate, just disappear," when left too long, he said, and some he's found are so old and brittle "you can tear them like cardboard." But they can be brought back to life. "There are no secrets. I use liquid glycerin. An intense, deep cleaning is the first step." It's not a matter of repair, but conservation, he said, "so they'll be around another 100 years." Antique cowboy gear has suddenly become a hot collectible, and the craze has been accelerated by trading over the Internet, Mattson said. His own collection includes leatherworking tools, saddles and gear dating from the 1840s. He and fellow aficionados identify and appraise the old equipment: saddles and bridles, lariats and halters, spurs, boots, jackets and chaps, using old catalogs or reprints of catalogs, and attending shows and auctions in Arizona, Wyoming, and "the biggest and most inclusive of them all," the Paso Show at the Pioneer Museum in Paso Robles on Nov. 5 and 6. Collectors' prices for Old West memorabilia, both cowboy and cavalry, have gone through the roof, Mattson said, and the items are fast disappearing. "It's difficult to find old Army saddles," he said. "They used to be everywhere." Particularly prized are the black McClellan saddles issued to the Indian-fighting cavalry. A rarity is a French-style cavalry saddle made by the Army's Rock Island Arsenal in the 1920s. Other collectibles include saloon and gambling memorabilia, rodeo posters and books. "All of (Monterey artist) Jo Mora's stuff is in demand," Mattson said. Mora's statuary adorns the Monterey County Courthouse in Salinas, and his work includes carvings, murals, ornaments, posters and book illustrations throughout the county. Those who want to lend items for the Monterey show can contact Mattson at 624-8146. This is cache, read story here
|
