It will be an essential resource for anyone who would know or portray the cowboy-readers, writers, songwriters, and actors among them.
This comparative look at vaqueros, cowboys, and buckaroos brings the mythical image of the American cowboy into focus and detail and honors the regional and national variations. They also highlight the many common traits of all three groups.
They draw on historical records, contemporary interviews, and numerous photographs to show what makes each group of mounted herders distinctive in terms of working methods, gear, dress, customs, and speech. In this book, three long-time students of the American West describe the history, working practices, and folk culture of vaqueros, cowboys, and buckaroos. The buckaroos of the Great Basin west of the Rockies trace their origin to the vaqueros, with influence along the way from the cowboys, though they, too, have ways and customs distinctly their own. From them, Texas cowboys learned the trade, evolving their own unique culture that spread across the Southwest and Great Plains. The first mounted herders were the Mexican vaqueros, expert horsemen who developed the skills to work cattle in the brush country and deserts of the Southwestern borderlands. Herding cattle from horseback has been a tradition in northern Mexico and the American West since the Spanish colonial era. Vaqueros Cowboys and Buckaroos Book Review: Featuring 300 photographs, this volume is an absolute must for all equestrians, as well as for collectors and admirers of this unique and totally American craft. Unmarked but distinctly pictured in the early Visalia Stock Saddle Co catalogs as pattern No 78, these important double-mounted Northern California spurs with 2', 16-point spoke rowels feature cutout floral patterns on the heelbands and four coin silver spots surrounding a larger central engraved dome. THE ART OF THE WESTERN SADDLE also provides a look at the many exquisite and unpublished examples of the finest in silver and gold overlay and filigree saddle silver created by the West's preeminent metalsmiths. Visalia Spurs with John Koster, San Francisco History. Many saddles of the stars are featured from the golden age of the Hollywood Western these include outfits belonging to the Lone Ranger, Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, Barbara Stanwyck, Ken Maynard, and Buck Jones. Bohlin, McCabes, and Keyston Bros., along with contemporary makers such as Chas Weldon, Dale Harwood, Chuck Stormes, Don Butler, Chuck Treon, Jeremiah Watt, and many others. Illustrated with historic and contemporary examples of saddle style and decoration, THE ART OF THE WESTERN SADDLE highlights the work of makers such as Visalia Stock Saddle Company, Meana, Miles City Saddlery, Porter, Hamley, Edward H.
The saddle-the epitome of form following function-evolved to meet the utilitarian needs of the rider and his tasks, be they work or pleasure. The ability for early man to domesticate and ride the horse created the rapid advancement of man's capability to travel and explore. Filled with detailed photographs and illustrations, this book celebrates the saddle as a decorative hallmark of subtle beauty while fulfilling the utility of its principal purpose. Winner of the American Horse Publication's Best Equine Book Award of the Year (2004) Finalist for the 2005 Ben Franklin Award Spanning time and technique, THE ART OF THE WESTERN SADDLE is a celebration and visual feast of the graceful artistry of the western saddler and his craft.