15 July 2009

Cowboy Spurs and Western Memorabilia

By Bill Anderson

Many people collect antiques as an investment for their future but others just collect items for the love and devotion to a particular subject, era or place. As well as the more popular vintage and antique items that people collect, there is also a strong number of people who love nothing more than to collect the original pieces of original American history.

Whilst some people who collect Americana will be interested in owning items used during The Civil War or collecting old vintage silver dollars, there is also a set of people who are still caught in the romance of the Wild West and are collectors of cowboy spurs and other western tack.

The Cowboy Spur is a simple object which began its life back in ancient Rome where it was implemented as a small spike protruding from the riders footwear. Since then it has become a symbol of the Cowboy, the farm hands that moved and drove cattle from one part of land to another. The boot spurs were used to help control their steed and provide a little extra coercion to perform what the rider wanted it to. The spur changed from being a simple item to a custom made flamboyant show of a Cowboys style and individuality, adorned with silver, gold and hand printed and carved patterns and designs. Custom made spurs are items of beauty and fine craftsmanship that any collector will be proud to own.

There were many different styles of cowboy spurs made by the now famous blacksmiths and makers and each bore their makers mark. The marking denotes history, value, age and also a clue to the possible usage of the spur and who may have used them. Some makers were also commissioned to produce spurs for the mounted cavalry and others were responsible for producing the majority of the spurs and western tack across the whole of Western America.

Through time, the processes and knowledge of making spurs dies with the people who made them famous. Also, as with any type of venture that ends up making money, larger and more powerful companies took over smaller home grown business and drove others to close down. Towards the end of the era of spur making, there was one large company, Renalde who owned the majority of the spur making industry.

There can be nothing better than owning items from Americas past history. These items from the wild west belonged to the fore fathers and founders of the great country that now towers over the rest of the world.

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