Antique Texas Hope Pattern Saddle c.1870s-1880s Western Americana Star Cowboy For Sale

Offered is a scarce antique Texas Hope-pattern saddle, believed to date to approximately the 1870s–1880s. Braided reins included.

Brand: Unknown
Type: Western Saddle
Style: Texas Hope / Hope Pattern
Approx. Date: 1870s–1880s
Material: Leather / Wood / Rawhide / Metal
Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
Culture: Western Americana / Texas
Original/Reproduction: Original antique
Provenance: Unknown
Condition: Used / Antique – see description and photographs

This is a historically important style of Texas saddle descended from the Hope saddle tradition developed in Texas in the 19th century. The Hope pattern originated in the 1830s and was heavily influenced by the Mexican vaquero saddle. After the Civil War, the pattern evolved into what became known more generally as the Texas saddle and became an important working saddle of the American frontier.

• Antique Texas Hope / Hope-pattern construction
• Estimated late 19th-century date, approximately 1870s–1880s
• Wooden tree with rawhide-covered construction
• Broad, flattened Mexican-influenced saddle horn with metal cap
• Large leather skirts with distinctive five-point star metal corner ornaments
• Numerous original-looking decorative metal nail/washer elements
• Heavy leather fenders and stirrup leathers
• Wooden/metal-trimmed stirrup construction
• Decorative leatherwork and tooling
• Very substantial, heavy frontier-style construction
• "23" stamped into the leather, location shown in photographs
• Beautifully aged dark leather and metal patina

The saddle has the distinctive combination of a flattened Mexican-influenced pommel/horn, decorative nail-and-washer hardware and five-point star skirt ornaments that can be seen on documented late-19th-century Texas Hope saddles. A comparable saddle offered by Rock Island sale was attributed to South Texas and dated to the 1870s–1880s. Length from edge of seat to horn 15".

The Hope saddle has an important connection to early Texas history. The Hope family established saddle-tree production in Texas in the 1830s, and surviving 19th-century documentation records extensive use of Hope saddles by Texas frontiersmen, surveyors, military personnel and Texas Rangers. A collection of 1856 testimonials preserved by the Smithsonian includes statements from men who had used Hope saddles as Rangers and on frontier expeditions.

Please note: While Hope saddles were historically used by Texas Rangers, I do not have documentation proving that this particular saddle was owned or used by a Texas Ranger. It is therefore being offered as a Texas Hope-pattern saddle, not as a confirmed Texas Ranger saddle.

This is an antique saddle with substantial age and use, and it should be expected to show the wear associated with a working saddle of this age.

The leather displays extensive age cracking, drying, surface wear, discoloration and areas of deterioration. There are worn and distressed areas around the edges, straps and hardware. Some leather components may have been repaired, replaced or modified during the saddle's long working life. The metal hardware has an aged patina and shows oxidation/discoloration consistent with age.

The saddle is being sold primarily as an antique Western Americana/horse-equipment collectible and historical display piece. I have not attempted to restore, condition, or otherwise alter the antique materials.

Please examine all photographs carefully, as they are an important part of the description and show the condition in detail.

The date is an estimated attribution based on construction and comparison with documented Texas Hope saddles. I am not claiming a specific manufacture date or maker.

The saddle may contain an older Hope tree with later leatherwork or modifications, which is common enough with working saddles of this age that the exact age of every component cannot be established from photographs alone.