Preserving The Cowboy Way Of Life

 
It seems that in this day and age and thanks to ATV's and Semi-Trucks, the old American Cowboy way of life is disappearing. Most ranching and cattle operations rely on this modern "horsepower" rather than actually using horses for most of the cattle work. Collecting and preserving some of the old cowboy gear, when we are lucky enough to find it, is one way we can preserve some of that way of life.
 

Bits and spurs are two of the popular cowboy gear items that are becoming very collectible. Although there are many new pieces still being made today, especially in Mexico, the old pieces made by the famous spurmakers of the cowboy era are the ones that are highly prized. These craftsman made real pieces of art by hand forging the spurs out of molten metal then overlaying or underlaying with real silver and engraving intricate designs in the silver. These works of art were not only beautiful, but functional as well.

Who were these famous spurmakers? Some names to watch for are Oscar Crocket, G.S. Garcia, Les Garcia, August Buermann, Mike Morales, J.R. McChesney, P.M. Kelly, The Boones or J.O. Bass just to mention a few.

These artists usually put their names or marks inside the heel bands on spurs, but could also be placed on other areas such as on top of the spur shanks or under a spur button. Sometimes the spurmaker did not put an identifying mark or his name at all. In that case, the spur can be identified by the style or the "finish" of the spur. Most of them had a "signature" style or trait that is usually seen in all of his works. By studying the styles and designs of each craftsman and being able to determine age, you can become adept at identifying and gauging the value of antique spurs.