The "Goodnight Style" sidesaddle came into being during the late 1880s, 1890s. It's quite possible that's correct, although documenting it will be difficult. The b&w photocopy I emailed you gives a date of 1866. Prior to finding the saddle in Oregon, nobody's had an exact date on these western sidesaddles. The saddle in her photos was made by J S Calles, Prescott, AZ. Fellow sidesaddle enthusiast and saddle maker Lillian Chaudhary of Willows, CA sent me the information shown on the attached black & white photos. Both have the distinctive "medallion" or "sunflower" design on them, and have other very similar elements, such as a handhold (somewhat rare in sidesaddles) and a pretty purse on the right side of the saddle. I think the mystery of the "medallion sidesaddles" has been solved! I'd sent you photos of 2 western sidesaddles that are on display in our shop. ASA Certified Instructor " He has written extensively on this subject, and for further reading interested parties can purchase his book "The Sidesaddle Legacy", through Marti Friddle VP American Sidesaddle Assn. I specialize in ladies sidesaddles and have been dealing in them for 35+ years, these two are part of my private collection. I have attached a photo of the stamp." Thanks, Julia Washburn L. It also has a bull stamp on both stirrup leathers and tooling across the seat. "My husband has a saddle that his father bought back in the late 1960s. The Eddleman stamp is still in Graham, Texas as are the patterns for Eddleman Saddles." There is a way to tell whether an Eddleman saddle is before the time of the selling of the saddle shop and after according to an agreement with the Eddleman's. The Eddleman stamp was still being used until 1994.
The business flourished under the new owners and Eddleman saddles were still being made by the saddlemakers who worked for the Eddleman brothers until the 1980s using Eddleman patterns. There is no record of the saddle company burning. There is quite a bit of history about ownership changes.ĭorman Holub, Graham, Texas adds the following information: "If the building burned in 1957 - that would have made The Graham Leader in Graham, Texas. The Eddleman Bros brand was used from about 1897-1957.