Lot 179 email save

Important 1860s Marcus Stern, San Jose Saddle

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Slick fork, rawhide exposed cantle, Sam Stagg center-fire rigging, bold raised floral carving, maker-marked M Stern in three places on the seat. Maker-marked, MARIN HAAR / PETALUMA / CAL on the exposed tree, 17" long tapaderos. Leather is supple with a marvelous original patina, PICTURED: Dan Hutchins, Old Cowboy Saddles & Spurs, 6th Ed, 1996, Pg 99 & Pg 121. PROVENANCE: Estate of Michael Kammerer, Santa Fe, NM Survivals of Marcus Stern's work are quite rare; in fact, only a very few are known to exist. It is all the rarer for having the name of the tree maker – Martin Haar of Petaluma – visible through the rawhide of the cantle. According to city records, Haar was in business from the 1860s to the early 1870s. The Marcus Stern piece is an exceptional example of an 1860s California saddle, with its external rigging, outsize tapaderos, exposed horn and cantle, and fine, deep floral carving throughout. It is entirely original, except for the replaced strings —Ron Soodalter, Chappaqua, New York

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