PACKING IRON: GUNLEATHER OF THE FRONTIER WEST

Rattenbury, Richard C.

ISBN 10: 0939549085 / ISBN 13: 9780939549085

Published by Zon International Publishing Company, 1993

About this Item

216 pages. Hardcover with a dust jacket. Hundreds of sharp, detailed color photographs, plus reproductions of many historical photographs. The American West was won with a multitude of firearms, from single-shot pistols and Colt revolvers to Plains rifles and Winchester repeaters. Her the variety of military and civilian gunleather that housed this romantic array of weaponry is illustrated. The first work to competently and accurately describe the holsters, gunbelts, saddle scabbards and various other equipment which made carrying and wearing firearms practical. Organized by style and date, with more than 300 exceptional color photographs, and 100 important historical images Packing Iron is a handsomely designed portrait of this important facet of our frontier heritage. The extensive, entertaining, fact-filled text provides a fascinating history of these artifacts and recognizes the many leather artisans who created these cultural heirlooms. The reader is introduced not only to the military products fabricated at historic government arsenals, but also the romantic spectrum of custom gunleather made by western saddlers. Here, one encounters the work of famed frontier craftsmen like Collins, Frazier, Furstnow, Gallatin, Gallup, Heiser, Main & Winchester, Meanea and Myers. A beautiful and very informative reference. The bottom corners are bumped along with a number of the bottom front tips of the pages. The inside of the Book is clean and bright and the binding is solid. The Dust Jacket bottom corners are also bumped and there is some wear at the top of the spine and where the Dust Jacket wraps around the covers at the top. Overall a solid Very Good copy of both the Book and the Dust Jacket at a reasonable price. Seller Inventory # 6172

Bibliographic Details

Title: PACKING IRON: GUNLEATHER OF THE FRONTIER WEST

Publisher: Zon International Publishing Company

Publication Date: 1993

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Very Good

Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good

Edition: 1st Edition.

About this title

Synopsis:

Western gunleather is an icon of American frontier lore. Packing Iron celebrates the artistry and innovation of the craftsmen who designed the gun rigs of the old time cowboys, troopers, lawmen, and Hollywood heroes. This unique art form is fully described and richly illuatrated with more than 300 exciting color photographs and nearly 100 rare historic images. In the pages of Packing Iron you will discover gunleather produced by historic government arsenals, along with the famed frontier craftsmen like Collins, Meanea, Gallatin, and Heiser.

About the Author:

Richard C. Rattenbury's enthusiasm for western gunleather was sparked in 1989 while doing research for an exhibit at the National Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Center in Oklahoma City, where he is Curator of History. A long-time student of firearms and western material culture, Rattenbury formerly held curatorial positions with the Winchester Museum at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Cody, Wyoming, and with the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, Canyon, Texas. Over the past 15 years he has authored three exhibition catalogs on firearms history and technology, as well as more than 30 articles and monographs for such publications as Man at Arms, American West, History News, Military Images and Persimmon Hill. Rattenbury resides with his wife, Suzette, in Edmond, Oklahoma.