Tom and Nels Qualey were born in Idaho and learned to make bits and spurs on their family ranch. They worked together and marked their pieces “QUALEY BROS.” When the family sold the ranch Nels stopped working as a bit and spur maker but Tom continued on and produced his own pieces marked “QUALEY”, there […]
Romi Pomi was a California maker who worked on ranches and taught himself bit and spur making. He would produce pieces in his spare time for friends and as special order items. Pomi helped teach Ken Ramoni how to make bits and spurs and passes his style and techniques along. Pomi is known for having […]
Harry Pollard was born in Nebraska but moved his family to Wyoming where he bought a harness store in Douglas, Wyoming. He ran the store for many years and is relevant to bit and spur collectors because he sold bits and spurs with his stamp that were made by Phillips and Gutierrez as well as […]
Little in known about Batista Pini’s life but it is known that he was born in Switzerland and that in the early to mid 1900s he was working on California ranches, his work is typical of the California style with bits and spurs featuring inlaid silver with fine engraving.
Phillips and Gutierrez was a partnership between William Phillips and Raphael Gutierrez who had worked together at GS Garcia’s shop and decided to go into business together. The business did not last more than a few years so pieces marked P&G or Phillips & Gutierrez are quite in demand. Their bits and spurs are very […]
Kurt Pfeiffer was born in Colorado and learned the trade of blacksmithing which was his primary business. He did produce bits and spurs and he produced very high quality work, but there are only a few pieces known to exist.
Wilmer Pabst was a blacksmith by trade who learned some basic bit and spur making from At Tietjen. His work is a bit crude by comparison to some of the finer makers but has plenty of character. He didn’t make many pieces and most of his work were bits.
Frank Olzer was born in 1855, not much is known about his early life. It is known that he ran a harness shop in Gillette Wyoming where he sold his own leather goods as well as bits and spurs made by Phillips & Gutierrez among others. He later moved to Prescott Arizona and opened a […]
Nolte Olsen, or Olsen Nolte was a saddle shop in San Francisco that was started by Al Nolte in 1936, John Olsen joined Al in 1937 and the two were a partnership for a few years. Ownership interests changed hands repeatedly but the firm continuously provided bits, spurs, saddles and gear much of which was […]
North and Judd was a very large company based in Connecticut and produced saddlery and other hardware from bells to buckles. The firm employed hundreds of workers and eventually would buy out the Buermann company in 1926. This is why you’ll often see many Buermann patterns with the North & Judd Anchor Brand as many […]
