This is an awesome ladies antique tooled sidesaddle that I have had here on display for years. In our remodeling, I had a weak moment and thought I would put it up for sale, however, if it doesn't sell, I will happily keep it and display it in a new location here as it is by far the nicest antique sidesaddle I have ever had. Other than dusting it off, I have done nothing to it. When I got it I was told it belonged to the great grandmother of the person who sold it to me. She was from out west and it was displayed in her grandmother's living room for as long as she could remember. She dated it circa 1850. It is in excellent condition for a saddle that old with the exception of some dark staining to underside padding and a few teeny slit tears in the fabric. Where the tree fits into the underpadding it is stretching and pulling out some. There are also some surface cracking to the larger tooled leather flap and the dainty stirrup shows rust. The suede seat and smaller leather flap are in such superb shape, I think it must have been restored at some point, but not recently and then possibly not used much if any after that as it doesn't show much wear. If it was restored, whomever did the leather work, did a superb job as it is hard to tell if it ever had anything done to it and looks so original. The girth and stirrup leathers are supple and also very good with only minor wear showing on stirrup leather. The web girth has some minor stains, possibly rust. In my opinion, this is a museum quality saddle and would be an excellent addition to any antique saddle collection. I do not recommend using this saddle as its value is in being an antique and the integrity of something so old is just not safe for using. I just love this saddle and will hate to have it possibly go. This will be the only time I offer it for sale, so if you are interested, this will be your only chance at it. Buyer will be responsible for shipping or pick up.
