G.S. GARCIA, Elko, Nevada. A HISTORY Of The WORLD FAMOUS SADDLEMAKER by David L. Van Meter

Important product catalogue and biography of iconic Saddle Maker Guadalupe S. Garcia who in 1894 established Elko, Nevada as the Vaquero Cowboy gear mecca of the wild west. Western Cowboys and Buckeroos of the Great Nevada Basin saw themselves as elite horsemen and inherited an appreciation for horse finery from early Mexican ranchers. Vaquero inspired design and craftsmanship is reflected in the exquisitely made saddles, spurs, and bits from G. S. Garcia. Famous for creating the only saddle in history to win two gold medals, one at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis, Missouri, and at the 1905 Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition in Portland, Oregon. Cowboys were willing to pay two years wages and endure a years long wait list to purchase a Garcia saddle.

Published by Avail Publishing Co., Reno, Nevada, 1984. First and only, edition. Hardcover, original Publisher's brown textured cloth with embossed gilt printing on the front cover and spine, 11.25" x 8.75", 204 pages, richly illustrated in black & white with 122 large photographs and over 100 images of saddles, bits, spurs, ropes and everything a Vaquero requires reproduced from Garcia's 1914 catalogue. NEAR FINE Condition: just a touch of age/use to the fore-edge from thumbing, otherwise tight, bright, clean and unmarked, an excellent copy. Uncommon.