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LOT 3172
Outstanding and Highly Attractive Silver Mounted, Steer Head
and Cattle Brand Tooled, Two-Tone Edward H. Bohlin Buscadero Double
Holster Rig for Single Action Army Revolvers - Manufactured c. the late 1960s
to early 1970s, this is an outstanding example of the work of one of the most talented
leather workers of the 20th century, Edward H. Bohlin (1895-1980). Bohlin was born in
Sweden and at the age of 15 left home and began working his way to the United States,
landing in New York in 1910. He quickly headed westward, working as a cowboy in Montana
by 1912, and by 1916 was in Cody, Wyoming, working ranches, driving a stagecoach, and
learning leatherwork. In the early 1920s, Bohlin had opened his own leather shop but also left
to join a traveling Wild West show, which didn’t last long. In 1922, he landed in Hollywood,
California, and opened a small leather shop, scratching out a meager living at first, but slowly
expanding his list of famous Hollywood clientele. Eventually his list of clients would include
the likes of John Wayne, Clark Gable, Roy Rogers, Clayton Moore, William Boyd, and many
more. For multiple decades, outside of the silver screen, one of Bohlin’s best promotional
events was the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, where a plethora of riders used
leather goods made by him, particularly the silver mounted and deluxe offerings, much like
this example. Bohlin himself claimed to have ridden in every one of those parades from
1922 to 1972. In 1945, Bohlin opened his new shop on Highland Avenue in Hollywood,
offering a full range of western gear. Through masterful marketing and promoting of his
brand, he managed to turn his shop into the gathering place for the most well-known
cowboys of California and the west, both the real ones and those only for show in film and
on television. This particular masterpiece by Bohlin has every appearance of being made
for just such a high profile cowboy, though the original owner’s identity is unknown. This
specific holster rig is truly an iconic piece of western art and Americana, created by the
hand of a legendary craftsman at the absolute pinnacle of his craft. There is a very distinct
possibility this is both the most unique and finest piece of gun leather artwork to ever
leave Bohlin’s shop. The holster rig itself is in the “double buscadero” configuration, which
was almost entirely popularized by its use in Hollywood movies and television shows. The
buscadero rigs were designed with quick-draw techniques in mind, dropping the holster
or holster down the thigh so the grips of the revolvers were at hand level, and the barrels
of the revolvers could clear the holsters quicker. This example shows Bohlin’s incredible
tooling and silver work throughout, with almost the entire surface being tooled with various
cattle brands on a stippled background. The cattle brands in brown are contrasted against
the dark black background. On the belt, above each of the holsters is a longhorn steer’s skull, also
in brown, with a bullet hole in its forehead. The remainder of the surfaces that aren’t tooled, are mounted
with very nicely engraved triangular and diamond shaped silver conchos. There is a single row of cartridge
loops on the back portion of the belt. The holsters will accommodate Single Action Army revolvers with 4
3/4 inch barrels. The strap ends of the belt are also engraved silver with the end of the billet stamped with
Bohlin’s maker’s mark on the back. It is fitted with an attractive, large, 4 inch diameter, wagon wheel belt
buckle that is silvered and features a gold horse’s head at the center. The back of the buckle has a McCabe
Hollywood silversmith’s maker’s mark and is also marked “10K”. The belt measures 4 inches wide along most
of the length, widening where the holsters mount, and is just over 57 inches in total length, likely having
been made for someone with a 48 to 52 inch waist. Included with the holster rig is a 1973 dated invoice from
California Arms Inc. as well as some photograph prints of the piece.
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