Pure Cowboy

Member: National Bit, Spur & Saddle Collector's Association and Texas Longhorn Breeders Association of America

Item #PSA500 / $7,500.

William "Bill" Haass - His Personal Parade Saddle

This exceptional and unique master crafted saddle was built by William A. Haass, silversmith to Edward H. Bohlin, Porter, Visalia and Keyston Brothers.  Mr. Haass was born in 1922 and was 83 years old when he passed away in 2005.  This saddle was acquired through his estate.

Mr. Haass worked with leather and silver from the age of 14, in the early 1930's.  He purchased the Newton Porter saddle that is the framework for this remarkable piece of American artistic history just prior to his apprenticeship with the saddlemaker while he was living and working on the Weldon Ranch.  He used the saddle daily.  As was the case with many of the early saddlemakers and silversmiths, Mr. Haass held a number of different occupations over the span of his life.  He was a working cowboy and a rodeo cowboy before apprenticing and, after many years, himself becoming a master saddlemaker and silversmith. 

Upon his retirement in the early 1970's, Mr. Haass moved to Bakersfield, California.  Mr. Haass set to work transforming his saddle into this masterpiece of silversmithing techniques and leather engraving, stamping and gilding that he had learned over a half a century of practicing and perfecting his art. 

In 1985, Mr. Haass finally completed his creation, having completely overlaid the top seat, fenders, skirt, jockeys, swells, gullet and horn with his amazing hand carved leather work. From that day on, it was proudly displayed in his Western decorated home. 

Newton Porter, originally from Texas, opened a shop in Phoenix, Arizona around 1898.  He passed away in 1912 but his sons were among the most important saddlemakers in the world during the 1930's and 1940's (along with Olsen-Nolte, Garcia Saddlery, Visalia and Edward H. Bohlen). From the 1890s through the 1960s, Porter's Saddles employed two dozen or more master craftsmen, who tooled and sewed the saddles.  Their saddles were world famous for being among the finest made. 

When the saddle was finally finished, Mr. Haass had added an amazing number of embellishments to his saddle, including:

• Sterling silver hand engraved saddle horn cap with multiple silver conchos, one of them overlaid with an antique Mexican gold coin dated 1856.

• Hand carved floral tooling (in an original pattern) overlaid on the swells and gullet, seat, jockeys, skirt, back and cantle.

• Adorned Swells with 4 Sterling silver conchos [2 of them 1 & 1/2" and 2 of them 2 & 3/4"] as well as sterling silver buckles, keepers and tips of the rope strap and strings.  Silver tips were added to the all the saddle strings, though the tip is missing on one.

• Custom made latigo keeper, tooled with a brass slot.

• Jeweler's bronze rope inlaid along the front of the fork, above the gullet and just below the cantle binding on the seat.  There is also some of this rope on the horn.

• Overlaid top seat with hand-carved floral leather (original pattern) and added 4 sterling silver conchos measuring 4 1/2".  He engraved a new maker mark that reads: W. A. HAASS / BAKERSFIELD CALIF. / N. PORTER CO. / PHOENIX, ARIZ.

• His name, "HAASS", tooled into the back of the cantle, surrounded by the floral pattern and a set of steer horns.

• The back and skirt are overlaid leather with buck stitching.

• The fenders are overlaid with fully tooled leather matching all the rest of the saddle.  The initials "W" "H" in sterling silver were added to the fenders, measuring 1" high and hand engraved. 

• The stirrup hobbles have sterling buckles and keeper.  Mr. Haass made stunning 25" eagle tapaderos with sterling silver horse head tips and conchos with gold horse heads.  One of the tapaderos was made by Mr. Haass after an illness and is slightly different from the other.  Both of them are buck stitched and beautifully engraved with multiple tools.  The 3" bell stirrups have tooled leather treads.

• A stunning addition is the hundreds of small brass tacks that are each painstakingly set into the leather at exacting intervals of 1/2" adorning the entire saddle.

This is a one-of-a-kind piece of western saddle making and silver-smithing history, made by a man who learned from the California masters.  At the close of his career, Mr. Haass chose to use his art and talents to create the epitome of the "Western Parade Saddle" with time and money not factoring into the equation.  A labor of love for the American West and the Art of the Silver Saddle, this is truly a museum unto itself, as each examination of the saddle yields more examples of the original techniques and beautiful patterns of leather and silver to delight to observer.

The saddle has a 13" seat with a 4" cantle and 14" swells.

William Haass Personal Parade Saddle / Item #PSA500 /  $7,500.

Click Here To E-mail Us About This Saddle!

Contact Us To Arrange Your Purchase

Please contact us at your convenience:  michael@purecowboy.us or sarah@purecowboy.us

Members: National Bit, Spur & Saddle Collector's Association

The American West is celebrated and collected by people all over the world -- we offer easy international shipping, by either the US Postal Service, UPS, Federal Express or Container.

Pure Cowboy, 1770 West State Street, # 315, Boise, Idaho 83702

 208.342.5019 or toll free: 888.575.1890

All items sold by Pure Cowboy are for decorative purposes only.  All other uses are exclusively the buyer's responsibility

Copyright © 2008-2014 Pure Cowboy