Found at Bannerman’s under a leaking third floor roof, this Civil War Officer’s Saddle shows years of neglect and poor storage. Its last 30-odd years were spent in the loft of a backyard shed.

View showing the badly distorted rawhide covering from under the sidebars. Efforts to reshape and restore it were futile.

Leather components in treatment/reshaping phase. Every effort was made to retain as many of the original leather and hardware parts as possible. Sadly, only portions of the rawhide remain under the cover leather.

The tree showing the bottom portion of the padded, quilted seat. Made of black leather , it is installed top grain down.

Near side rear view of the restored saddle. The black leather dye is original to the saddle and was not retouched. Just a gentle wiping with a damp cloth, not wet, a pH stabilizer, and Pecard treatment brought the original color right back. Really is pretty amazing!

Two large iron studs are present on the pommel face, presumably attachments for a set of holsters.

Near side frontal view. All four iron rings and staples are present as are the the saddlebag hold-down straps on the skirts.

Due to shrinkage and distortion of the padded seat cover, the arc in which it is secured to the pommel had to be lowered. The top arc of brass tacks marks the original point of placement.