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MM Bohlin Headstall with Garcia Bit

Currency:USD Category:Antiques Start Price:1,000.00 USD Estimated At:2,500.00 - 4,000.00 USD
MM Bohlin Headstall with Garcia Bit
Montie’s personal Edward H Bohlin, Hollywood floral tooled split-ear headstall with five Bohlin conchos and a Bohlinmade 3-piece buckle set attached to a Garcia, Salinas maker-marked loose jaw Fresno Bit, Cat Pat No. 26, made with a US or California half-breed mouthpiece. The bit has been customized by Garcia with Montie’s MM brand in raised gold letters on each of the engraved 2” scalloped silver conchos. Bridle and bits are in very good overall condition c 1940s. Includes Montie’s Personal Hackamore (Jaquima) made from a braided rawhide bosal with leather hanger composed of two strips of latigo interlaced to both sides and a cotton rope for reins

Property from the Estate of Montie Montana (1910-1988)
Born Owen H Mickel in 1910, Montie traveled with his dad, E O Mickel and mother. Billed as The Montana Cowboys they did whip and rope acts and put on a slide show about the American West. In 1929 while working the Buck Jones Wild West Show, the announcer could not remember his name, so he announced him as Montie from Montana, and as Montie tells us from his Autobiography, the crowd loved it and so did I. From then on he became known as Montie Montana. As a star of the silver screen, stage and rodeo arena, Montie entertained audiences around the world for more than 70 years. He rode in 60 consecutive Rose Parades and is most famous for roping President Eisenhower in the 1953 Inaugural Parade. From 1945 to 1965 Montie thrilled over 8 million school children with his stagecoach and Horse Rex. Montie was also known for riding his horses into equally famous places such as the top of the Empire State Building, The Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, The Brown Palace in Denver, The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs and the top level government offices across the country. Though he received hundreds of awards and honors during his extraordinary lifetime, he remained a cowboy at heart. Montie was deeply grateful that he could make a living doing what he loved best and it showed. He had the most wonderful laugh and was always smiling. An avid collector of western artifacts he kept treasures from early on in his career and enjoyed them throughout his life. His legacy lives on with the stories captured in his autobiography where he tells us that he lived in a great era, from the horse and buggy to the space age. Although he has ridden on ahead, I know that he’s in tall cotton with other great western heroes up there and that his horses are knee deep in green pastures and that he’s still a cowboy, because he always said, “I must have been born a cowboy, because I’ve never thought of being anything else!”..........Marilee Montana