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Victor Ario Saddlery Great Falls, MT Batwing Chaps

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:25.00 USD Estimated At:250.00 - 650.00 USD
Victor Ario Saddlery Great Falls, MT Batwing Chaps
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This lot shows a pair of working cowboy batwing chaps. They were made by Victor Ario Saddlery Company of Great Falls. Victor Ario immigrated to the United States from Austria, and moved to Great Falls, MT in 1891. When Victor Ario arrived in Great Falls, MT he went to work for J. B. Steffen and Tom Moreland where he worked as a saddle maker applying the trade he had learned in Austria from his Father. By 1903, Victor Ario was sole owner of the Victor Ario Saddlery Company which over the coming years led to big success. These chaps are darkened with age with a contrasting brown stamped waist. They have double layered leather conchos and "Bar NL" stitched on both legs. Presumably this was a ranch that the owner worked on. According to the book, “Saddleries of Montana – Montana’s Makers from Territorial Times to 1940” by Jay C. Lyndes, Bobby R. Reynolds, and E. Helene Sage on page 153, figure 5.10 taken from a page of the Victor Ario Saddlery Company Catalog these chaps show a Wyoming Catalog Batwing Style which would have cost $24.00 and was No. 5 on page 20.