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Alfredo Campos Horsehair Quirt

Currency:USD Category:Western Americana Start Price:100.00 USD Estimated At:2,000.00 - 3,000.00 USD
Alfredo Campos Horsehair Quirt
Hitched horsehair quirt by the master, with black background, crossed American flags, in deep Cheyenne red and turquoise;
marked inside lanyard loop. 41" overall.

Unrivaled in the lost art of horse­hair hitching, Alfredo Campos is intimately involved in every step of the process, from gathering hair to dyeing, then designing the final product. Campos points out that he has never been to prison, but did study historic penitentiary-made pieces in order to master the complex knots and patterns.

Alfredo Campos (b.1935)

Alfredo Campos from Federal Way, Washington, is one of the world’s foremost horsehair hitchers. In 1999, Alfredo received national recognition for his work through a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. Born in 1935 in Tucson, Arizona, Campos grew up on his family's ranch, immersed in Western ranching life and skills. He was first drawn to making horse gear with rawhide. Years later, after a move to the Pacific Northwest to find work at Boeing, he became aware of horsehair hitching, teaching himself this complex art form by trial and error, through the study of historic prison pieces, and by referring to Eugene Barnett's book, "The Art of Horsehair Hitching." In 1984 an article about Alfredo and his hitching appeared in Western Horseman magazine and sparked an increased interest in this art form. Alfredo continues to lead the revival of horsehair hitching, with his eye for excellence inspiring many 550.