LOT Brian Lebel's Old West Events  /  Brian Lebel's Old West Auction  / 

246

Dixie W. Thompson's Loomis Saddle

Currency:USD Category:Western Americana / Collectibles - Old West Start Price:30,000.00 USD Estimated At:60,000.00 - 80,000.00 USD
Dixie W. Thompson's Loomis Saddle
Contact Brian Lebel's High Noon Auction prior to bidding if you have a lot inquiry.
Dixie W. Thompson’s Historic Silver Saddle Outfit
Spectacular, one-of-a-kind, handcrafted saddle by Loomis Saddlery, with custom silver by the Tiffany-trained artist, Edwin Field. Complete with bit, headstall, breast collar, reins, martingale, cinch, skirt and lariat, all circa 1888-90. Commissioned by Santa Barbara capitalist, rancher and one-time sea captain, Dixie W. Thompson, the silverwork alone took over two years to complete, and was fashioned with bullion from Mexican silver dollars. Dixie rode the saddle in numerous parades, and it was exhibited at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. The saddle is discussed in detail in numerous newspaper articles of the time, including the May 4, 1896 “San Francisco Call”, which referred to the saddle as having “the reputation of being the most gorgeous thing of its kind in the world.”

Loop seat saddle with quilted, padded seat; solid silver corners with attached rings; extensive and fine silver mountings in floral designs with lions and other decorations at the front; silver-wrapped, tooled stirrups. Separate bottom skirt or third-skirt, combination saddle pad, with tooled edges and silver accents. The bridle features a massive head plate, hand engraved in scroll, “D.W. Thompson. Santa Barbara. 88”; domed conchos and huge silver buckles. The bit is overlaid, engraved silver by Mardueño. The reins are knitted silver wire with engraved chain connectors, with attached romal with six ball-tipped chain poppers. The martingale is knitted silver wire with a large, heavy silver central heart with repose flowers and leaves. The entire ensemble is breathtaking, and should be seen to be believed. It is maybe the finest saddle outfit we have ever seen.

Provenance: Dixie W. Thompson Estate; to M.H. de Young Museum, San Francisco, CA. Proceeds to benefit the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco’s acquisition funds.

The Dixie W. Thompson Silver-Mounted Loomis Saddle and Accessories
By James Nottage, April 2015
“Captain D. W. Thompson’s magnificent sorrel gelding, caparisoned with his still more magnificent silver mounted saddle, with solid silver headstall and reins, was to be seen this morning in all his glory at the Arlington, where the guests of the hotel were admiring both horse and mountings. The rider, Don Antonio María Guiterrez, walked him up and down the court of the hotel.”
--February 7, 1889, Santa Barbara Daily Independent

It is a saddle outfit with a clear pedigree and every characteristic to make it one of the most important of its kind. Part of its importance comes from the reputation of the original owner. Dixie W. Thompson was born in Maine in 1826 where he grew up and learned the ways of the sea, first as a cabin boy and later as the master of a ship. In 1849 he sailed to Panama, traveled overland to be picked up by a ship on the West coast, and headed north to California in search of gold. He made a living as captain of a steamer, invested in a rancho, and by the 1880s held thousands of acres, some near Santa Barbara. He successfully raised wheat and introduced lima bean farming to the region. He was prominent in the Ventura area of California, where Thompson Boulevard is named for him. By the late 1880s, his growing wealth allowed him to live in some comfort and as publications of the period note, he became very famous for the outfit created for riding his horses named Canute and Tecuinseh. Thompson acquired the best gear possible and consciously celebrated the Hispanic traditions of early California.

The Thompson-Loomis Montadura
“It is not generally known that Santa Barbara has almost a monopoly on the attractive Mexican stamped leather trade, and that one firm, S. Loomis, is the largest single manufacturer of stamped leather fancy goods in the State of California, if not in the world, employing four men constantly on this class of goods.”
--October 29, 1889

In an 1893 article by M. C. Frederick entitled “The Californian Montadura”, the author describes the complete equipment of a riding horse from the point of view of the ranchero or vaquero. The article gives significant attention to the firm of S. Loomis in Santa Barbara for creating especially beautiful equipment in the traditions of the Hispanic riders and goes to some length in describing one Loomis outfit of particular note. Credit is given to Dixie Thompson for endeavoring to preserve the heritage of the region, noting that: “he accordingly had a saddle and bridle made of such surpassing beauty that there is nothing in the country to equal or approach them. The saddle is made entirely of Mexican art leather (as this stamping is now called) of exquisite workmanship, and very costly.” Thompson provided Mexican silver coins to be used in the embellishment of the saddle and accessories. Completed in 1889, the outfit continued to be developed and transformed with the addition of more silver until full completion in 1900. Made up of many distinctive elements, the outfit can be broken down into its basic components.

The saddle was built by Al Loomis, working in his brother’s shop, and the tooling is clearly the fine detailed floral work of that shop.The edges of each component are also embroidered in the piteado style with cactus fiber and the seat is quilted. The saddle pad is also tooled on the edges. As evidence that silver was added after initial manufacture, one can see conchos overlaying the delicate tooled leather.

Overlaid with engraved silver, the bridle bit “is as elegant as Señor Madrueño [Vicente Mardueño, 1865-1933] could make it, which is saying a great deal.” Overall the silver work is attributed to Edwin Field (1820-1902). A unique element of the construction of the bridle and breast collar is the use of silver wire, knitted into cord using a centuries old technique sometimes referred to as “Viking Knit” or “trichinopoly chain.” As described in the 1893 article, the Mexican “dollars were cold-drawn into fine wire, which is closely crocheted into sections joined together with heavy links and rings.” The author goes on to describe the bridle as being “covered with fluted silver, except the brow-band and nose-piece, which are finely engraved. Two slender chains cross the face under a six-pointed star.”

It is likely that the wheat heads on the pommel are an acknowledgment of Dixie Thompson’s farming success. The beautiful floral elements on the fenders may pay homage to his raising of lima beans. The Active Life of the Thompson-Loomis Outfit

“Captain D. W. Thompson, with his famous horse and saddle, left on the steamer Santa Rosa for San José, where he will take part in their floral parade.”
--May 4, 1896, Los Angeles Times

The Dixie Thompson saddle outfit was ridden in numerous parades between 1889 and 1903. As such it appeared in the Native Sons parade in San Francisco in 1900. Thompson and his outfit were often seen at Fiesta and other parades in Pasadena, Los Angeles, and elsewhere.

The Passive Life of the Thompson-Loomis Outfit
It has been said that the outfit was exhibited at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893. Following Dixie Thompson’s death in 1903. The outfit, including Thompson’s sombrero, was then donated by his widow to the M. H. de Young Museum in San Francisco, where it was publicly displayed for many years. In more recent times it was shown at the Santa Barbara museum.

The Dixie Thompson saddle outfit is one with a clear provenance and it is the finest known product of several critically important artists: the shop of S. Loomis, Santa Barbara, the bench of saddler Al Loomis, the forge of Vicente Mardueño, and the hand of Edwin Field. The condition of the outfit is exceptional. The opportunity for a museum or private collector to recognize its importance and to acquire the outfit is as exceptional as the outfit itself.

“Dixie Thompson was what might be justly termed a decidedly picturesque character. He was known by all as a man of great generosity, supporting his family in a quiet, unostentatious way. He became quite noted in the Pacific Coast cities as the owner of a famous silver saddle made from Mexican coins, which has been on exhibition at Los Angeles fiestas and important occasions in San Francisco and other northern cities for several years past.”
--April 17, 1903, Los Angeles Times

Sources cited:
The California Illustrated Magazine, IV, 2 (San Francisco, CA., July, 1893), 179-186;
Los Angeles Herald, Volume XXVIII, Number 13, 14 October 1900; “Dixie Thompson’s Saddle.”
Sausalito News, Volume 19, Number 17, 25 April 1903; “Dixie W. Thompson Dies of Dropsy.”
Accessed, April 1, 2014: http://islapedia.com/index.php?title=THOMPSON,_Dixey_W.
The M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California, by William L. Sheldon, M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, 1921.
Sign In to Bookmark Lot