|
ORIGINAL COAT STRAPS FOR THE MODEL 1859 – 1872
McCLELLAN SADDLE – VERY RARE OFFERING - SET OF 5:
An extremely rare offering that is not likely to be
repeated, this is a set of 5 original coat straps to
complete your Civil War or early Indian War McClellan
Saddles. So rare that most collectors have never seen
one, much less a set, these coat straps were the
component of the McClellan that suffered the most wear
and were subject to being broken off or removed from the
saddle, and those that did survive disappeared into the
piles of unidentified leather strapping in the surplus
dealers’ warehouses.
This set of 5 coat straps show obvious signs of use and
modification through the period of their service life,
but all are distinctly identifiable, and were obviously
used as a set. All retain the original Civil War era
(and early Indian War era) black japanned buckles. They
were removed from the Civil War saddles to be issued
with later patterns of McClellans, evidenced by the use
if the iron “star pattern” rivets that came into use in
the late 1880’s. These straps vary in length from the
full length of 33’’ to 20”, having been shortened during
use or to suit the particular needs of a given soldier,
and some still retain the original round leather stops
that kept the straps from pulling through the coat strap
slots in the saddle. They show evidence of having been
coiled on the saddle, with several still holding the set
of the distinctive “pig tail” coiling used by the army.
The straps are all supple, unbroken, and with an overall
nice finish to the leather. The leather has not been
treated, and I have left that decision to the next
owner’s discretion.
Original coat straps are almost never found intact on
the original saddles and they are virtually non-existent
in the collector’s market as loose components to
complete your saddle, yet they are an integral part of
every McClellan Saddle and necessary to present the
saddle as it was issued to the soldiers. I have two
sets of five straps each, and the rarity of this
offering cannot be overstated. Having been actively
buying McClellan saddles and their components for over
25 years, these are the first sets I have had for sale.
(0416) $750 per set
|
