The Old West's Holsters Were All Wyeths
- Red Nichols the Holstorian
- Jan 18
- 3 min read
Updated: Jun 11
Wyeth was situated to capture the purchases of wagon trains flowing west in the mid 19th century, at the very point that Pony Express deliveries began: St. Joseph, MO. By the end of that century the company had a saddlery that was the largest in the world by employing 500 men. It specialised in making gunleather for catalogue retailers and so their own name was rarely on the goods, and often the retailer's name (or other saddlery's) would be stamped on it. Sold only by the dozen, per model and size.
Enough Wyeths that DO have their name on them, and Wyeth catalogues with matching images, have survived that we know a Wyeth when we see one by its construction details including border rolling and sewing type and markings.





We know that symbols are powerful announcements of brand identity. Who my age doesn't remember, "You can tell its MATTEL, it's swell":

Back on track: another gunleather holstorian affirms that the bulk of the Old West's gunleather was by Wyeth and not from the small saddlers in the Territories. And here's more affirmation: even the famous outlaws were packing Wyeths. Here's Jesse James' Wyeth; Jesse was killed 1882 at his home in St. Jo:

And below the Sundance Kid's Wyeth, from a maker who markets direct copies of Kid's original (the inset is my image of the Wyeth, note esp. the matched stamping of the holster):

Then there are the holsters marked by famous saddlers but instead are, you guessed it, Wyeths. Note the stamping of J.S. Collins of Wyoming below, but on a holster that has been made with Wyeth's impression plate shown above on Sundance Kid's.

Wyeth's range includes more than those shown below, but it's a start for you.
WYETHS 'CUFFED' CATALOGUE HOLSTERS:




WYETHs 'OLIVE PATTERN' CATALOGUE HOLSTERS:








Above, the standard Wyeth that also was of Jesse James' persuasion is at 35/36.
We have many dated Wyeth catalogues with images of same; this one is early 20th century:

And of Wyeth's many mail order retailers, too. Below is 1894 and it is the earliest such catalogue we know of, and for good reason: big catalogues were too expensive to print then mail until the turn of the 20th century when new machines could print them cheaply (called offset lithography) and USPS drastically lowered mailing costs by weight using the 'class' system. Both are what made Sears and Wards viable and they, like most all mail order houses, offered Wyeth gunleather (I could show ALL of them but takes up space):

Wyeth serviced hardware stores in the western States with traveling salesmen; note below the massive catalogue collection in this Wyeth salesman's bag. Which is why the cowboy market was so readily serviced with Wyeth products when it came time to outfit these men:


Wyeth also made the advanced-for-its-time forward draw holster, rare, called the Sterling. How do we know? A rare brochure named its designer/maker and he has been located in records as working for Wyeth all his adult life. Famed Ranger "Lone Wolf" Gonzaullas had a pair for his matched 1911s that are in the TR museum in Waco. Unmarked by their maker as was Wyeth's custom . . ..
To read more about it all in my book titled "Holstory -- Gunleather of the Twentieth Century
-- the Second Edition", click on the new link at top of page.
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