Originally published in Points West magazine in Fall 2001
Edward H. Bohlin: Saddlemaker and Silversmith to the Stars
By Barbara Foote Colvert
Former Publications Coordinator
Necessity may be the mother of invention, but it took an artisan of practical experience and artistic vision to create the exquisite saddles and silver filigree that made Edward H. Bohlin the “Saddlemaker and Silversmith to the Stars.”
A long and winding road led Bohlin to his life’s work. Born in 1895 in Sweden, Bohlin immigrated to America at the age of 17 just before the outbreak of World War I.[1] Determined to make his mark here, he immediately applied for citizenship and made his way westward. He worked as a cowboy and ranch hand in Montana and Wyoming and first conceived the idea of making quality saddles of distinctive design.
Drawn to Cody in 1917, Bohlin began working on a ranch owned by Buffalo Bill, and also worked at the Pitchfork Ranch owned by photographer Charles Belden. Between ranch jobs, Bohlin opened a leather shop in Cody across from the Irma Hotel where he began perfecting his skills working with leather and silver. He created several pieces for Belden, and his reputation as an artist and craftsman began to grow.
After spending a few years in Cody, Bohlin moved to Hollywood to learn more about the refinements of saddles and leatherwork in demand there. He entered show business as a trick rider and roper, hobnobbing with stars in the business, and appeared in several pictures before launching the career he was meant to carry out: fashioning distinctive saddles, silver and leather products. His leather business soon expanded to include saddles, spurs, and fast draw holsters.
Bohlin’s original designs incoporated gold and silver filigree used in combination with leather. His skill and artistry soon caught the eye of western movie idols such as Tom Mix and Gene Autry[2] and a spectrum of sportsmen and horse enthusiasts with a cultivated eye for the efficiency and quality that distinguished Bohlin’s impeccable design. His shop, the Edward H. Bohlin Co., located at 5760 Sunset Boulevard, clinched his reputation as the “saddlemaker to the stars.”[3] He never lost sight of the cowboys with whom he had lived and worked, however, and their need for sturdy, serviceable gear to take them through hard long days and nights on the range.
In 1930, Bohlin expanded his business further by launching the Edward H. Bohlin Catalog.[4] Filled with photographs of Bohlin’s original designs, it featured saddles constructed using the finest saddletrees covered with heavy beef or bull hide. They ranged in style from the plain and serviceable to the luxuriously ornamental, with complementing bridles, breast collars, bits, spurs and spur straps. Personal accessory items such as bola ties, belts and three-piece belt sets, watchstraps, and hatbands carried the Bohlin three-color gold or gold and silver motifs that distinguished his design.
A section set aside in the catalog entitled, “Western Clothing – The Bohlin Tailor Shop,”[5] carried the kind of western wear and accessories that became the hallmark of Hollywood movie stars. “Hand tailored on the premises” shirts, jackets, moccasins, and buckskin shirts, gloves, and jackets were meticulously made to order.
Patrons could order western clothing directly from the catalog or have their western wear custom tailored using particular fabrics and patterns. A selection of Stetson hats topped off Bohlin’s clothing line. Additional items featured in the catalog included a silver plated telephone, leather picture frames with silver filigree adornments, and automobile hood ornaments. Featured last was the downright practical that included sweat scrapers, hoof picks, boot hooks, bootjacks, and saddle soap.
Edward H. Bohlin, saddlemaker and silversmith died in 1980. His craftsmanship continues in the hands of skilled craftsmen and women using original dies from Bohlin’s designs.[6] Items are made one at a time as he created them himself, insuring that the Bohlin eye for “classic design, exquisite execution, and sense of timeless style and grace” will continue.
Notes:
1. Hutchins, Dan and Sebie, Cowboy Saddles and Spurs, Horse Feathers Ranch, 1993, p. 17.
2. Ibid., p. 17.
3. Ibid, p. 17.
4. Bohlin, Edward H. Catalog of the World’s Finest Riding Equipment and Accessories and Silver and Leather Goods, Edward H. Bohlin, 1941, p. 6.
5. Ibid., p. 201.
6. Ibid., Foreword.
