This nice set of pommel holsters fits a pair of Colt Navy revolvers. Even after the shift to belt holsters pommel holsters remained part of a well-appointed mounted officer’s horse furniture and were marketed by many military goods dealers such as Schuyler, Hartley and Graham. That firm pictured them among the saddle furniture for field and regimental staff officers, but they were also to be found on the saddles of any general or volunteer staff officer, as well as those of generals themselves.

This set is made of black saddle leather, both the holsters and yoke, and the covers. The covers show nicely tooled lines around their lower edges and on the upper edges, rising over the hinge stitching, to secured it to the yoke strap with the help of a convex brass rivet or tack, above which a narrow strap with buckle passes through the yoke on either side to secure the whole set to the pommel. The cover flaps each bear a general staff officer’s button, underneath which on the inside is secured a long latch tab that would fit over a brass stud mounted lower down on the holster body, concealed by the bound lower edge of the flap. Both studs are in place. One latch tab is torn across the fastening hole. The holsters and yoke strap are solid. Lower down, the brass tubular end caps are in place, as are the tie-down straps with brass horse-shoe buckles that are buckled around the tubes. The vertical straps on the reverse of the tubes to engage the tie-down straps are in place.

The condition is very, very good. The leather is solid, sturdy, flexible, has good color and surface, and has not been treated with any preservatives or polish. The finish shows some expected craquelure from age, but no significant finish loss, just some rubbing to the edge binding of the covers and a few small dings to the muzzle caps. The staff buttons and horseshoe buckle show nice, muted gilt with minor rubbing. The muzzle caps have an aged brass patina. We have tried a pair of Colt navies in these and they fit, though a bit a snuggly from the leather drying and shrinking slightly over the past 160 years. They are unusual in still having the secondary straps with them and we like the extra touch of having general staff buttons on the covers, which would be appropriate for any of the officers likely to use them. They would dress up any officer’s saddle display. See Meadows’s excellent book on holsters for some nice parallels and photos of officers with these.  [sr] [ph:m]

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