Spur Help

[MyNameIsEarl]

I did not post pictures because I did not want to go through the trouble if I can't find the help.

I am looking for someone to assist me in finding the value of a pair of unique Buerman Spurs. I have dated them to 1880ish by the patent and marks on the spurs.

I got them from my grandfathers estate. As he grew older alot of his stories became more glorified. This story remained the same as long as I can remember and my father says this also.

He got the spurs in trade for rebuilding a generator for a cowboy. The spurs are made by Buerman and I found the patents on the spurs to date around 1880. The person told my grandfather that they had been previously owned by Theodore Roosevelt on one of his hunting trips in the west. I know he came to Arizona several times, where I am from.

Now I have no way to prove they came from President Roosevelt. I have emailed pictures to his muesum and they could not locate any evidence.

So at this point I am just looking for a value of the spurs without them being from him. If I can ever prove they did, then I would pursue that.

Can anyone point me to someone that would be able to help me value these spurs, if they are worth something, I want it covered on my insurance.

Thank you for any assistance you can provide.

[railman44]

Even though you have the name of the maker, we're still flying blind without a picture(s).  Some spurs are worth some very good money.  Posting a picture is not that difficult if you have a digital camera.

[MyNameIsEarl]

I apologize to you dial up people. Here are the pics.  I have taken about 50 and these are the best I can do with my camera. 

[regularjoe2]

Purdy nice fancy spurs there , podner .

Not a bad idea to have them appraised by a specialist .

Suggest you try to search horseback photos o/l of Mr. Teddy , with special attention to his spurs ( & your patience ! ) ; also library resources for the same , in the event you're not doing this already .
Sometimes such research bears fruit ( and can drive ya batty in the process ) & you're bound to find out new things about Roosevelt in the process .

I bet the rodeo museums might have a clue or 2 too ...

Wish I knew more to pass on to you , MNIEarl .

[railman44]

Very slow to load but interesting,
http://books.google.com/books?id=RRbbvVHDnVwC&pg=RA1-PA32&lpg=RA1-PA32&dq=Buerman+catalog&source=bl&ots=03vH5PGKPO&sig=m4P0lkx11gLnMTvsPA-lvJ0xey4&hl=en&ei=jHU3SuHyJorIM9Hc6YgN&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7#PRA1-PA7,M1

[MyNameIsEarl]

Thanks for the comments and the link to the book.  I have acutally read that book.  The band of the spurs is not inlay but soldered.  Not sure what type of silver but it is silver.  The shank is inlayed silver and appears to have had a great deal of work put into it.  I have also searched what Buerman catalogs I can find and have found one of spurs close to these but they were not exactly the same.  Thats why I believe these were custom built.  Which fits the theory or story my grandfather told.  The pair in the catalog were called "Californians".  The shanks was very simular and the width of the band, but the band of the model was made of bronze, these are iron.  But very simular.  From what I have learned the Californians are worth around $800 in good shape.

I would love to get them appraised but I am a bit apprehensive.  I found two people so far one in Texas and one in Montana.  The person in Texas returned one email and I have emailed them several times with no returns.  The person in Montana wants me to send them to him, that makes me nervous.

I have considered the muesums.  Any other thoughts?

[regularjoe2]

Without a provenance on these spurs , perhaps you could approach your insurance agent ( or a dif. one ) for a rider on your current insurance to cover their current value ; or purchase separate insurance for these ( and any other do-dads you may not be presently covered for ) .

I'd go along with not sending something off across the country to be appraised by some stranger , MNIEarl !!!
The economic considerations of having a professional appraiser value items include : is it going to cost more than the thing is worth ?
My experience with Pro appraisers has varied a bit ; when an item is valued at > $10,000 , I consider using them .
I've chosen to insure a few things that could not be properly covered by standard insurance .... I have not had a loss yet , but I do sleep easier .

I guess that my question here is about which is most important to you  : value/replacement cost ... or the true history of your items .

I personally invest more of my time into finding out somethings' history than it's price , due to the fact that prices go up & down , but history remains (mostly) stable .
This isn't the case for everyone , of course.
A couple of years back , I sold an antique to a buyer who paid $2K more than what it was worth , just because I had provenance that it had been owned by a famous person ...go figure ...

When I'm doing research on an obscure item with no positive results , I just keep 'turning over rocks' anyway .
I am hoping you find the right rock !
BTW - have you checked out silversmiths & military-related history of Mr. Teddy ?

[D&b antiques]

if one is to believe. what one read's. roosevelt's belt buckles Knive's & Spur's were made A specialy for him of Silver by tiffany's of New york.

If these were of silver content. then just Maybe..... who else was wearing silver spur's?

[KC]

The Lone Ranger?

Sorry D&b, couldn't resist!

I agree, do not mail them across country to an unknown!  You wouldn't know how to insure them for anyway!

I guess I can check around for a good appraiser of western items when I return to TX in a couple of weeks!  Maybe someone will shed light on it before them.  Checking out the photos of TR on horseback is going to be one of your best bets at this time.

Best of luck.

[MyNameIsEarl]

All good information and thank you!  I have been looking at whatever photos I can find of Teddy on horseback and so far no rocks!  I am also trying to find who might have the Buerman records if they even exist to see if there is sales records to him.  From what I have read and researched only a few spur makers of this time would do such intriquet work.  Most spur makers would make spurs would not or could not do the inlay work, due to the hours involved.  If this is true with these spurs, then these would have been special order and specially done.  In the Buerman catalogs I found simular looking spurs but there are differences in the heel band and shank.  It would make sense that someone ordered these by looking at the different styles avaliable and combining two or three styles and then having the silver work done.  I have emailed several collectors I have found on the internet and a couple of museums.  No one has responded yet except one but I think I know more about spurs then he does and I really don't know alot.

I am guessing that they are worth around $1,000 and a couple local spur makers gave me that price.  They admitted they are not in that business of collecting and commented that the workmanship in the spurs was very high.  This price is just the value of the spurs, not the history behind them.

I guess I am looking for two things.  The fair market value of them and the history (if thats possible).  They have value to me since they were my grandfathers for a long time but I would consider selling them if they were being put to a good use, just not hanging in someone's den (they do that now).  I would absolutely love to find some history and have them placed in a Teddy Musuem somewhere so everyone can enjoy them.  They really are a beautiful set of spurs.

I tried to get on Antiques Roadshow when it comes to Arizona but I was not selected for tickets. 

I know they have a wide range of appraisers and people with alot more knowledge than me.  I was hoping for someone I knew that was going and would send them along, but I don't.

Any more suggestions on places to research would be greatly appreciated.  I have worked off and on this for a couple years and I am starting to get a little frustrated.

[regularjoe2]

The fact that there is silver ( silver-soldered , 99.9% no doubt ) on your spurs indicates to me that the work was done by someone who was experienced in fabrication of mixed metals .
Silver-soldering is a specific skill , especially when combined with ferrous metals .
Even the highly skilled blacksmiths of the era would be unlikely to have such/much experience with this skill .

Borax , used as flux for the silver-soldering process , and silver of at least 56% purity is needed for proper bonding and creation of the alloy that indicates true silver-soldering .
Although these materials were fairly common to find during the era , using them in an artistic manner was not .

Looking at 'campsite' and/or hunting party photos of Roosevelt might help too ( saddles , tack , etc. ) .
Checking to see if he had any guns decorated with silver might be a clue as well .



I tip my hat to you , for your perserverance !!!

[D&b antiques]

If in deed his Spurs Buckle's & knives were made by tiffany's of New york. I would think there trade mark would be present.

[regularjoe2]

Another tid-bit that you may already know -

Check and see if they're stamped with the letters AB inside the yoke band ... if they are , it indicates that they're hand made custom spurs designed by August Buermann .

[MyNameIsEarl]

I found a guy who Texas who knows alot more than I do.  They are difinetly Buermann spurs and were made pre 1900.  They were hand made and hand inlayed.  He said there is no record of Buermann ever using Tiffany to do silver work, he had his own people do it.  He estimated their worth $2500+.

I have what I need for the spurs, now I just need to research the history of them.

There are also no known sails records of Buermann pre 1900 so this may be a diffacult research.

[regularjoe2]

Congrats on your research so far , MNIEarl !

I've done some looking around @ pics of Roosevelt , found several on & off horseback when wearing spurs , but none like the nice ones you have .