ANTIQUE 1859 US PATENT MODEL - IMPROVED TREE FOR SIDE OR LADIES’ RIDING SADDLE

Description

ANTIQUE AND AUTHENTIC 1859 US PATENT MODEL - TREE FOR SIDE OR LADIES’ RIDING SADDLE. On September 13, 1859, Henry Adams of New York City, New York, was issued U.S. Patent No. 25,375 for an Improvement in Trees for Side or Ladies’ Saddles. The object of the invention was to “obtain a tree that will be capable of adjusting itself to the back of the animal and correspond to its size and form so that a perfect fitting saddle may invariably be obtained, one that will not injure the horse but fit snugly and comfortably on the back of the animal and at the same time form a more agreeable seat for the rider than those of usual construction.” This saddle-tree was submitted as a model of the invention to the United States Patent Office. Patent models were required from 1790 to 1880. The US Patent Office used to publicly display the models of approved patents. The collection of models suffered two major fires - one in 1836 and another in 1877. The 1877 fire destroyed 75,000 models so this saddle model is a true survivor. Over the years, the US Patent Office has donated models to the Smithsonian Museum (1908 and 1926) or sold to collector Sir Henry Wellcome (1925). Patent models are still housed at the Smithsonian, Franklin Institute and the Hagley Museum and Library. This model measures 12 inches in length, 10 and 1/2 inches at its widest and is 6 and 1/2 inches tall. The saddle includes its original patent tag. The patent drawing and notes on the saddle and its description are a modern printing - notes on the patent submission can be found on the internet. The shipping cost of includes packaging in a heavy cardboard box, bubble wrap and packing peanuts as well as insurance for ,000.