At the present time, we are not taking any restoration projects. With past restoration, we brought a combination of our knowledge and expertise in various art and craft fields as we collaborated on each piece we were asked to restore.
We have been commissioned for restoration work for High Noon, Los Angeles, California; Fighting Bear Antiques, Jackson, Wyoming; Antiques of the Old West, Big Timber, Montana; Medicine Cap Studio, Port Orchard, Washington, and individual collectors. We restored some of the bridles photographed in the book, Horsehair Bridles: A Unique American Folk Art, by Ned and Jody Martin, and from 2012 through 2015, we were also technical advisers for this book. It was published in 2016.
Each piece is unique and has its own challenges. Restoration work is intense and requires more hours than expected. Until restoration is complete, it is difficult to know how many hours are necessary to restore the item.
The historical value of some items can be jeopardized with restoration. Some pieces are fragile and best left alone. At Montana State Prison, cotton butcher twine was taken from the slaughter house and used to hitch over. Cotton rots over time. Old pieces may have cotton rope as the core, which is subject to rot.
There were some things we would not do on old pieces, i.e. restoration of the actual hitching. Each row of hitched horsehair is dependent on the previous row and the next row. We would not jeopardize the piece.
Consider carefully if restoration is appropriate for your item.
Old Pieces: Appraisals, Buy & Sell
These businesses are experts at providing these services on old pieces. We have met them all and have done restoration work for all of them. They’re listed in alphabetical order.
1. Antiques of the Old West, Elmer & Jan Diederich, P.O. Box 756, Big Timber, MT 59011; 406-932-7787;
website: www.elmerdiederich.com ; e-mail: elmer@elmerdiederich.com .
2. Fighting Bear Antiques, Terry & Claudia Winchell, P.O. Box 3790, Jackson, WY 83001; 307-733-2669;
e-mail: store@fightingbear.com . Their store is located at 375 South Cache, Jackson, WY.
3. High Noon, Joseph & Linda Sherwood, 9929 Venice Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90034; 310-202-9010;
website: www.highnoon.com ; e-mail: info@highnoon.com .