Henry Hotze & Sons 1862 - 1962

by Bent Hotze

Page 4

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Practically all American saddles were made of cowhide - English riding saddles had pigskin seats and cowhide strapping. Stock saddles get high use with very little care.

Now, we get into making the saddle. For the most part Hotze brought skirting leather which was sold by the pound and not leveled like strap leather. In order to get the most coverage, Jay Kay bought light cowhides. The hide of the cow usually runs from 14 oz. in the butt to 10 oz. in the shoulders. Bellies much thinner - maybe 4 to 6 ounces. An ounce is 1/64 of an inch. Jay Kay would use a round knife and cut off the bellies first, than using rough patterns, would cut the various parts of the saddle, putting the weight into parts that got the most strain such as the stirrup, leathers, and fenders for wear. The shoulders or the back of the hide went into straps. The seat was cut from light, stretchy leather such as the bellies except for English riding saddles in which case it would be pigskin.

Saddlers were paid by piecework. A job usually consisted of 12 saddles. The saddler would take the rough cut parts, wet the leather parts, and than wrap them in an old burlap sack and let them "Case" overnight. The next day he would take these pieces of leather and work tallow into them, using a hand sleeker. Next he would take this finish patterns, (since the leather was worked out of shape) and re-cut them into their finished shape, and than he would stretch them onto the saddle tree, which was quite a job, using  tacks to hold them in place while they dried. Albert Hotze, the foreman, and later superintendent, developed a device for stretching the seat onto the tree. He used a stitching horse and a heavy webbing band, and a foot ring. He stretched the seat tightly on the tree and then cinched the side straps on the stitching horse into it's notched frame. Next the pommel and the cantle were fitted on, and the stirrup leather, attached to the tree - the "jockey" was used to cover the attachment. Later leather strings were attached to the back of the cantle, also to the pommel. Accessories, pommel bags, as well as saddle bags were made in another part of the factory. Hotze was a small factory; never exceeding 24 hands, porter, (did the packing, storing, etc.), book-keeper and a woman office clerk.

Jay Kay's expertise in buying, designing, and cutting, was the spark plug that kept the small business alive. He also made up the catalog. Uncle Harry (second generation), when not on the road, kept the books. Uncle Charlie, (second generation), traveled for the company, and worked in the shipping department when not on the road.