Myres Saddle Company, Papers, 1898-1969 and undated

Creator: S. D. Myres Saddle Company

Collection #: S 744.1

Language: English.

Biographical Sketch

Born on November 22, 1871 in Johnson County, Texas, Samuel Dale Myres was the son of David Rittenhouse and Mary Jane Dale Myres. The oldest of six children, Myres opened the S. D. Myres Saddle Company in Sweetwater, Texas, in 1898. He was involved in many civic organizations including serving as president of the Sweetwater Commercial Club, serving on the local school board from 1914-1915, and being the mayor of Sweetwater from 1908-1911. In 1920, Myres moved his company to El Paso, Texas. The company became famous for its superior craftmanship and Myres mingled with many famous western actors and personalities of his day. Myres' marriage to Drusa Rogers produced three children - S. D. Jr., William James, and Melrose, and his second marriage to Eva Forkner resulted in no offspring. In 1953, Myres passed away and was buried in El Paso.

The Handbook of Texas has published a more in-depth online biography of Samuel Dale Myres at http://www.tsha.untexas.edu/handbook/online/search.html

Scope and Contents

The materials include correspondence, financial material, legal material, photographs of company products, and printed material consisting primarily of company advertisements, calendars, stationery, and catalogs.

Conservation Note: The collection contains 214 prints, many of which have some spots of mold growth. 19 of the prints were sent to the conservation lab due to very active mold growth, as well as 2 leaves of paper.

Restrictions

Open for Research

Related Material

For related materials located in the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, see the following collections:

S. D. Myres oral history interview [sound recording], 1950

S. D. Myres Papers, 1879-1962 and undated

Lee "Pop" Myres oral history interview [sound recording], 1970

Preferred Citation

S. D. Myres Saddle Company Records, 1898-1969 and undated, Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas

Acquisition

Gift, 1962

Processed by

Lynn Whitfield, 2000

Additional Sources

Myres, Sandra L. "S. D. Myres: Saddlemaker." Thesis (M. A.) -- Texas Technological College, 1961.

"Big Spring Daily Herald," July 7, 1953

Cunningham, Eugene. "Tio Sam-Saddle Man." Horselover Magazine, February-March 1951

Collection Inventory

Box 1

General Files

• Folder 1, Catalog Proof Pages, undated
• Folder 2, Catalogs with Myres Saddle Company Work, 1920-1959 and undated
• Folder 3, Copyright on Myres' Pendulum Saddle, 1954

+++Correspondence

• Folder 4, General, 1913-1919
• Folder 5, General, 1921-1929
• Folder 6, General, 1930-1936
• Folder 7, General, (3 prints included), 1940-1949
• Folder 8, General, 1950-1954
• Folder 9, Advertising, 1954-1955 and undated
• Folder 10, Jackling, Daniel C., 1925-1926

+++Customer Orders

• Folder 11, "A," 1943
• Folder 12, "B," 1943
• Folder 13, "C," 1943
• Folder 14, "D," 1941-1943
• Folder 15, "E," 1943
• Folder 16, "F," 1943
• Folder 17, "G," 1943

Box 2

• Folder 1, "H," 1943
• Folder 2, "I," 1943
• Folder 3, "J," 1943
• Folder 4, "L," 1943
• Folder 5, "M," 1943
• Folder 6, "N," 1943
• Folder 7, "O," 1943
• Folder 8, "P," 1943
• Folder 9, "Q and R," 1943-1944
• Folder 10, "S," 1943
• Folder 11, "T," 1943
• Folder 12, "U and V," 1943
• Folder 13, "W," 1943
• Folder 14, "Y and Z," 1943

• Folder 15, Deposit Books, 1909-1920

Box 3

• Folder 1, Financial Material, 1898-1963
• Folder 2, Hat Catalog Material, 1939 and undated
• Folder 3, Legal Documents, 1953-1954 and undated
• Folder 4, Notebooks, 1905-1935 and undated
• Folder 5, Patent on Holster, 1936-1940
• Folder 6, Postcards: Myres Saddle Company, undated
• Folder 7, Printed Material, 1938-1969 and undated
• Folder 8, Ten Thousand Dollar Saddle, 1914-1916
• Folder 9, War Department, 1943
• Folder 10, World War II Preference Rating, 1942-1943

Box 4

• Folder 1, Oversized Materials, "They Ride the Myres Saddle" Calendar, 1911 (3 copies)
• Folder 2, Oversized Materials - a heavy, wood mounted engraving plate
• Folder 3, Oversized Materials - a sound recording, "Tio" Sam Myres, KTSM, El Paso, undated