The value of a hand-carved leather suit bag from the late 70s.
I bought this hand-carved leather suit bag in 1977 from a store called From the Hide in Fort Worth, Texas. Earl Palmer operated the store at that time. Harry Tompkins, one of the top bull and bareback bronc riders in the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s, consigned two suit bags to the shop. I bought this one for $300.
I have been a big fan of Tompkins since the days I used to rodeo. I managed the Back Stage Club at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo, where Tompkins came to watch the rodeo for about 10 years. This is where he signed the bag for me in 1997.
The bag is marked Maddox Western LEA, Maker, Amarillo, Texas. I’d like to know what it is worth.
— WH Reader, Dallas, Texas
When I received your letter, I called John Foster at Oliver Saddle Shop in Amarillo. Foster went to work at Maddox Western Leathercraft when he was 17 years old and worked there until he was drafted into the military. He worked there from 1953 to 1957. He says that three people worked together to make Tompkins’s suit bag. Cecil Collingsworth worked on the second floor and made the framework of the luggage. Jimmy DeVogler did the beautiful carving and stamping, and Maxine McGibbon carved the lettering and picture of the bronc rider.
Maddox Western Leathercraft was owned and managed by George Pulley and W. A. “Doc” Maddox, who had been a dentist in Lubbock, Texas, before going into the leathercraft business. Based on the information available, it looks as though Maddox Western Leathercraft started business in 1946 and operated under that name until 1959. That year, Roy D. Barnes, a successful store owner in Denver, Colorado, bought Maddox Western Leathercraft and named it Roy Barnes Western Supply. About three years later, Buddy Cockrell, who competed in college and professional rodeo, and was retiring from professional football, bought the shop and named it Buddy Cockrell, Race, Rodeo and Western Supply. He operated the business for about five years and then closed it.
In 1977, Cockrell won the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association steer roping championship.
Estimated value: $2,500
Expert: Mike Graham is the owner of Ruxton’s Trading Post in Manitou Springs, Colorado. He and his wife, Gretchen, specialize in collectible pieces of Western Americana. The couple wrote the book Old Cowboy Saddles and Spurs, Identifying The Craftsmen Who Made Them. For more information, visit online at ruxtons.com.
