Texas Archival Resources Online

TABLE OF CONTENTS


Descriptive Summary

Biographical Sketch

Scope and Contents

Restrictions

Index Terms

Related Material

Administrative Information

Additional Sources

Description of Series

General Files

Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University

S. D. Myres Saddle Company:

An Inventory of Its Records, 1898-1969 and undated, at the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library



Descriptive Summary

CreatorS. D. Myres Saddle Company
Title:S. D. Myres Saddle Company Records,
Dates:1898-1969 and undated
Abstract:These records pertain to the operations of the S. D. Myres Saddle Company, which became famous for its superior leather craftsmanship.
Collection #S 744.1
Quantity:4 boxes (4.0 linear feet)
LanguageEnglish.
Repository:Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University

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 craftsmanship and Myres mingled with many famous western actors and personalities of his day. Myres's 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

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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.

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

Open for research

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Index Terms

The subject headings used by the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library are derived from the Library of Congress and/or locally developed.
Subjects (Persons)
Myres, Samuel D. (Samuel Dale), 1871-1953
Subjects (Organizations)
S. D. Myres Saddle Company
Places
El Paso (Tex.)--Social life and customs
El Paso (Tex.)--Economic conditions
El Paso (Tex.)--History
Sweetwater (Tex.)--Social life and customs
Sweetwater (Tex.)--History
Subjects
Civic leaders--Texas--Sweetwater--History
Cowboys
Leather industry and trade--Texas--History
Rodeos--West (U.S.)--History
Saddlery
Saddlery--Texas--History
World War, 1939-1945--Economic aspects--Texas--El Paso

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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

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Administrative Information

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

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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.

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Collection Inventory

 

General Files

boxfolder
11Catalog Proof Pages, undated
2Catalogs with Myres Saddle Company Work, 1920-1959 and undated
3Copyright on Myres' Pendulum Saddle, 1954
Correspondence
boxfolder
14General, 1913-1919
5General, 1921-1929
6General, 1930-1936
7General,(3 prints included), 1940-1949
8General, 1950-1954
9Advertising, 1954-1955 and undated
10Jackling, Daniel C., 1925-1926
Customer Orders
boxfolder
111"A", 1943
12"B", 1943
13"C", 1943
14"D", 1941-1943
15"E", 1943
16"F", 1943
17"G", 1943
boxfolder
21"H", 1943
2"I", 1943
3"J", 1943
4"L", 1943
5"M", 1943
6"N", 1943
7"O", 1943
8"P", 1943
9"Q and R", 1943-1944
10"S", 1943
11"T", 1943
12"U and V", 1943
13"W", 1943
14"Y and Z", 1943
15Deposit Books, 1909-1920
boxfolder
31Financial Material, 1898-1963
2Hat Catalog Material, 1939 and undated
3Legal Documents, 1953-1954 and undated
4Note books, 1905-1935 and undated
5Patent on Holster, 1936-1940
6Postcards: Myres Saddle Company, undated
7Printed Material, 1938-1969 and undated
8Ten Thousand Dollar Saddle, 1914-1916
9War Department, 1943
10World War II Preference Rating, 1942-1943
boxfolder
41Oversized Materials, " They Ride the Myres Saddle " Calendar, 1911
(3 copies)
2Oversized Materials- a heavy, wood mounted engraving plate
3Oversized Materials- a sound recording, "Tio" Sam Myres, KTSM, El Paso, undated

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