sheriff's stars and holsters?

[Kaylee]

so I was looking through my leatherworking stuff today, and ran across a little 1" solid-star-in-a-circle concho type thingie I got months ago and forgot about.

Which got me to thinking... Did just anybody put this kinda thing on their holsters/whatnot, or were they 19th century "Law Enforcement Only" things? Or were they even used outside of TV and movie westerns?

-K

 

[Ranger Grant]

Kaylee,

Anyone from Texas might have decorated their leather with a star since Texas is "The Lone Star State". Check out this book:

COWBOYS
The Trappings of the Old West
by: William Manns & Elizabeth Clair Flood
Zon International Publishing Company, copyright 1997

There are a couple of other books I've seen, but haven't purchased myself that deal with spotting authentic 19th Century western items.

Best, Ranger Grant