There is a wonderful discussion of Kauffman’s in Michael Korda’s book Horse People. I too used to pour over the Miller’s catalogue. It was a religious experience.
[QUOTE=Jackie Cochran;7634251]
In 1970 my parents and I went to Kauffman’s Saddlery in NYC to get a hunt seat saddle. I was just starting riding seriously (not just trail riding.) The salesman tried to fit me in several of the cheaper Borelli’s but could not get a good fit. Then he called in an older Mr. Kauffman who finally found an extra-forward Stubben Siegfried that would both fit me and my horse (after calling up my riding teacher.) It was more than double what my parents wanted to spend ($225 instead of $100), but Mr. Kauffman was very diplomatic and managed to convince them that I NEEDED a saddle that fit me.
I rode in this Stubben Siegfried yesterday, almost 44 years after I got it.[/QUOTE]
Wow, those were the days. A Stubben for only $225, when a Borelli was $100. LOL What a bargain, if that was a *new Stubben.
I just bought an old London tan Barnsby Lane Fox saddle. It’s in fantastic condition, for any saddle let alone one that old. It has the stamped nickel Barnsby nailheads, the wide saddle flaps with the sculpted cut on the back edge. And pigskin covered skirts. The J. A. Barnsby nameplate on the near side has been replaced with one from H. Kauffman & Sons. It’s great to own such a nice piece of NYC and saddlery history. I remember Kauffman’s as one of those advertisers in the '70s and '80s horse magazines. You could mail a few dollars and get their catalog, which I think I did do once. I got their catalog and Miller Harness’s, because those two carried saddle seat tack. Then I learned that the local Amish sold saddle seat tack at a heavy discount, so I didn’t do any more catalog shopping for tack.
^WSJ article from 2014 about Manhattan Saddlery that used to be the Miller Harness Co. store.
I grew up in the Midwest, no horse, but lots of dreams. I remember the Kauffman’s catalog and being so excited looking at all the horse stuff.
Does anyone remember if it was Kauffman’s that sold patterns for riding clothes? I got to go to a riding camp on the East Coast one summer and needed a show jacket. My mom was an amazing seamstress and so she made my jacket. It was a lovely brown with velvet inlaid on the the collar. I have a vague memory of the pattern coming from Kauffman’s but I could be mistaken.
I can remember getting Kauffman catalogs in the mail and going through, pretending that I was going to get a horse and all the things I would want to buy
An inner city kid dreaming big.
My first saddle came from Millers- Crosby All Purpose saddle
(still have it-for decoration),.,
AND, visited Kauffman’s in NYC when I was a teenager.
Bought a tote bag from Kauffman’s that I still have too :winkgrin:
Some time in the middle 2000’s I found online a Kauffman’s in Maryland or New Jersey that sold quite a bit of polo stuff. I think it may have been a lineal descendant of the NYC Kauffman’s. It had some really interesting and nice stuff to sell.
[QUOTE=lintesia;8675193]
I grew up in the Midwest, no horse, but lots of dreams. I remember the Kauffman’s catalog and being so excited looking at all the horse stuff.
Does anyone remember if it was Kauffman’s that sold patterns for riding clothes? I got to go to a riding camp on the East Coast one summer and needed a show jacket. My mom was an amazing seamstress and so she made my jacket. It was a lovely brown with velvet inlaid on the the collar. I have a vague memory of the pattern coming from Kauffman’s but I could be mistaken.[/QUOTE]
They might have sold the Jean Hardy pattern line. In the early '70s, I think Lola Gentry Originals was probably all riders had for patterns, and those were quirky, not quite ready for prime time, and needed a lot of tweaking. Jean Hardy patterns came later and they were awesome. Suitability arrived a long time after that.
[QUOTE=vineyridge;8675573]
Some time in the middle 2000’s I found online a Kauffman’s in Maryland or New Jersey that sold quite a bit of polo stuff. I think it may have been a lineal descendant of the NYC Kauffman’s. It had some really interesting and nice stuff to sell.[/QUOTE]
Sounds about right. If you read that article I linked to, the former Miller’s stays afloat selling polo gear.
[QUOTE=TC3200;8675793]
Sounds about right. If you read that article I linked to, the former Miller’s stays afloat selling polo gear.[/QUOTE]
The former Millers does not stay afloat. They are out of business, The wholesale business was sold to Weatherbeeta and the Millers brand name was sold to Dover.
[QUOTE=PROTACKGUY;8678850]
The former Millers does not stay afloat. They are out of business, The wholesale business was sold to Weatherbeeta and the Millers brand name was sold to Dover.[/QUOTE]
Former Miller’s store, as was explained in the article about Manhattan Saddlery that I linked to.
Miller Harness, Whitman Saddlery, Eisers and probably some other businesses were sold to EEG, English Equestrian Group, in the early 2000s. EEG sucked the assets our of them, then declared bankruptcy, and various pieces of defunct EEG and the brand names it owned were sold to various new owners. The Norman family bought back the Whitman factory and reopened it to make the Norman saddles, but I think the market had already changed. By that time the Shively MMX had captured the saddleseat equitation and ASB and Morgan markets, and L&R had grabbed the Arabian market And sticky layered saddles had become the new norm. I don’t think Norman Saddlery lasted very long.
[QUOTE=M. O’Connor;7634346]
I used to look for those catalogues in the mail with [s]baited[s/] breath when growing up. Could not wait for them to arrive.[/QUOTE]
BATED! (Good catch, PM’er!)
Hi all! I manage Manhattan Saddlery, which is still going strong in the same space on 24th Street where Miller’s was located from the 1940s to early 2000s. This great article that appeared last week in the New York Times last week explains a bit about the transition: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/22/nyregion/manhattan-saddlery-is-still-riding-tall-on-old-stable-row.html
When Miller’s was closing in 2001, the current owner’s mother bought the store itself and the mail order business was bought by Dover. I didn’t know that Weatherbeeta bought the wholesale side, but I’m not surprised.
Just for the record, while we do stock polo equipment, it’s certainly not keeping us afloat - our clientele skews heavily toward hunter/jumper riders.
We still have lots of bits and pieces around from the Miller’s days, from the famous wooden sign down to signed photos from riders, so it’s a fun visit if you’re in the city!
[QUOTE=173north;8679045]
Hi all! I manage Manhattan Saddlery, which is still going strong in the same space on 24th Street where Miller’s was located from the 1940s to early 2000s. This great article that appeared last week in the New York Times last week explains a bit about the transition: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/22/nyregion/manhattan-saddlery-is-still-riding-tall-on-old-stable-row.html
When Miller’s was closing in 2001, the current owner’s mother bought the store itself and the mail order business was bought by Dover. I didn’t know that Weatherbeeta bought the wholesale side, but I’m not surprised.
Just for the record, while we do stock polo equipment, it’s certainly not keeping us afloat - our clientele skews heavily toward hunter/jumper riders.
We still have lots of bits and pieces around from the Miller’s days, from the famous wooden sign down to signed photos from riders, so it’s a fun visit if you’re in the city![/QUOTE]
Close. Actually Millers was located a few doors down at 123 East 24th street until the 80’s.
[QUOTE=ljkauffman;7632531]
My father, Bob Kauffman, is the son and nephew of the last owners of the store.
His father, LeRoy Kauffman, broke away from the family business sometime in the 1970s.
He may have some information about Charles Kauffman, who was the last to operate the store via an online storefront.
He may be reached at rakauffman44@hotmail.com.[/QUOTE]
I cannot say enough good things about that store. When I was growing up, my parents ordered all my riding clothes and tack from there. And even through college, where we had riding for P.E. credit. Kauffman’s was a wonderful store.
oops zombie thread
[QUOTE=TC3200;8678954]
Former Miller’s store, as was explained in the article about Manhattan Saddlery that I linked to.
Miller Harness, Whitman Saddlery, Eisers and probably some other businesses were sold to EEG, English Equestrian Group, in the early 2000s. EEG sucked the assets our of them, then declared bankruptcy, and various pieces of defunct EEG and the brand names it owned were sold to various new owners. The Norman family bought back the Whitman factory and reopened it to make the Norman saddles, but I think the market had already changed. By that time the Shively MMX had captured the saddleseat equitation and ASB and Morgan markets, and L&R had grabbed the Arabian market And sticky layered saddles had become the new norm. I don’t think Norman Saddlery lasted very long.[/QUOTE]
Really, It is true that EEG, which was owned by the investor Stephen Dent of Greenwich CT owned those companies; However he did not suck the assets out of the companies. He paid for the companies and proceeded to lose his shirt due to total mismanagement and arrogance. Whitman saddle shop was never "sold "back to the Normans. Dennis Norman who ran the Whitman business was a very talented saddle maker and designer. The Whitman brand along with Mid West saddlery was owned by the Normans. Dennis brother Mel ran Mid-West saddlery and Dennis ran Whtiman. The two were sold to Dent. Dennis began a new company later called Norman saddlery. It was not a success. Time past them by.
[QUOTE=PROTACKGUY;8679064]
Close. Actually Millers was located a few doors down at 123 East 24th street until the 80’s.[/QUOTE]
Interesting! We’ve never been positive when we moved to this space, but thought it was earlier than the 80s. We recently found a photo in the office of a saddle fitting in the 50s or 60s - based on the pillars and support beams we were sure it was the current store.
I do have a copy of a 1963 catalog that lists the address as 123 E 24th and assumed they had expanded into separate store and office space, but we could be way off base!
[QUOTE=173north;8679139]
Interesting! We’ve never been positive when we moved to this space, but thought it was earlier than the 80s. We recently found a photo in the office of a saddle fitting in the 50s or 60s - based on the pillars and support beams we were sure it was the current store.
I do have a copy of a 1963 catalog that lists the address as 123 E 24th and assumed they had expanded into separate store and office space, but we could be way off base![/QUOTE]
No, the owner of the old building raised the rent and Millers decided to move out. At that time the company had already been sold to MPO Videotronics. The new location the one you are in now was renovated and Millers moved in. it was substantially larger than the old store and had the parking lot next door.
[QUOTE=173north;8679139]
Interesting! We’ve never been positive when we moved to this space, but thought it was earlier than the 80s. We recently found a photo in the office of a saddle fitting in the 50s or 60s - based on the pillars and support beams we were sure it was the current store.
I do have a copy of a 1963 catalog that lists the address as 123 E 24th and assumed they had expanded into separate store and office space, but we could be way off base![/QUOTE]
No, the owner of the old building raised the rent and Millers decided to move out. At that time the company had already been sold to MPO Videotronics. The new location the one you are in now was renovated and Millers moved in. it was substantially larger than the old store and had the parking lot next door.
Thanks for the info! That parking lot is currently under construction to become a hotel… never a dull moment on this block.
