Page 92 - Industries_of_San_Antonio

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SAN ANTONIO-HER TRADE,

RAMSAY & FORD—Manufacturers and Wholesale Dealers in Harness
Saddlery, Saddlery Hardware, Saddle Trees, Collars, Leather,
Etc.; Main Plaza.
Political economists, in classifying mercantile pursuits, give the high-
est rank to those branches which exercise the widest range of auxiliary
influence upon general occupations; and we know of none that meet this
requirement to a greater degree than the manufacturers of horse furniture.
Every branch of business seems to be, in some particular, dependent for
its accomplishments on the services of the horse. When the making of
harness, saddles, etc., first began, is wrapt in ob-
scurity. The horse appears harnessed to the
war chariot, in sculpture, on ancient Egyptian
monuments, of which, or by whom built, we
have not even tradition. The Assyrians 2000 B.
C., used cavalry in their armies, and with them
the saddle appears to have originated. The early
saddlers, unacquainted with the use of dextrous
tools, must have made but clumsy work, and in
no line have there been made more marked
improvemts than in the saddle and harness. In
this country the most advanced strides have
been made, and in this state especial particulari-
ty is bestowed on horse furniture—horsemen
valuing the apparel of their horse in full propor-
tion to the estimate they place upon their steed; and in no section under
the sun is the horse more useful to man or more highly appreciated. In
the preparation of this work, which is designed to convey to the reader
some idea of the business capabilities, industrial resources and commercial
relations of the city, it is our aim to present, for the consideration of the
public, such firms and establishments as may be justly regarded active fac-
tors in advancing the general prosperity and reputation of the city of San
Antonio; and in no branch of trade can this be better shown than in her
saddlery establishments. Among the most prominent of these is that of
Ramsay & Ford, No. 14- Main Plaza, one of the principal business localities
in the city. This establishment was founded in 1876, by F. W. Sibert, the
present firm consisting of J. S. Ramsay and N. H. Ford, succeeding in
1881. These gentlemen brought to the business, on the part of each, a
practical experience of many years; Mr. Ramsay having been connected
with it for eighteen years, and Mr. Ford has been literally raised in it; and
since their first apprenticeship. to it, they have studiously watched all im-
provements and profited by those which proved meritorious. In modern
times, the ingenuity of man has kept pace with the greater capabilities of
use for which the horse has proven to be fitted, evidenced in the produc-
tion of harness and saddles especially fitted to permit the performance of
the work required, with ease to the animal. In this style of manufacture