1945 CHARLIE SAMPLE Sterling Buckle Gift to Leather Master AL SHELTON & Belt

Description

Hello and WELCOME BACK to all of my loyal customers over the years. I have recently returned to Ebay after two years abroad, and I am happy to once again offer some of the FINEST and RAREST vintage collectible Western Trophy Buckles and Ranger Sets in the United States. Most ALL of my items are ORIGINAL, not modern reproductions of the originals. These are the REAL McCOYS!!!
YOU WON'T GET THE CHANCE TO BUY ANOTHER ONE. Here is one of the rarest of buckle & belt sets around.....This a Sterling belt buckle that was hand made and engraved by
LEGENDARY BUCKLE MAKER, CHARLIE SAMPLE and presented as a GIFT to his friend and colleague, LEGENDARY LEATHERSMITH AL SHELTON in 1945. AL SHELTON, hand-made this BEAUTIFUL CUSTOM LEATHER TOOLED BELT to accommodate this CHERISHED GIFT. I purchased this item DIRECTLY from AL SHELTON before his death a few years ago. He told me the story. The buckle measures approximately 3 1/4 inches by 2 inches, and is made to accommodate a ONE & ONE-HALF INCH (1 1/2") belt (which this is), and featuring CHARLIE'S WONDERFUL ENGRAVED FLOWERS & SCROLLS on his DIE-STRUCK BLANK that he designed for BOHLIN. The PATINA on this buckle is TO DIE FOR.....the color of the patina is "GUNSMOKE BLACK," and the SHIELD is hand engraved by CHARLIE with the initials, "ALS".....EXQUISITE!!! I have not cleaned the buckle set at all....you will receive it in its current vintage state. The buckle is signed "RESULTS STERLING."  RESULTS is the company name that Charlie Sample used when selling to jobbers and retailers.
The belt is MASTERFULLY TOOLED AND DYED a DARK BROWN with BLACK BACKGROUND in a FLOWER & LEAF design, and measures approximately 29 inches from the place where the buckle attaches to the belt to the closest hole and 32 inches to the furthest hole. There is a repair on the back side of the belt that AL SHELTON HIMSELF made with a leather patch. On the leather patch, AL INSCRIBED  "BY AL SHELTON 1945," and "BROKE 1983." AL told me that this was one of his PRIZED POSSESSIONS. While you could certainly wear this piece, I would use it as a collectible show piece instead! The LAST PHOTO on the description is the LATE AL SHELTON and ME the day I purchased the belt and buckle set from him!!!
From Wikipedia: "Al Shelton
(June 27, 1920 – March 22, 2016) established the reputation of “Cowboy Artist to the Stars”,
creating custom-crafted leatherwork embossed with iconic cowpoke imagery in his workshop on Ventura Boulevard.
Among his regular clientele was Steve McQueen, Ronald Reagan, Clark Gable,
and many others. Several of his pieces of are featured at the Autry Museum of the American West."
From the High Noon website: "Charlie was born on the Allegheny Reservation in Pennsylvania in 1903, moving to Southern California with his family in 1916. In the mid 1920s, Sample went to work for Edward Bohlin for 35¢/hr in 1925. By the early 30s, Charlie had enough of Ed’s temper and went to work for master gunsmith, August Pachmayr where he learned gun engraving and repair. In 1948, he started the Charles Sample Company where he was joined by renowned ex-Bohlin engraver, Phillip Fredholm in the production of buckles, rings, bolo ties and bits and spurs. Charlie passed away in 2003 at the ripe old age of 100."
ENLARGE THE PHOTOS TO LOOK AT THE DETAIL....DON'T MISS OUT ON THIS CHANCE TO OWN A PIECE OF HOLLYWOOD BUCKLE HISTORY!!!!
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