Description
Dear Customer,
Much of the newly added hardware in this catalog has been reproduced from pieces that were once on the market but were withdrawn when styles changed. Life would be much simpler if we knew which ones were going to be good sellers and which ones were going to be losers when we reproduced such items, but we are not given that insight. We go with our own feelings and those of customers. A classic example is the harness hook on the back cover. A couple of years ago, we decided to reproduce the harness hook shown on page 78. In retrospect, this turned out to be a wise choice, but the harness hook on the back cover is quite a different matter. It is not only a very large hook, but it weighs about 10 pounds. When we are discussing the reproduction of any piece, the two questions usually asked are "In what circumstances would you use this piece of hardware?" and "Would you buy one for yourself?" Very few of us had an answer to the first question, but virtually to a person, people said that they would buy one. There is no explanation of this other than this piece is the essence of "hookedness". In point of fact, the hook is of a size that easily accommodates virtually any amount of harness, and a saddle can be perched on top of it all. The curious part of all this is that there was not a single horse owner among all of the people who said that they would buy such a hook. Although horse owners we spoke to liked it, it is one of those things that seems to have a charm that is quite independent of its utility and it was on this basis that we decided to reproduce it.
If nothing else, it will make an excellent gift for the person who has everything, because you can rest assured that the possibility they might have one of these hooks is practically nil.
Yours sincerely,
Leonard G. Lee
President