Div IV - Section 1

Bridle Rosettes

Background:
Most articles that describe bridle rosettes attribute their emergence to the mid to late 1800s. Re-emergence would be a better term since decorations on horses bridles have been around for a very long time. The picture showing a bridle rosette at the upper right is a graphic by Mathew Paris in the early 1200s¹. However, this rendition is modern compared to the rosette in the sculpture just below created during the Sasanian dynasty in ancient Iran (224-651 CE)². Even older, figures of horses on the walls of Egyptian buildings show that horses, used mainly by royalty and for war chariots, were highly decorated including decorative pieces strongly suggestive of the items we call bridle rosettes. In more modern times, the rosettes became commercially popular after the mid-1800s and continued in common use until the automobile replaced the horse-drawn vehicles in the early 1900s. However, they are still manufactured and used today.

Sometimes mistaken for a button, bridle rosettes were designed first and foremost as a handsome decoration. However, in some cases they served to hold the crown piece and brow band together on a riding or driving bridle. They are most easily identified by a large rectangular shank through which the bridle strap passes to hold them in place. They have been made with a wide variety of materials including glass, leather, rubber, celluloid, jet, silver, and other metals many of which can be seen below. The most popular today are those with a domed or flat glass cover set in a metal frame. Many have paper cutouts under the glass to simulate a border and to provide the display of a picture, symbol, letter, or number. Rosettes were made in a large variety of pictorial designs and many identify a person, a family, a horse, or a story. They were also used by the Federal Calvary during the Civil War and later by certain civil mounted police. Over time, many companies used the rosettes as advertising tools . Originally, bridle rosettes were often produced in mirror image pairs but finding such a pair in nice shape today has become difficult.

Types or Subclass:
1-0 Bridle Rosettes Assorted (12 per card)
1-1 Materials - Metals (steel, white metal, gold, silver, pewter, lead, and brass), Wood, Leather, Cord, Composition, Rubber, Bone, and Composition. Includes Glass in/on Metal, and DUG
1-2 Shapes and Borders - Shapes (round, square, rectangle, oval, contour, and realistic), Fancy Borders/Edge and Movable Parts
1-3 OME and Decorative Finish- OME including brass, glass, rhinestones, and gemstones. Decorative Finish to include paint and enamel
1-4 Back Types and Back Marks 
1-5 Face Designs - Pictorial (animals, scenes, people, military and advertising) and Patterns and Symbols (letters, numbers, and patterns)

1-1 Materials - Glass in Metal - Flat Glass  (1-1/4")

1-1 Materials - Glass in Metal - Domed Glass  (1-1/4")

1-1 Materials - Glass in Metal - Domed Glass  (1-1/4")

1-1 Materials - Glass in Metal - DUG Sulfide  (1-1/2")

1-1 Materials - Glass in Metal  (1-1/2")

1-1 Materials - Bakelite - DUG  (1-1/2")

1-1 Materials - Glass in Metal - Black Glass  (2")

1-1 Materials - French Ivory  (1-1/2")

1-1 Materials - Ceramic - Brass OME  (2-3/4")

1-1 Materials - Composition  (1-1/2")

1-1 Materials - Plastic  (1-1/2")

1-1 Materials - Enamel  (2")

1-1 Materials - Fabric - DUG  (1-1/2")
Horsehair

1-1 Materials - Jet  (1-5/8" x 5/8")

1-1 Materials - Lead  (3" x 2")

1-1 Materials - Leather  (4" x 2-1/2")

1-1 Materials - Gemstone MIM - Turquoise  (1-1/2")

1-1 Materials - Glass in Metal - Molded Face  (1-1/2")

1-1 Materials - Glass in Metal - Black Glass  (1-1/4")

1-1 Materials - Rubber - Goodyear back mark  (1-1/2")

1-1 Materials - Sterling Silver  (1-1/2")

1-2 Shape - Square - DUG  (1-1/2")

1-2 Shape - Oval - Composition  (1-1/4")

1-2 Shape - Realistic - White metal  (1-1/4")

1-2 Shape - Modified Oval - Brass  (1-1/2" x 3/4")
"1:58" is likely the time for a one mile trotter race.

1-2 Shape - Realistic - Moveable - Brass  (3")

1-2 Shape - Contour - Moveable  (1-1/2")

1-2 Border - Brass  (2")

1-2 Border - Brass  (1-1/2")

1-2 Border - Brass  (2-1/4")

1-2 Border - Brass with Steels  (1-1/2")

1-2 Border - Brass  (1-1/2")

1-2 Border - Pewter  (1-1/2")

Acknowledgements:
Special Thanks to Ron Thomas who provided a number of references cited and made his collection of bridle rosettes available for the majority of the images shown on these pages. Others who contributed reviews, comments and images included Judy Schwenk, June Chapman, Barbara Barrans, Pat Koehler, Debra Wisniewski, Jane Perry, Lou Yeargain, Ronnie Wexler, and Sally Gibson.

References:
(1) Bridle Rosettes by Joseph W. Anderson - Just Buttons, March 1953
(2) Bridle Buttons by Dorothy Foster Brown - Hobbies, August 1978
(3) Bridle Rosettes by Louann Chaudier - Western Horseman, August 1997
(4) Bridle Rosettes by Dr. Ralph Merkle - Spinning Wheel, Jan/Feb 1963
(5) Rosettes by Charles Nash - North/South Civil War Traders, Vol. XXVI (date unknown)
(6) Bridle Rosettes by Clara Nisbet - Spinning Wheel, May 1964
(7) Bridle Rosettes by Thelma Shull - Hobbies, April 1943
(8) Horse Bridle Rosettes by Paul S. Smith - Just Buttons, Feb 1958
(9) Bridle Rosettes by Ruth Ann White - Missouri State Button Society Bulletin, Winter/January 2009 (Volume 61 Number 1)
(10) National Button Society Blue Book, 2011 - 2012, Official NBS Classification and Competition Guidelines

Current Blue Book Text: None in definitions.