This is a Cheyenne gun rig by perhaps the best of the West's master saddlers: Frank A. Meanea, who was the successor to Gallatin & Co. established in 1867. As with many holster makers, his main business was making horse tack. The business in Cheyenne, Wyoming was started by his uncle and was taken over by Meanea in 1880. Among his numerous customers were Charles M. Russell and Buffalo Bill Cody. The rig is made from brown heavy skirting leather. In the 1888 Meanea price list, the deluxe tooled and buckskin lined holster cost twice as much as a plain standard holster, and the money belt cost a dollar more than the standard cartridge belt, making this rig quite desirable and top of the line for its time. Both the belt and holster are marked with the Meanea maker's mark in an elongated oval, on the lower retention loop of the holster and on the secured end of the billet on the belt. The holster is of the very desirable "hard shell", high sheen type with a gracefully recurved throat, two retention loops, a sewn in toe plug, and the desirable deluxe buckskin interior lining. It has very attractive border tooling and a large stamped rosette at the center of the body. The holster is set up for either standard or cross draw for a right handed shooter, and it will accommodate a Colt Single Action Army revolver with either a 4 3/4 inch or 5 1/2 inch barrel. The belt has a money pocket opening near the large, nickeled, rectangular buckle and single row of cartridge loops which will accommodate .44 or .45 caliber cartridges. The belt measures 3 3/4 inches wide and approximately 43 inches long including the billet.

Exceptionally fine, the holster showing some mild wear from typical use, tight stitching, crisp tooling, and much of the original sheen to the leather. The belt is very fine with some mild wear from use and some moderate age-related cracking on the billet. These matching Meanea rigs are extremely rare on the collectors market, particularly high condition, deluxe examples like this one. Do not miss this opportunity!