Manufactured c. 1880s to 1890s, this is a rare and desirable example of a J.A. McDonald marked holster with a cartridge/money belt. Little information is available about J.A. McDonald other than, like many frontier holster makers, he was primarily in the business of saddles, bridles, and other horse tack. "The Expositor" of Alamosa, Colorado in December of 1883 shows a J.A. McDonald saddler in the town "on State Avenue between Fifth and Sixth Streets". The makers mark is prominent in an oval on the body of the holster with Alamosa spelled "Alamoosa", the body having scalloped tooling around the edges and being retained by three loops cut from the skirt. The holster is configured for a right handed shooter and will accommodate a 7 1/2 inch barreled Single Action Army revolver. Included is an unmarked cartridge/money belt which shows similar wear to the holster, is 3 inches wide, has a single row of .44/.45 caliber cartridge loops, and a money pocket opening near the nickeled California style buckle. The billet of the belt is marked "3569/44" and it measures 41 inches including the billet. Along with being from a very rarely seen maker, Alamosa is a town steeped in frontier outlaw history.

Near fine, with some mild wear, scattered light age-related cracking, and a crisp maker's mark on the holster, while the cartridge/money belt shows similar condition with the numbers on the billet faint. A rare western made triple loop holster and cartridge belt that would be a fine addition to a frontier collection!