KB & P Pair of Marked Spurs, c. 1912 to 1919
DESCRIPTIONThis stunning pair of antique spurs is covered in beautifully detailed engraving to both the metal and leather pieces.
With an eye-catching design inspired by playing card suits adorning the heels & shafts – diamonds & spades, each engraved with intricate florals and flourishes – these 9-pointed rowel spurs are further highlighted by long flourishing extensions to the shafts themselves.
See more history & context below.
DETAILS & MEASUREMENTSMarked "KB&P"
Very good patina to the metal
Leather straps in decent condition
From the partnership of craftsmen P.M. Kelly & Clyde Parker of Kelly Bros & Parker (KB&P) from 1912 to 1919
DESCRIPTIONThis stunning pair of antique spurs is covered in beautifully detailed engraving to both the metal and leather pieces.
With an eye-catching design inspired by playing card suits adorning the heels & shafts – diamonds & spades, each engraved with intricate florals and flourishes – these 9-pointed rowel spurs are further highlighted by long flourishing extensions to the shafts themselves.
See more history & context below.
DETAILS & MEASUREMENTSMarked "KB&P"
Very good patina to the metal
Leather straps in decent condition
From the partnership of craftsmen P.M. Kelly & Clyde Parker of Kelly Bros & Parker (KB&P) from 1912 to 1919
DESCRIPTIONThis stunning pair of antique spurs is covered in beautifully detailed engraving to both the metal and leather pieces.
With an eye-catching design inspired by playing card suits adorning the heels & shafts – diamonds & spades, each engraved with intricate florals and flourishes – these 9-pointed rowel spurs are further highlighted by long flourishing extensions to the shafts themselves.
See more history & context below.
DETAILS & MEASUREMENTSMarked "KB&P"
Very good patina to the metal
Leather straps in decent condition
From the partnership of craftsmen P.M. Kelly & Clyde Parker of Kelly Bros & Parker (KB&P) from 1912 to 1919
➼ History & Context
The KB&P mark denotes the partnership of P.M. Kelly and Clyde Parker, which lasted from 1912 to 1919 and produced high quality spurs during its short tenure.
Pascal Moreland Kelly, born in Texas in 1886, started making spurs as a youth in his father’s blacksmith shop. Soon he opened his own shop, which he ran for a few years before joining JR McChesney’s company in 1910. The next year he split off with fellow spur maker Tom Johnson in Dalhart, Texas, but they too broke up soon as Johnson wasn’t a fan of using machines to aid the production process. Kelly continued on his own, naming his company Kelly Bros in anticipation of his brothers joining him.
In 1912 he needed help and found Clyde Parker working for JR McChesney. After enticing him with better income, Kelly and Parker worked well together, and Kelly credits much of his early success to Parker’s handling of production and training of new employees. During their time together, they marked their spurs with the KB&P mark, though some few pairs have their full names. When WWI slowed the business dramatically, the partnership dissolved.
Kelly Bros designed custom made spurs patterns named after rodeo stars and famous cowboys like Booger Red and Toots Mansfield, and also created a line of less expensive spurs stamped RODEO.
Kelly’s creativity extended to other types of making. He patented the design for a swinging button – marked on his own spurs with PAT’D – and also designed a pumping engine named the Kelly Hotball.
Kelly moved the business to El Paso in 1924 with his brothers, where it was easier to find people and manufacturer his Hotball. In the 1930s he himself moved to Mexico to work for the Ministry of Agriculture while his brothers kept up the business in El Paso, but in 1939 it was suffering and Kelly returned to buy out his brothers.
Kelly revitalized the company and began to focus on the market for rodeos rather than cowboys. He marked his spurs with just KELLY to differentiate the period. He and his sons continued to grow the business until they sold it in 1965. Kelly retired to California and died in 1976
