Collecting Barbed Wire

Collecting Barbed Wire FENCING Fence Systems “Barbed wire and the six gun won the West ” says Bob Spencer editor of The Barbed Wire Collector magazine A fascination for the history of how the West was settled is one reason he and about 200 others collect barbed wire and belong to the Antique Barbed Wire Society They also support the Kansas Barbed Wire Museum in La Crosse Kan complete with a library of documents and books on barbed wire So how much information could there possibly be about barbed wire? Plenty Spencer says “There are just over 500 patents ” he says “But there were variations among those patents plus other styles were never patented Bob Campbell had the largest collection ever and he had 8 000 different kinds of wire ” Each style of wire was promoted by salesmen in different regions “Texas was open country and they seem to have lots of ribbon-type wire because it is very durable ” Spencer notes “The ribbon is wide and thin and had barbs made in or on the ribbon ” He adds that up through 1900 barbed wire was designed only for farming and livestock The first U S patent was given to Lucien Smith of Kent Ohio in 1867 “The Smith wire was not feasibly designed for manufacturing ” Spencer adds “The first wire heavily produced was by Michael Kelly of New York in 1868 even though Joseph Glidden is considered the ‘Father of Barbed Wire ’ His patent was not granted until 1874 but the wire is still being produced today ” After 1900 different styles of barbed wire were designed for security to contain people and for use in wars Collectors display barbed wire in various ways but 18-in long strands are standard Spencer says Besides wire tools advertising and fence posts are part of many collections “There are collections of liniments that were used to treat animals with barbed wire cuts ” Spencer adds A favorite museum display for many guests is a real crow’s nest made of short pieces of wire and twigs The Kansas museum also includes interesting art pieces made from barbed wire While barbed wire may seem to be a strange item to collect Spencer says members of the society want to use barbed wire to educate people about the history of how the West was settled He finds plenty of stories to tell in the society’s bimonthly magazine – from patent info to collectors’ interesting finds Anyone interested in barbed wire appraisals or information about joining can contact the society Spencer says Folks who are just curious about the topic can visit the museum which is open daily Memorial Day through Labor Day www rushcounty org; ph 785 222-2808 The museum hosts an annual festival in May Spencer adds that the society also supports the Devil’s Rope Museum in McLean Texas which is open March 1 to Nov 1 www barbwiremuseum com Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Antique Barbed Wired Society Bob Spencer 501 Harvard Ave Stanton Iowa 51573 ph 712 829-2563; www antiquebarbedwiresociety com

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