The man
Osvaldo Enrique Monti was born in Buenos Aires on September 7, 1912. He died in General Alvear on July 17, 1993. Days later the newspaper La Nación briefly but accurately remembered him: «The death of Don Osvaldo Monti in his stay El Cinco from General Alvear, in the province of Buenos Aires, has left that feeling of pain that the loss of a good man always generates. He was useful to society. A worker with a generous entrepreneurial spirit, balanced and sensible, these and many other virtues distinguished him in his wide circle of friends, preferably from the agricultural sector. Raised and educated in the Federal Capital, he connected with the countryside, from a young age, with his love for hunting. That's how he bought a piece of land in General Alvear. The visits to his love land became more and more frequent until he settled in Alvear. He gave a larger surface area to the land that, with his personal effort, became his first ranch, El Cinco, which remembers the order number of the car with which he ran his first road test. There he also raised his first Aberdeen Angus and his first Creole horses, which numbered 300, and organized his valuable museum of country things. A man of very few words, Osvaldo Monti was a good mayor of General Alvear and a good president of the Criollo Horse Breeders Association. He was 80 years old and today rests in the Alvear cemetery. [1]
I can barely enrich this data with some details. The “El Cinco” cabin of Monti Hermanos S.A., dedicated to the breeding of pedigree criollos, stallions, mares and work horses of Monti Hermanos S.A., had its desk in the premises on the ground floor of Mario Bravo 960, between Córdoba and Tucumán, where the “El Camarín de las Musas” Theater School operates today. Mayor, or rather municipal commissioner of General Alvear's party in the periods 1966-1973 and 1976-1983, during de facto governments, he carried out progressive, administratively impeccable and exemplary work, faithful to that slogan of "the men of before" called circumstantially to the public function: “do not steal, do not let people steal, do not do robbery.” When he agreed to take charge of the commune of General Alvear on August 4, 1966, replacing the interim mayor Juan Manuel Lescano, he did so under the condition of keeping the dismissed Mayor as general secretary of the Municipality. He continued the work of his predecessors in office and among many actions, we highlight the construction of the neighborhood for municipal employees and workers (today known as Municipal Neighborhood), the first clinical analysis laboratory at the “Agesilao Milano” Hospital, the municipal natatorium, and the replica of Fort Esperanza. Schools No. 24 and 27 were built, as well as the Comprehensive Training Center “Remedios de Escalada de San Martín” with its technical courses and a true Professional School. He created the Community Council Assemblies. In his second period as mayor, from 1976 to 1983, a tireless worker, Monti achieved the widening of Perón Avenue (formerly Necochea), the installation of running water in the urban plant with the start-up of the water purification plant and the drainage of the former Fray Cayetano Rodríguez street that ended the flooding in that area of the town.
Sulky patents, property of Osvaldo Monti.
An extremely frugal man with clear accounts, he always arrived at the Municipality before anyone else to personally open its doors. He went from the field to the office in his private car, with or without rain, and when the road did not allow it he did it in a sulky. Commissioner or mayor, he was ad honorem for 14 years, without receiving any salary, representation expenses, travel expenses, which he paid out of his own pocket, or vacations. And when in a certain period at the beginning he received his salary as mayor, he immediately transferred it in full to Dr. Christensen, in charge of the Health Directorate and the Hospital. For these reasons, when he left office, the new democratically elected mayor of General Alvear, Dr. Luis Celillo, honored him with a massive popular lunch in gratitude for his impeccable management. And it was another mayor of the democratic era, Gaudencio Fernández, who after his death imposed the name “Intendente Monti” on Fray Cayetano Rodríguez Street.
In 1966/67, Monti presided over the Board of Directors of the Criollo Horse Breeders Association.
He married María Luisa “Chela” Limongelli, with whom he had children.
The collection
Don Osvaldo Monti formed his own museum in the “El Cinco” ranch on his property. A rare brochure that he published in 1969, on the centenary of the town of General Alvear, offers some photographic views of the place and the pieces on display [2]. Let's look at those pieces now.
Saddle and horse tack
In our rural environment the word saddle refers to all the riding trappings, while the word horse tack refers to a more luxurious riding errand than the common one.
The saddle includes the set of several superimposed garments that form the saddle. In the Buenos Aires pampas, to “assemble” the message, following the order of placement on the horse's back, two jargas go first, like sweatshirts, also called bajeras or matras or mandiles (wool or cotton blankets, the more large and thick better, folded in four, which form the “softness” of the message, protecting the horse's back). On them is placed the carona (generally made of cow or colt sole, sometimes two, of both types, intended to defend the rider's leg from the horse's sweat and the loin sticks from the wear caused by the friction of the horse). the posts and the footpegs).
The old sole spine is placed on the carona, which had a rigid wooden frame, inconvenient for the backs of certain horses, especially if they were skinny. This flat and elongated set (bottoms, carona and loin), or the modern coarse ones, is adjusted with a sole strap that passes over the loin, strongly holding it and, therefore, the lower pieces that start it. This girth is made up of the countertop (upper part of the girth, made up of a piece of leather 20 to 30 cm wide and twice as long or more, which is placed on the loin), the belly or girth itself. (a wide sash of leather, woven from tientos, or other material, which forms the lower part and which, attached to the countertop, has the purpose of encircling the belly of the rider), the belt (strap from 1 m to 1.30 m long by 3 or 4 cm. countertop on the opposite side to the saddle and serves to regulate the total length of the countertop and girth assembly and thus adapt it to different horses).
On top of the ridge thus girded, the acionera was placed that supported the stirrups from which the stirrups hung.
Then, for the rider's softness, a black cushion, round wool leather, merino type, is placed on the back, saddle, and if the wool is short, two superimposed cushions are usually used, and, on top of it, and without cover it completely with an overlay of deer skin, capybara, light parakeet (Northern sloth), chamois, drumstick or embroidered cloth, both secured with a surcingle or cinchón, long and narrow piece, of deer skin, capybara, chamois, cowhide, wool, cotton or silk, or a flat rawhide rope about 3 cm wide and 4 meters or more long that, turning twice over the entire message, adjusts and secures the cushion and the overlay.
The visit of Luis Flores and Bruce Grant to the Osvaldo Monti museum during their El Cinco stay. Images reproduced in the work Encyclopedia of Rawhide and Leather Braiding, by B. Grant, published in the USA, in 1972.
The Monti Collection exhibited various messages mounted on easels. One formed by a rawhide carona and another sole, a Buenos Aires sole loin, which had a rigid wooden frame, with a chiseled silver head with the gold ranch mark, “El Cinco”. And the other, for a child, from the beginning of the 20th century, consisting of a sweatshirt, a carona, an apron, a recado of leather batons with silver covers, silver stirrups, a black wool cushion, a capybara top, a surcingle and ivory boleadoras; halter with reins, muzzle, halter and rawhide girth with silver ferrules, with the “El Cinco” ranch mark in gold.
Also mounted on trestles, the Monti Collection exhibited various implements, understood as the entire rider's equipment, that is, the harness plus the rope (muzzle, halter, bail, halter, reins, reins, handle, lasso, etc.), although Sometimes both terms are assimilated.
We highlight, first, the one that belonged to Serafín Galán Deheza (desert expeditionary second lieutenant, recognized as such by Law 15,818 of 1961), general Roca's baqueano, who achieved the submission of the Curruhuinca chief to the national authorities and at the end of the 19th century he served in Neuquén the functions of Judge and Military Commander [3]), composed of matra, carona, clubs with silver tops and monogram “S.G.D.”, stirrups with leather handles and silver shafts, cushion, girth and capybara overlay, bridle, forehead with stay monogram “El Cinco”, metal brake with smooth silver cups; reins, muzzle with leather halter, with smooth silver pins with gold moldings; nigel iron spurs; lasso and pony boots.
The second implement consisted of a carona, two red aprons, a recado with leather clubs with heads of chiseled silver and gold, silver stirrups, a capybara overlay, bridle with bit (openwork silver cups) and reins; muzzle with halter and leather pretal with smooth silver pins, with ivory molding and boleadoras.
Third in order, one from Entre Ríos, composed of a matra, and two caronas, recado with engraved leather spine, with silver heads with monogram in gold B.O., metal stirrups with silver pins, cushions, bridle with bit, reins, breastplate, and leather baticola with smooth and chiseled silver pins, pumps and applications.
And, finally, the fourth implement composed of a carona, a flat-bottomed recado, with silver covers with the monogram “B.M.”, girth, cushion, overlay and surcingle with blue velvet (early 20th century), muzzle bridle with bit, reins and halter of leather, with smooth and chiseled silver pins and cups.
The first tool mentioned has the punch of José Gallo, born in Novara in 1861 who arrived in our country at the age of 2, learned the trade of silversmith and chiseler, around 1885 he installed his workshop in Rivadavia at 1300 and then at 1268. Specialized in rural and religious silversmithing, he marked his important works with the José Gallo punch and the minor ones [as in this case] with J. Gallo. He stopped working in 1925, although he later did some sporadic work and died in 1934. His work was appreciated by the collector Joe Llobet Cullen. The remaining three implements mentioned are from the beginning of the 20th century. And the fourth of them has a G. Casas punch, a goldsmith who had silverware installed in Lima 598 in the years 1883-1887.
Reins
A pair of carved bone reins with geometric decoration stood out, formed by cylindrical sections with ferrules at their ends and a middle part with a smooth silver mount with a ferrule of small points; articulated handle, sole ends, and punch by J. Vignolo, a rural silversmith from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Sureties
Of this type of leather, braided or metal collar to encircle the animal's neck (predecessor of the muzzle), one in particular drew attention, made of leather with braided straps, chiseled silver flat pins, a chain of flat links and a ring, with punch by the silversmith L. Vignolo.
Bridle and bits assemblies
The Monti Collection exhibited four different sets of bridles [straps or ropes that, encircling the horse's head and forehead, maintained the position of the bit in the mouth].
Thus, a set from the beginning of the 20th century consisting of a bridle, retainer and bit, made of embossed and chiseled silver: the bridle and the retainer with flats and rosettes joined by cylindrical links decorated with plant motifs, the pendant of the retainer with decoration of little angels and initials “B.E.”, iron brake with cups and silver pontezuela, the latter with flowers and central decoration, with a punch by the silversmith E. Di Tulio, [of whose punch a pair of spurs are preserved in the José Hernández Museum].
Secondly, a bridle with a browband, from the end of the 19th century, made of smooth and chiseled silver, formed by rectangular plates, separated from each other by rosettes joined by flat rings. The forehead with rosette decoration and a weight of 1,000 grams. Third in order, a smooth silver bridle formed by a double silver chain with smooth silver pins joined on the forehead by a golden heart and on the nose by an Argentine coin from 1883, weighing 600 grams. and punch by the silversmith Manuel Casal, surely the work of who was at the time a partner of J. Fernández and who for a long time worked with his business at 454 Buen Orden Street in Buenos Aires - he operated there at least since 1896, as indicated by his advertising in the Kraft Guide. [4]
The fourth set includes bridle, bridle with iron bridge and pontezuela, embossed silver cups and hoop, chiseled with decoration of branches, flowers and pearl guards, with punch by Domingo Falcón [silversmith from Ayacucho of the late 19th century], reins of leather, with cylindrical pins and smooth silver pumps with molding at the ends, and a retainer.
And finally, a leather bridle with flat or flattened smooth silver pins with double molding at their ends (see image), joined together by rosettes with rectangular rings, forehead with a silver ring and stay mark “The five”, brake of glasses with a half pump and a bar with openwork medallions with a gold monogram A. V. Punzón by the famous goldsmith Dámaso Arce (1879-1942), based in Olavarría, where he worked from the beginning of the 20th century. The work of this exquisite artist can be seen in the Municipal Museum that bears his name, in the aforementioned Buenos Aires city.
Bits
The Monti collection had fourteen of the bridle, a metal instrument placed in the horse's mouth used to drive it at the rider's will, four of them standing out in the set. Firstly, a typically federal one, with an iron padlock, with silver cups with a guard chiseled with leaves, flowers and fruits, followed by a circular band with the inscription "Long live the Federation, Die the Unitarians." He belonged to the 5th Regiment of Field Cavalry Militias, under the command of Colonel Narciso del Valle. Another with kermes oak, made of smooth and chiseled silver with decoration, mobile pontezuela in the shape of a half-moon with a lobed edge and an openwork center with decoration of hearts, cups with a half pump with lobed and fluted decoration, with a punch on the pumps and on the pontezuela. Juan F. M. Ramos, silversmith from Arrecifes who worked at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. A third, made of smooth and chiseled silver, crescent-shaped pontezuela with guard decoration with flowers, half-bomb glasses repeating the previous guard with Claudio Rojas inscription, with punch on the bombs by Santiago Podesta, a silversmith of Italian origin, with trade in Good Order 549 in 1870. And, finally, one with an iron bridge and ring, circular silver cups with leaf guards, a punch by the silversmith Toribio López, who settled in the town of Chivilcoy in 1869.
Horsewhip
The horsewhip, a strong whip to stimulate the horse that is made up of a handle, rope and market or whip and is differentiated from any other type of whip by the braided and cylindrical market that they have, here formed by a single piece of very well-worn leather. , flat and with a width of around 4 cm. The length of the market is equal to or very little longer than that of the rope. Of the group of twenty-seven whips from the Monti Collection, one with a smooth truncated conical end, divided by three chiseled handles with vegetable guards, a handle with a flat ring with openwork decoration of four rosettes, a rawhide whip and a length of 18 cm, was worthy of mention. signed by the silversmith José Buschiazzo based in San Antonio de Areco at the end of the 19th century. Another, made of smooth and chiseled silver, body divided in two by a bomb, handle in the shape of a flattened ring with four rosettes, raw leather whip, length 21 cm., with punch by the Uruguayan silversmith A. O. Sanguinetti, and the third, made of chasqui , made of smooth silver, cape with decoration of moldings and plant motifs, screw-on knob cover to allow written messages to enter, punch by silversmith J. Fernández.
Herd whip
Of the type of whip called arreador, consisting of a cylindrical or slightly conical end, trimmed or not with leather, 50 to 70 cm long, which at the lower end has a guasca eyelet to which a metal ring is attached, from which hangs a braid of tientos that is generally more than 1 m, and ends at the roof; The Monti Collection had nine copies.
Maneas
The manea made of rubbed rawhide or braided leather, conveniently arranged to embrace and hold together the hands or legs of an animal, in order to limit its movements, was represented in the Monti Collection by three examples.
Ribbon
The Monti Collection owned a copy of the famous and rare pampas bow made of ostrich tendons, braided in eights and with bronze rings. Half a century ago, only three were known in the country, another of them in the “Los Libres del Sur” Museum in Chascomús; but currently there are others, made by modern artisans as a curiosity or collector's item. Primary instrument of the rider-shepherd who had to manage to dominate the bagual equine and the bighorn cattle and for the daily handling of these animals, when more or less domesticated they were entrusted to his custody, the lasso serves to catch an animal without the weapon abandon the hunter. In our country it is the product of a neat braiding or twisting of rawhide strips, called tientos, in a variable number between one and eight. One of its ends has an iron ring attached (to form, passing through it part of the assembly, an opening or sliding loop called armed), and the other a loop also made of leather, with an eyelet that fastens in a knot or button of braid of the same leather with which the bow is attached to the handle of the message. Tito Saubidet expressed in his time that the one used in the province of Buenos Aires, of cylindrical shape, was 17 to 20 meters long, but from the news that I have gathered about it, it seems to me that the 14 to 18 meters were more real. meters.
Stirrups
It is known that of these pieces of metal, wood, leather or other material, pending action, on which the rider rests his foot, a variety was used in the past that at the time was studied in great detail by the late Roberto De Vincenzi in a magnificent book, had the common characteristic of being limited in capacity by allowing the introduction of the toe, and the Monti Collection offered a dozen different models: bell, crown; guitar, sole; of antler; of wood, leather and sole, and expert.
Spurs
Of this punishment instrument to stimulate the rider, composed of an arch [part that fits into the back of the wearer's shoe and covers the calcaneus of the foot], a buckle [circular piece attached to the back of the arch] from which it starts the jess on which the slice [steel disc, with spikes, on which the spur ended] was held and turned, stood out among the ten pairs of the Monti Collection, some cast and chiseled silver Nazarenes, an arch with decoration of vegetal motifs, a bun in the shape of an openwork rosette, the same as the jesus, which represent vegetal stylizations, a large openwork iron slice with 12 points, a buckle with round and oval links, a leather understep with a silver buckle and cartridge.
Knives and daggers
Five of his knives, out of around twenty on display, caught the attention of visitors to the Monti Collection. The first, made of embossed and chiseled silver, with a handle and scabbard decorated with stylized branches topped by gold rosettes, a toe cap with vegetal stylization with golden coins, a handle with a punch by the silversmith Enrique Giaccio, from the city of Buenos Aires [Caseros, 2977] recorded in 1896 and 1903 in the Kraft Guide. The second, of embossed and chiseled silver, a truncated conical end culminating in a semisphere with radial gallons, with decoration along with the sheath. The third, 45 cm. long, made of silver, embossed and chiseled, cap decorated with geometric motifs with gold dividers, sheath decorated with motifs of branches and flowers, handle with initials “M.M.”, tip with leaf decoration, and punch by the silversmith Constantino Rey, established in Blue around 1903. The quarter of smooth silver with gold applications and decoration of flowers and leaves, edges with cord and middle part with soja, handle with heart of leaves, toe with JBN initials, Dufour steel blade, silversmith's punch Antonio Iannicelli, length 46 cm. Finally a verijero, 23 cm. long [circa 1940] with cape and scabbard decorated with plant motifs and gold flower applications, “La Movediza” steel blade and Amoroso y Llera punch, the company name of a jewelry store that operated until 1970 in the city of Olavarría , and knew how to have two stores, one on Vicente López Street, next to the old Express candy store and in front of the San José temple, and the other on the same street but between Belgrano and Dorrego, next to the disappeared Nappolitano shoe store and Bland.
Of the five daggers in the Monti collection, light and not very large weapons, larger than the knife but smaller than the facon, always double-edged and with an “S” or crossbar for the handguard and a straight blade similar to that of the facon. and many times of the same origin, we set our attention on one of 45.5 cm. long, steel blade, smooth and chiseled silver frustoconical end with plant decoration and “S”-shaped trigger guard, leather scabbard with silver fastener and tip, and awl by the silversmith S. G. Lobbe.
Handles and gaucho silver belt buckles
The Creole garments for personal use in the Monti Collection did not lack two leather straps, used as a belt, one of them with an application of silver coins from South American countries and a gold English one, weighing 1,600 kg; and half a dozen harrows, all with six handles or chain arms, which were used to close the handle.
Of the latter, the first, made of cast and chiseled silver, a circular hoop with a figure of a gaucho on horseback in the center with gold applications, and initials “F.B.”, shots with Spanish coins; the second was made of chiseled silver, with a circular center with plant decoration, which enclosed a gold monogram with the initials “E.O.M.”, and also contained four applied cufflinks with inclusions of small sapphires and diamonds, strings of chains culminating in gold buttons, and a weight of 150g; the third of chiseled silver and gold, central plate decorated with a country scene, shots finished with Uruguayan, Peruvian and Chilean silver coins with gold coin applications, weight 475 gr; the fourth of cast silver, with the representation of the shield of the Argentine Confederation in the center, shots with chains ending in smaller shields of the Confederation, title 600 and a weight of 150 gr. The fifth harrow, also made of silver, with a cast and openwork central plate representing a gaucho on horseback, shots of canevones interspersed with Argentine coins with gold applications, weight 250 gr; and the sixth and last, made of silver and gold applications, cast and openwork central plate representing the figure of a flutist with his dog, shots with decoration of plant motifs ending in openwork rosettes, punch by the silversmith A. Ferrari, performing in Buenos Aires Aires in the second half of the 19th century.
Other elements
The Museum was completed with many other objects, among them a valuable set of silver mates [with a predominance of ovoids], half a dozen tinderboxes and an ostrich snuffbox; four chifles, as many boleadoras and the inevitable set of eight glasses and four “culonas” cups from a pulpería or corner, made of molded colorless glass.
Collection destination
I had the opportunity to admire this collection at the invitation of its owner, many years ago, back in 1975, when it was exhibited in the “El Cinco” room, and by chance of fate I was an eyewitness of how the hammer of the auction carried out by The firm Posadas Remates S. A. [Bullrich, Gaona y Guerrico], at its headquarters at Marcelo T. de Alvear 1560, dispersed this collection formed over a lifetime in August 1994 [5]. However, thirty years after his death, in General Alvear the name of Don Osvaldo Monti is pronounced with respect.
Notes:
1. “Osvaldo Monti. The death” in La Nación, Buenos Aires, July 26, 1993. I thank Emiliano Tagle for having found, copied and sent me the text of this obituary.
2. Creole clothing and horses. Work and History. Cabin “El Cinco” by Monti Hnos. S.A. Present at the Centennial of General Alvear 1869-1969. I owe the copy of this rare pamphlet to the kindness of Professor Liz Solé, renowned historian of General Alvear's party.
3. The Mar del Plata notary and historian Don Julio César Gazcón (1878-1968), under the pseudonym “El gaucho Mano Mora”, in his book “Charamuscas” (Buenos Aires, Librería “Las Ciencias”, 1920) dedicates the first poem of the volume, titled “From the gate” to Olivera Galán Deheza, whose photo riding a horse is published on page. 8.
4. Adolfo Luis Ribera in his Dictionary of River Plate Goldsmiths. 16th to 20th centuries (Buenos Aires, National Fund of the Arts, 1996, p. 123), also mentions a silversmith of the same name active in 1854 with his workshop at 144 Buen Orden Street. Professor Ribera, from whom I have taken the succinct data on silversmiths mentioned in the text of this note, gathered important news about the silversmith Manuel Casal, but it is worth noting that although the cited page of his Dictionary in note 581 refers to the sources, possibly due to a trocatinta in the composition of the volume, said reference is inaccurate since the references are contained in note 580 of p. 222.
5. Posadas Remates S. A. Bullrich Gaona y Guerrico. II Auction of works of art and antiques. Auction No. 1840. Buenos Aires-July 1994. Buenos Aires, 1994, unpaginated. On the cover flap you can see a color photograph of a set of silver pieces from the Monti Collection (Copy from my library). Another sale of some pieces from the Monti collection was held on Wednesday, October 9, 2019 at the accredited Martín Saráchaga auction house.
* Special for Hilario. Arts Letters Trades