Hi Paula,
I have looked everywhere on line and in books and I can’t find any information on at artist, perhaps Bennett Pat or Pat Bennett whose name is on the back of my bolo tie. Can you help?
Ron
Well without a photo Ron, I’m guessing what you are seeing is something like this
BENNET PAT. PEND.
OR
BENNETT PAT. PEND. C-31
stamped on the locking slide on the back of your bolo…yes?
BENNETT PAT. PEND.
If so, that refers to a person who designed and manufactured the first locking bolo slide clip about the mid 1950s and the slides carried this stamp
BENNETT PAT. PEND. C-31
Although the above indicates that a patent had been applied for, there is no patent registered according to anything I have read.
In the mid 1960s the C-31 disappeared and the stamp was simply
BENNET PAT. PEND.
It is my opinion and experience that soon thereafter, others began copying the clasp so the copy-cats didn’t add the BENNETT name on it. We refer to unmarked clasps as “Bennett-style” clasps. I’ve seen unmarked locking clasps on bolos made from the 1960s through til today.
An unmarked Bennett-style locking clasp
The marking on your bolo slide might be a partial stamp that made you think it said “BENNETT PAT”.
You should look carefully all over the back of the bolo itself (not the slide) for any kind of marks – often these are quite light as they are sometimes done with an engraver. That information plus a photo of the front of the bolo would be helpful in determining the origin, and perhaps the artist who made your bolo.
Best of luck, Paula
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