Ken Griffin

Ken Griffin
Born	1914
Died	1988
Nationality	American
Occupation	Leatherworker, magician, author, performer
Known for	Pioneering leathercraft as an accessible hobby; The Ken Griffin Show

Ken Griffin (1914–1988) was an American Western cowboy, leatherworker, magician, author, and performer whose multifaceted career spanned several decades of the twentieth century. A figure of particular significance in the history of leathercraft in the United States, Griffin played an instrumental role in transitioning leatherworking from a strictly vocational trade into a hobby accessible to a broad public audience. Through his teaching, writing, and demonstrations, he helped popularize the craft and expand its reach beyond professional artisans. In addition to his contributions to leatherwork, Griffin maintained a parallel career as a stage magician, touring internationally with his wife as part of The Ken Griffin Show, a performance act that combined elements of magic, Western showmanship, and entertainment. His life reflected the convergence of several strands of American popular culture in the mid-twentieth century — the mythology and practical skills of the Western frontier, the tradition of traveling variety performance, and the postwar boom in hobbyist craftsmanship. Griffin's published works on leathercraft served as instructional resources for generations of hobbyists and helped establish leatherworking as a recognized leisure activity in the United States and beyond.

Early Life

Ken Griffin was born in 1914 in the United States. Details regarding his family background, childhood, and early upbringing are not extensively documented in available sources. What is known is that Griffin developed an early affinity for Western cowboy culture and the practical skills associated with frontier life, including horsemanship and leatherwork. These interests would form the foundation of his professional pursuits throughout his adult life.

Griffin's formative years coincided with a period of significant cultural interest in the American West. The 1920s and 1930s saw the proliferation of Western films, rodeo culture, and cowboy imagery in American popular culture, and these influences appear to have shaped Griffin's identity and career trajectory from a young age. His early exposure to leatherworking techniques and Western craftsmanship traditions provided him with the skills that he would later refine and teach to audiences around the world.

Career

Leathercraft

Ken Griffin's most enduring professional legacy lies in his contributions to the field of leathercraft. At the time Griffin began his career, leatherworking was primarily understood as a vocational skill — a trade practiced by saddlemakers, cobblers, and other artisans who produced functional leather goods for commercial purposes. Griffin was among those who helped redefine leathercraft as a recreational and artistic pursuit, making it accessible to hobbyists and amateur craftspeople who had no formal training in the trade.

Griffin achieved this transformation through multiple channels. He was an active teacher and demonstrator, conducting workshops and instructional sessions that introduced the fundamentals of leatherworking to new audiences. His teaching approach emphasized the accessibility of the craft, breaking down complex techniques into steps that beginners could follow and master with practice. This pedagogical style helped demystify leatherwork and encouraged participation from individuals who might otherwise have viewed the craft as beyond their abilities.

In addition to his in-person instruction, Griffin authored written works on leathercraft that served as instructional guides for hobbyists. These publications contributed to the growing body of literature on the subject and provided a resource for individuals who could not attend his workshops or demonstrations in person. Through his writing, Griffin was able to extend his influence well beyond the geographic reach of his live appearances, helping to build a national and international community of leathercraft enthusiasts.

Griffin's work in leathercraft was closely tied to Western cowboy culture. The items he created and taught others to make often reflected the aesthetic traditions of the American West, including tooled leather belts, saddle accessories, wallets, and other goods decorated with Western motifs. This connection to cowboy culture gave his work a distinctive character and helped position leathercraft as an expression of Western identity and heritage.

The significance of Griffin's contributions to the leathercraft field is reflected in his recognition within communities dedicated to Western arts and crafts. His biographical profile is maintained by High Noon, an organization devoted to documenting the lives and work of individuals who have made notable contributions to Western culture and craftsmanship.

Magic and Performance

Alongside his leathercraft career, Ken Griffin maintained an active career as a magician and stage performer. Together with his wife, Griffin created and performed The Ken Griffin Show, a live entertainment act that toured extensively. The show incorporated magic acts and was performed for audiences in multiple countries, reflecting the international appeal of the Griffins' brand of entertainment.

The Ken Griffin Show represented a blending of Griffin's interests in Western culture and performance arts. While specific details about the content and structure of the show are limited in available sources, the act was known for its combination of magic, showmanship, and the personal charisma of its performers. The show's international touring schedule indicates that it achieved a level of commercial and popular success sufficient to sustain an extended performance career.

Griffin's dual career as both a craftsman and a performer was not uncommon among figures associated with Western culture in the mid-twentieth century. The era saw numerous individuals who combined practical skills with entertainment, reflecting the broader cultural fascination with the American West and its associated traditions. Griffin's ability to succeed in both domains demonstrated the breadth of his talents and the versatility that characterized his professional life.

Writing and Publications

Griffin's work as an author complemented his teaching and performance careers. He produced written works focused on leathercraft instruction, contributing to the literature that supported the growth of leatherworking as a popular hobby in the mid-to-late twentieth century. His publications are cataloged in major bibliographic databases, including records maintained by the Library of Congress and the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC), confirming their distribution and availability in library collections.

The inclusion of Griffin's works in institutional library holdings and authority files indicates that his publications achieved a degree of recognition within the publishing and library communities. Authority records for Griffin are maintained by the Library of Congress under the identifier no2017074325, and his identity is further documented in the Virtual International Authority File (VIAF) and the International Standard Name Identifier (ISNI) system, reflecting the cataloging of his published output across multiple international databases.

Personal Life

Ken Griffin was married, and his wife served as his performing partner in The Ken Griffin Show. The couple toured together internationally, combining their professional and personal lives in the context of their entertainment career. Beyond this, publicly documented details regarding Griffin's personal and family life are limited in available sources.

Griffin died in 1988 at the age of approximately 74. His death marked the end of a career that had spanned multiple disciplines and left a measurable impact on the fields of leathercraft and Western cultural preservation.

Legacy

Ken Griffin's principal legacy resides in his role in the democratization of leathercraft. By transitioning leatherworking from a professional trade into an accessible hobby, Griffin helped create a community of amateur leatherworkers that persists into the present day. The instructional frameworks he developed — through both live teaching and published works — established patterns for leathercraft education that influenced subsequent generations of instructors and hobbyists.

Griffin's biographical profile in the High Noon archive places him within a documented tradition of Western artisans and performers whose contributions to American cultural life extended beyond their individual accomplishments. His dual career in leathercraft and magic exemplified the multidimensional nature of Western cultural figures in the twentieth century, individuals who combined practical craftsmanship with entertainment and public engagement.

The cataloging of Griffin's published works in the Library of Congress, VIAF, ISNI, and OCLC databases ensures that his instructional writings remain accessible to researchers and hobbyists. These records provide a bibliographic foundation for continued access to Griffin's contributions and serve as evidence of the institutional recognition his work received during and after his lifetime.

Griffin's life and career also reflect broader trends in American cultural history. The mid-twentieth century saw a significant expansion of hobby culture in the United States, driven by increased leisure time, rising incomes, and a growing market for instructional materials and supplies. Leathercraft was one of numerous crafts that benefited from this cultural shift, and Griffin was among the figures who facilitated and accelerated this process. His work helped ensure that the skills and aesthetic traditions of Western leatherwork would be preserved and transmitted beyond the professional workshop, reaching homes, schools, and community centers across the country and internationally.