Morphy’s heads to Vegas on Jan. 26 to conduct Brian Lebel’s Old West Auction of cowboy and Western relics and memorabilia.
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Later this month Morphy Auctions will team up with Brian Lebel’s 34th Old West Show & Auction and the Las Vegas Antique Arms show to produce what is expected to be the mega-event of 2024 for collectors of antique arms, Western memorabilia and cowboy relics. “I expect this to be a one-of-a-kind event in the industry, combining the best of the crossover categories – cowboy and Western, Native American, Hollywood and firearms,” said Dan Morphy, founder and president of Morphy Auctions.
On Friday and Saturday, January 26-27, the two shows and auction will band together under one roof at the Westgate Casino & Resort to offer collectors an unparalleled selection of antique firearms, Western art, antiques, apparel, décor, jewelry and collectibles. Over the two days, guests can browse and buy from 1,200+ tables of exceptional goods presented by some of the world’s finest Western dealers and craftsmen. On Friday evening, Morphy Auctions will take center stage to conduct an exciting live event: Brian Lebel’s 34th Annual Old West Auction of important and historical Western antiques. All forms of bidding will be available, including live via the Internet.
The 473-lot auction is packed with stellar pieces for both the advanced collector and beginner.
A wealth of Native American artifacts includes pictorial beadwork, bridles, vests, textiles, weapons and an important Blackfoot beaded war shirt accompanied by an old photo and written history. The list continues with Gold Rush and Wild West material, law badges, historic photos and documents; firearms advertising, screen-worn cowboy apparel, Stetson hats with celebrity connections, and items personally owned by such notables as President Ulysses S Grant and Buffalo Bill Cody.
Words can hardly do justice in describing Edward H Bohlin’s personal sterling silver mounted with gold-repousse gun belt, presented together with a pair of Bohlin-mounted Colt Single Action Army revolvers. The showstopping equestrian parade ensemble was designed by Bohlin himself and built in collaboration with top Bohlin artists over a 14-year period. The one-of-a-kind double-holster rig was World’s Fair-exhibited (Montreal, 1967), worn in scores of parades, and published in numerous books and magazines. The lot includes a letter from respected Bohlin scholar James Nottage and carries an estimate of $200,000-$250,000. Coveted Bohlin saddles, spurs, buckles and bolos are also entered in the auction.
A wonderful selection of marked spurs includes designs by Cox and Baldwin (Canon City), Bradley, Visalia, Tapia, Schnitger, Figueroa, Dahl, McChesney, Crockett and many others. A pair of extremely rare circa-1920s double-mounted G S Garcia “Rabbit” spurs – so named because they feature engraved images of snuggling and sleeping bunnies on their fronts and backs – are maker-marked G S GARCIA on one spur and ELKO NEV on the other. One of only two such pairs known to exist, these spectacular spurs are estimated at $35,000-$45,000.
A museum-grade ledger book created and maintained in the late 19th/early 20th centuries by Sitting Bull’s nephew White Bull (1849-1947) – purported killer of General Custer at the Battle of the Little Bighorn – is unique and historically important. In White Bull’s handwriting, it documents coups, combats and winter counts of the Sioux. In all, there are 162 pages, 120 with writing and 33 with drawings. The auction estimate has been set at $200,000-$250,000.
More than a century after their lives are said to have ended abruptly in a dusty Bolivian town, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid continue to fascinate fans of Western lore. The two friends and partners in crime were part of the “Fort Worth Five,” whose scurrilous outlaw careers were marked by a long string of bank and train robberies. It was the beginning of the end for the so-called “Wild Bunch” gang when their photograph, taken in 1900, came to the attention of the Pinkerton National Detective Agency. That image would soon become the mugshot on “wanted” posters throughout the western states. On January 26, Morphy’s will auction an original 1900 Wild Bunch Gang photo taken by a Fort Worth photographer John Swartz. Clear and sharp, the mounted photo has a handwritten identification of the five sitters on verso. It is estimated at $60,000-$80,000.
Adding star quality to the auction, an exciting array of vintage collectibles includes property once owned or used by Hollywood royalty: John Wayne, Buck Jones, Clint Eastwood, James Arness, Rex Allen and, the King of the Cowboys, Roy Rogers. One of Rogers’ most prized possessions was his pair of McCabe parade chaps from a complete parade saddle ensemble commissioned in 1931 for wealthy horsewoman H L Musick and her champion horse Diamond. After many Rose Bowl appearances, the silver and gold-repousse chaps were acquired by Rogers for use at promotional appearances and in photos. They were exhibited nationwide and resided in the Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Museum Collection. Estimate: $70,000-$90,000
A top prize in the sale is an outfit Clayton Moore wore onscreen in his indelible role as “The Lone Ranger.” The ensemble consists of a specially-dyed dark shirt and pants plus a screen-worn hat and black screen-worn mask designed for use in water scenes. With impeccable provenance, the quintessential Lone Ranger outfit has a $10,000-$20,000 estimate. Also of special interest in the auction is a major photo and poster archive whose voluminous contents trace the career of Clayton Moore as the Lone Ranger.
Collectors will need to look skyward to take in the full impact of a giant Levi Strauss advertising display of a type distributed in the 1940s to stores throughout the western states. The upper portion of the 12ft-tall figural cowboy is composed of painted hardboard, while the lower portion is dressed with a pair of original Levi’s denim jeans having a 76-inch inseam. The display is one of only two known to Morphy’s specialists and will be offered with a $14,000-$16,000 estimate.
Other must-see collections include prison-made horsehair hitched bridles – most of them “published” – from Deer Lodge, Florence, Oregon State, Wyoming, Yuma and Walla Walla; and treasures from the Dick Burdick collection of maker-marked gun leather, some from obscure makers.
The Western art section includes works by many top names, including Howard Terpning, Edgar Paxson, Will James, Edward Borein, Nick Eggenhoffer, Earl Biss and many others. Bronzes by Harry Jackson (1924-2011) include Pony Express, which is signed and dated “1967.” Estimate: $15,000-$20,000
The January 26, 2024 auction, produced by Morphy’s in association with Brian Lebel’s Old West Events, will be held live in the Ballroom at the Westgate Casino & Resort, 3000 Paradise Rd., Las Vegas, Nevada 89109. Start time: 4pm Pacific time / 7pm Eastern time. All forms of remote bidding will be available, including absentee, by phone, and live via the Internet through Morphy Live. For questions about any item in the auction or to reserve a phone line, call toll-free 877-968-8880 or email [email protected].
- View the full catalog online and sign up to bid at www.morphyauctions.com.
- Learn more about the Las Vegas Antique Arms Show at www.antiquearmsshow.com.
- Visit Brian Lebel’s Old West Events online at www.oldwestevents.com.
If I were a wealthy man, these are the types of things I would buy.
Anytime something is designated as antique, you’ll always need plenty of $$$.