It was no surprise that Edward Bohlin’s personal silver-mounted gun belt would bring the highest price of the sale, the question was how high it would go. Earning $307,500 to earn top-lot honors, the gun sold to a private Texas collector bidding on the phone. In addition to impeccable provenance, the gun came with an extensive publication and exhibition history as well as documentation from Bohlin historian James Nottage ($200/250,000).
Review by Madelia Hickman Ring; Photos Courtesy Morphy Auctions
LAS VEGAS, NEV. — On January 26, Morphy Auctions teamed up with Brian Lebel’s 34th Old West Auction in a 473-lot sale that corralled some of the best Western art and artifacts. The sale, which Lebel previously conducted in Mesa, Ariz., took place alongside Morphy’s Las Vegas Antique Arms show January 26-27, creating a blockbuster event that drew collectors of cowboy, Western and Native American artifacts, Hollywood memorabilia and firearms from around the world. The auction was more than 97 percent sold and exceeded $2.2 million.
After the sale, Dan Morphy reported, “The auction was a huge success. There were more than 200 people in attendance, which made it the largest crowd we’ve had since auctioning Part I of the Bobby Knudsen Petroliana collection in fall of 2022. Both the phone lines and the internet were extremely busy, and the feedback we received was constant and very positive. The auction was part of a triple header that included the Las Vegas Antique Arms Show and Brian Lebel’s 34th Old West Show. While the shows were taking place, Morphy’s took in consignments valued at more than $1 million dollars. Some of those items are unbelievably important and rare.”
“One thing I heard over and over again, from both the dealers and visitors to the mega-event, was how much they enjoyed being able to attend the auction and two shows in Las Vegas, all under one roof. It would not be an exaggeration to say that more than 100 people took the time to find me and tell me that, which I greatly appreciated.”
“Aside from the incredible artistry, what made this pair of chaps so desirable was its well-documented provenance. Roy Rogers chose to wear them at many promotional appearances and in promotional photos. He was a very popular TV star to an entire generation of kids, and he’s still a hero to them,” said Dan Morphy. Sixteen McCabe craftsmen, including John McCabe himself, spent six months creating a parade ensemble for horsewoman H.L. Musick, at a cost of $20,000. This pair of chaps was considered to be among Roy Rogers’ very favorite parade outfits. The chaps sold for $184,500 ($70/90,000).
The interest and enjoyment experienced by those who attended was reflected in prices achieved throughout the sale, particularly in the top lots. An early favorite for top-lot status was the silver-mounted gun belt personally owned by “saddle maker to the stars,” Edward Bohlin. It carried the heftiest estimate of any lot — $200/250,000 — but interest pushed it to $307,500, with a phone bidder from Texas outlasting all other competitors.
The gun belt was part of Bohlin’s “Big Saddle” equestrian parade ensemble that is largely considered a masterpiece, and which took him 14 years to design and build. The belt was accompanied by a letter from historian and Bohlin scholar James Nottage, who noted, “It is not going too far to state that, at least from this point of view, this is the most artistic and richly embellished Western-styled gunbelt and holster set ever made.” Bohlin had owned the belt until 1977, when he sold it to an attorney and sheriff in Houston, Texas. The belt was subsequently acquired by John Reedy, then owner of The Bohlin Company, who owned it until 2003 when he sold it to a California collector.
The gun belt shared the auction’s catalog cover with a pair of tooled leather and silver mounted chaps that had been commissioned as part of a complete parade ensemble by McCabe in 1931 for wealthy horsewoman, H.L. Musick. The chaps were then owned by Western actor and singer Roy Rogers, who wore them in photos and promotional appearances. According to the catalog, the chaps were “among his very favorite parade outfits.” The chaps doubled the high estimate and rode out for $184,500, the second highest price of the day.
The Bohlin company made just two versions of their parade saddles in child’s sizes. This “Hexagon” model, which the firm made in the 1950s, found a new home for $79,950 ($30/40,000).
More silver mounted parade gear followed. Reining in $79,950 and all but doubling its high estimate, was a Bohlin “Hexagon” model child’s pony-sized parade saddle with matching bridle, bit, breast collar and wool corona. The catalog described it as “exceedingly rare,” noting that in all of Bohlin’s catalogs from 1927 to the 1950s, he only offered two child-sized parade saddles, the other being the “Jackie Cooper” model in the 1930s-40s.
Rounding out the leaderboard and selling for a within-estimate $41,820 was a pair of double-mounted G.S. Garcia “Rabbit” spurs that has straps marked “R.T. Frazier, Pueblo, Colo.” The catalog described them as charming and whimsical, noting it is only second known extant pair of Garcia’s special order “Rabbit” spurs featuring engraved bunnies, snuggling or sleeping, on both the front and back.
Western art was a dominant category as well. Racing past its high estimate to a $28,160 finish was “Last Stand Hill,” a polychromed bronze sculpture, number 16 from an edition of 40, made by modern artist Dave McGary (American, 1958-2013). The complex and dynamic 36-inch-long model depicted three Native American warriors and four horses, the figure at the back carrying an American flag.
Untitled (Roping trouble) by Till Goodan, oil on canvas, 24 by 32 inches, signed, traded hands at $24,600 ($7/9,000).
Similar dynamism was captured by Till Goodan (American, 1896-1958) in his untitled (Roping trouble), an oil on canvas composition that showed two cowboys trying to rope a steer, with one cowboy and horse seemingly poised to fall into a stream. Bidders chased it from an opening bid of $3,600 to $24,000.
A scarce variation of the “Colt Cowgirl” lithograph by W.F. Powers had provenance to the Dick Burdick collection and wrangled bids to $20,400, while a French three-sheet poster for Buffalo Bill’s Wild West and Congress of Rough Riders of the World, Cowboys des Prairies / Dressant des Chevaux Sauvages (Prairie Cowboys / Training Wild Horses), earned an impressive $15,000, well above expectations. The catalog noted it was the first such example seen.
Native American artifacts attracted several high and noteworthy results. Leading the category with a result of $22,140 was a Yuma Territorial Prison horsehair bridle. Made with pink, yellow, black and red, it was described as “fabulous and flashy” and bidders agreed. The same price was earned by a hitched horsehair bridle made by a member of the Swinomish tribe while imprisoned at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla that had been published in Ned and Jody Martin’s Horsehair Bridles / A Unique American Folk Art: Volume 3 of Bridles of the Americas (Seattle, 1998). A Lakota Sioux American flag-beaded bridle in Horses and Bridles of the American Indians by Mike Cowdrey and Ned and Jody Martin (Nicasio, Calif., 2011).
“Fabulous and flashy” was how the catalog described this horsehair bridle that was made in Yuma Prison. Estimated at $12/15,000, it rode to a new home for $22,140.
“This auction represented the first time we had bridles of such high quality to offer to collectors,” said Morphy. “Prison-made bridles may have been created a century ago by men who were incarcerated, but the artistry and quality of their handiwork is exceptional. Experienced collectors can look at such bridles and identify which prison they came from by examining the style of braiding and decoration. They’re fantastic works of art.”
Ever dramatic, a Plains Spontoon pipe tomahawk that had provenance to the collection of Dr Robert Pamphlin made $19,800. It featured tight scrolls, a heart cutout, an incised blade, a Native tanned hide wrap and a beaded and quilled drop with geometric designs.
The romanticism of Hollywood’s “Wild West” continues to woo bidders, who chased several lots. Earning $19,200 was a two-shirt lot worn on screen or during production by John Wayne as J.D. Cahill in his 1973 film Cahill: US Marshall. The other was an outfit and mask worn by Clayton Moore, in his career-defining role as the Lone Ranger, that had been given by Moore to Carmen Sacchetti. A noteworthy inclusion in the lot was the mask — described by the catalog as “the rarest and most desirable screen worn Hollywood item — that was designed to be worn during water scenes. It sold for $18,450.
Prices include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house.
Brian Lebel and Dan Morphy’s next Old West auction will be June 23 auction in Santa Fe, N.M., timed to correspond to the Old West Show, June 21-23. For information, www.oldwestevents.com, www.morphyauctions.com or 877-968-8880.
