This 162-page historical ledger and storybook, created and maintained by White Bull (1849-1947), nephew of Chief Sitting Bull, was the highest-priced lot at $270,600 ($75/125,000).
Review by Carly Timpson
LAS VEGAS — Morphy Auctions brought the Old West to Las Vegas again on January 24. This iteration of the firm’s popular Old West Auction coincided with a two-day show and included 495 lots of Western and Native American art, artifacts and memorabilia as well as plenty of cowboy history. In total, the sale realized $1.9 million.
More than doubling its high estimate to become the highest-priced lot was White Bull’s historic ledger and story book. White Bull (1849-1947) was the nephew of Hunkpapa Sioux leader Sitting Bull. As noted in the auction catalog, Old West author Mike Cowdrey wrote, “this ledger book is White Bull’s personal and original biographical account. In terms of Lakota historiography, this volume is comparable in importance to the diaries of Thomas Jefferson — a unique and irreplaceable resource.” Complete with visual retellings of battle scenes and coups, the historic ledger had provenance to Morning Star Gallery, Santa Fe, N.M., and was chased down for $270,600. “What made it especially unique was that it was a personal and original biographical account of battles, coups, combats and even included winter population counts of the Sioux,” said Dan Morphy, president of Morphy Auctions. “White Bull claimed to have killed General Custer — which may or may not have been true — but the book does record what appears to be his fight with Custer, in addition to many other battles in which he was personally involved.”
Edward H. Bohlin, saddlemaker for the stars, is always well-represented in Old West auctions. Achieving $233,700, the second-highest price in the sale, was a custom parade saddle made for noted equestrienne, Louise Cottam of Santa Barbara, Calif., around the 1930s. Cottam’s two-tone brown leather ensemble, a variation of Bohlin’s Machris model, was detailed with sterling silver and gold conchos and was paired with a matching bridle and two breast collars. The ensemble had provenance to the George Pitman collection of Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., and was pictured in James H. Nottage’s Saddlemaker to the Stars, The Leather and Silver Art of Edward H. Bohlin (Autry Museum of Western Heritage, 1996).
This Edward H. Bohlin sterling silver and gold parade saddle, a variation of the Machris model, was custom-made in the late 1930s for Louise Cottam of Santa Barbara, Calif. It sold for $233,700 ($100/150,000).
Another Bohlin parade saddle ensemble from the Pitman collection, this one complete with a matching outfit, including a vest, chaps and gauntlets, as well as an additional pair of stirrups, went out at $34,800. This suite was originally made in the 1940s for Harry West of Shafter, Calif. According to the catalog, Shafter was a director and captain of the Rancheros Visitadores riding club of Santa Barbara. Shafter’s saddle was adorned with round silver conchos in a California poppy pattern. The subsequent owner of the saddle was George E. Pitman, and it was his name on the plaque.
While perhaps not as impressive as a parade saddle, a belt, tooled by Keith Seidel, still showcased the artistry one would expect to see from Bohlin. Mounted with eight two-tone gold “Indian heads,” the belt featured a sterling silver and 14K gold filigreed belt buckle, 2 by 3 inches, with a raised “Chief” or “Indian head” design, made by Bohlin. The belt was stamped with the mark for Seidel’s Saddlery, Cody, Wyo., and the buckle for Edward H. Bohlin, Hollywood.
Finishing just shy of its high estimate to earn $17,220 was Hollywood actor John Carroll’s personalized Bohlin double holster rig. The brown leather buscadero-style rig was adorned with sterling silver details and the unmarked belt was tooled with floral pattern in the manner of Visalia. The rig sold with Carroll’s two Smith and Wesson .44 Hand Ejector double action revolvers used by the actor in a number of films. Also included in the lot were the actor’s Ed Jones “Deputy Sheriff / Los Angeles County / Silver Mounted Posse” badge, a movie still from the 1959 Plunderers of Painted Flats and a publicity headshot from Zorro Rides Again (1937).
John Carroll’s personalized Edward H. Bohlin double holster rig was sold with the actor’s two Smith and Wesson .44 Hand Ejector double action revolvers, which he used in several movies; the lot was bid to $17,220 ($12/18,000).
Other Western weaponry to find success included a Henry Model 1860 lever-action rifle and a Colt Single Action Army revolver. The historic Henry rifle, as identified through its serial number, was from a 90-gun shipment sent to Fort Knox, Maine, in 1864, and was issued to Lieutenant Ezra Rideout. Rideout later gave the gun to his brother Jacob, for whom the rifle was later engraved: “Jacob Rideout / Contention Arizona Ter.” According to the catalog, “This rifle witnessed, or was in, just about every memorable event of the era from the 1865 Washington Grand Review through the time and around all of the most notable Western personalities and incidents of that tumultuous era.” It is included in two reference books: Wiley Sword’s The Historic Henry Rifle and George Madis’ The Winchester Book. The gun was shot down, just exceeding its high estimate, for $41,820.
The .45 Colt Single Action Army revolver, manufactured in 1874, was marked “A” for sub-inspector Orville W. Ainsworth. Its “Custer range” serial number, 5451, indicated that it was from the “historically significant Lot Five, considered the prime lot from which the 7th Cavalry were issued their revolvers before leaving for the Black Hills on July 2, 1874,” according to the catalog. Accompanying documents reported that the weapon was “acquired from a descendant of Edward Leiby, who reportedly served in the 3rd, 4th, 7th and 10th Cavalries in the West, and this gun was handed down through the family until 1964.” It sold, with a Kopec letter, provenance documents and a leather holster, for $31,200.
Spurs are another Old West staple, and the category was led, at $29,520, by a pair of Qualey Bros., double mounted shield and dome spurs. They had provenance to the Ron and Linda Gillett collection and were featured on signs for the couple’s collection of cowboy silver. In “amazing” condition, these spurs had clear markings and the shank featured the classic Qualey split tip and 2½-inch rowels. Following closely behind at $27,060 was a pair of Jesus Tapia silver-mounted Eagle spurs. The eagle-form shanks, with their 10-point rowels and 8-point rowel covers, were affixed to later two-piece floral leathers, mounted with large domed eagle conchos.
This pair of double-mounted shield and dome sterling silver spurs by Qualey Bros., had 2¾-inch shanks, each with the classic Qualey split-tip detail, and 2½-inch rowels; the pair brought $29,520 ($20/30,000).
The leading bridle also came from the Tapia family. This example featured a J. Tapia filigreed coin silver ring bit from the early 1900s. With overlaid and inlaid details, the southern California bit was paired with a period split-ear California leather headstall, later reinforced with newer leather and a later-made set of reins. It went out at $22,800.
“Jublio Where Did You Sleep Last Night,” painted by Wilhelm Heinrich Detlev Körner in 1919, was the highest-priced work of art, finishing at $19,200 and leading the selection of nearly 100 fine art lots. In this signed and dated oil on canvas Western scene, two men square off, one of the men backed by cowboys and the other by a farmer, with a woman anxiously onlooking from the stoop. Harry Jackson’s mixed-media and bronze “Pony Express II,” depicting a cowboy, on horseback, shooting behind him, was bid to $17,220. The 1980 sculpture was double signed and dated, impressed with the artist’s thumbprint, marked “PE II 46F” and stamped for WFS Italia.
Dan Morphy shared, “Running that same weekend, the Las Vegas Antique Arms Show and the Old West Events Show heavily complimented our Old West Auction and its results. It was great to see that we had more than 150 bidders on the floor during the auction.”
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, www.morphyauctions.com or 877-968-8880.
