The top priced item in the sale, selling for $82,600, was a circa 1937 elaborate and unusual silver mounted parade saddle made by Edward H. Bohlin, “Saddle Maker To The Stars.”
Review by Rick Russack, Photos Courtesy Brian Lebel’s Old West Events
MESA, ARIZ. — Saddles used by John Wayne and other movie stars, firearms owned by Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, and photographs of Buffalo Bill comprised just a part of Brian Lebel’s Old West Auction, January 20 and 21. Also included were gambling chips, casino gear, advertising posters, parade saddles by today’s master craftsmen, Native American items, including textiles, beaded and painted items, more than 150 lots of bits and spurs, most from a single-owner collection, fancy apparel and boots, artwork, Wild West show memorabilia, firearms and more.
The auction was conducted in conjunction with the Mesa Old West Show, produced by Lebel, with hundreds of national dealers offering the same type of material as the auction. Catalog descriptions were comprehensive and informative. The auction was a live event, with internet and phone bidding available. Few items were passed — the sell through rate was 99 percent and the total — $1,751,000 — came close to the presale high estimate. Customers were from all over the United States and several foreign countries. Perhaps not surprisingly, many of their customers are in Texas.
Brian Lebel founded the company more than 30 years ago in Cody, Wyo. Originally, he produced Western-themed shows and auctions in that area with the expressed intention of bringing the material to a wider audience. In 2014, Brian and his wife, Melissa, acquired the High Noon Show & Auction, and they now produce and manage two shows and two auctions annually. Lebel grew up on the East Coast but made his way to Wyoming to try life as a cowboy, which he enjoyed; he developed a fascination with, and appreciation for, the material culture of the American West. He began collecting, buying and selling that material and still owns the first pair of spurs that he bought. He met his wife-to-be, Melissa McCracken, in 2007 when she worked in a Native American antiques gallery.
The top ten selling items in the auction reflect the variety of items available to collectors as well as, perhaps, where the strongest collecting interests lay: saddles, apparel and firearms used by, or belonging to, stars of Western movies and Wild West shows, and elaborate custom-made saddles and spurs.
The second highest price of the sale, $41,300, was paid for Roy Rogers’ personal gun rig with two Colt revolvers and two carved leather holsters, a carved leather belt and a buckle inlaid with rubies. The belt and holsters were made by Ed Bohlin.
Finishing at $82,600, the highest priced item the sale, was a circa 1937 elaborate and unusual silver mounted parade saddle made by Edward H. Bohlin, known as the “Saddle Maker To The Stars.” It belonged to Ely Montana, a performer well-known for riding her dancing horse, and helping her husband, Montie, a rodeo trick rider and roper, in his roping act. The leather saddle was finely carved with bucking broncos on the fenders and silver conchos applied. Along with the saddle, the lot included the matching bridle and breast collar. Bohlin was an accomplished silversmith as well as a skilled leather worker; his designs often incorporated gold and silver filigree used in combination with carved leather.
There were more than 50 other items made by Bohlin in the auction, including other saddles, spurs, bridles and belt buckles; three of his saddles sold well. One was a black floral carved leather parade saddle with matching bridle and breast collar which sold for $24,200. This list could go on but we can’t leave the saddle category without mentioning a parade saddle made by another master, Don Ellis. The catalog said it all: “A massive, impressive and flashy brown floral tooled diamond saddle, covered with sterling silver and enhanced with two-tone braided strings with fine leather fringe throughout. The sterling covered tapaderos are 25 inches long. The saddle itself with the serapes stands an impressive 58 inches tall.” It reached $15,730.
Not all saddles were this fancy or this expensive. A presentation saddle made by Ed Gilmore, North Hollywood, Calif., and inscribed “To Joanne and Monte Hale from Gene Autry / World’s Championship Rodeo / Madison Square Garden / 1940-1953″ brought just $3,835. Gilmore made several saddles for Autry, who produced the Madison Square Garden Rodeo during those years. Hale, who appeared in numerous Westerns and had his own comic book title, was a personal friend of Autry’s.
Several items once belonging to Roy Rogers showed his continuing popularity. Bringing the second highest price of the sale — $41,300 — was Rogers’ personal gun rig with two carved leather holsters, a carved leather belt, a buckle inlaid with rubies, and two Colt single-action army revolvers. Other items belonging to Rogers, and earning some of the sales’ higher prices, included another ornate gun rig with deeply carved leather, engraved sterling conchos, two Colt revolvers and a ruby inlaid buckle. It was made by Nudie’s of Hollywood and sold for $38,350. Nudie’s made elaborately decorated clothing for many Western performers, utilizing rhinestones and customized, embroidered designs; the company also created costumes for Elvis, Robert Redford and John Lennon. Rogers wore these guns in numerous movies and television appearances. A pair of gold-plated Colts he used sold for $24,200. The catalog stated: “Roy is pictured on approximately 20 comic book covers using these revolvers. They were his favorites for showing off. The Wild West Show, television, movie and print media appearances might make these two the most viewed Colts of all time.” A monogramed Tiffany sterling silver service for 12, a wedding gift for Rogers and Dale Evans, realized $7,670.
A scarce 1908 poster advertised the “Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Combined with Pawnee Bill’s Great Far East” show. It pictured Arrowhead, the “Belle of the Tribe” and reached $10,890 despite condition issues.
Items known to have been used in Western movies were notably strong. A saddle that was used in The Shootist, John Wayne’s final film, sold for $23,600, while two promotional posters for the film brought $236. The shirt that Wayne wore during the filming of the film Chisum (1970) sold for $2,950. A holster with belt and guns owned and screen-worn by Ken Maynard, included a sterling and gold three-piece buckle with “KM” set in gold; the lot also included eight lobby cards showing Maynard wearing this rig, all of which sold for $2,655. A Stetson hat with a label reading “Made by Stetson Especially for James Coburn” brought $2,299.
Belt buckles which were awarded to rodeo champions included one selling for $12,980. Jim Shoulders was considered the “Babe Ruth” of the rodeo circuit having been the winner of 16 World Championships. This buckle recognized him as the 1949 Champion Bull Rider. There were other rodeo champion buckles offered; one owned by Johnny Cash rode out for $5,015.
Guns in the sale included revolvers, rifles and derringers. A Sharps derringer, model 2A .30 caliber pistol with four 3-inch barrels, went off at $847. A circa 1908 .44 caliber Colt single action revolver with a 5½-inch barrel made $19,360. Dale Evans’ personal revolver was a circa 1924 .38 caliber Colt Police Positive and was sold with her personal belt and holster. She wore this rig in numerous television appearances and on numerous comic book covers. According to her son, Roy Jr, she once used it to quiet a noisy living room wrestling match between Roy and his children. The catalog refers to it as “the ultimate cowgirl home protection,” (Obviously from a different time in our history.) It sold for $15,340.
The top selling rifle was a Winchester model 1866 .44 caliber rim fire gun; it earned $14,160.
Books and ephemera included a copy of Historical and Biographical Record of the Cattle Industry and the Cattlemen of Texas and Adjacent Territory 1895 by James Cox. It contains biographies of some 448 cattlemen and an extensive contemporary account of the Texas cattle trade. The book was heavily illustrated and was a first edition, rare because most had been destroyed in a warehouse fire. It finished at $4,235. Fans of television Westerns will probably remember the name “Bat Masterson.” A subpoena ordering him to appear in court sold for $4,840. A lot of eight Buffalo Bill Wild West show programs from the 1890s reached $2,950. Photographs included a lot with two signed Buffalo Bill images which sold for $484, a lot with seven images of Pawnee Bill’s Wild West show sold for $236, and there were other lots, including a group of cowgirls, armed cowboys and Native Americans, among others.
This Victorian-era longhorn steer-horn chair was made in the style of William Mittman of San Antonio, Texas. With a replaced hair-on cowhide covered seat, it sold for $1,180.
Gambling hall items included a full-size roulette table with a colorful history. The wheel was in operating condition, the lot included some accessories, and earned $2,722. The table had come from the casino of Arnold Rothstein in Saratoga Springs. Charles “Lucky” Luciano, Meyer Lansky and Dutch Shultz all worked the tables.
A few days after the sale, Melissa McCracken was quite satisfied with the results. “It went really well. Our gross, $1,754,000, was just under our high estimate and we passed very few items. More of the bidding was on the Internet than in the past and that brought us new customers. The Old West Show, which we run in conjunction with the auction, had a huge crowd. The show opened at 9 am on Saturday, and by noon we had more than 1,000 attendees. And they just kept coming.”
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house.
Brian Lebel’s 33rd Annual Cody Old West Show & Auction will take place June 23-25. For information 408-779-9378 or www.oldwestevents.com.
