Inspired by the Arthurian quest to acquire the chalice of the Last Supper that received Jesus Christ’s blood from his crucifixion, collectors use the term “Holy Grail” to refer to a hard-to-find or rare piece that they must own to complete their collection.
In the Old West arena, just three years ago, photo aficionados went wild for their Holy Grail, the original tintype of Billy the Kid that sold at Brian Lebel’s Old West Auction. For the philographists in this circle, theirs has just sold: an 1880-81 signature book of the Pima County Bank in Arizona that preserves the autographs of hundreds of Tombstone citizens inscribed during the era of the Wild West’s most famous gunfight, the battle behind the O.K. Corral.
To cite the signatures included is mindboggling, especially in a world where if something seems too good to be true, it probably isn’t. When said item is also linked to Tombstone collector John Gilchriese, skepticism rises even more. Although some items the field historian acquired have been called into question, this book is the real deal.
So here goes, prepare to have your mind blown. The top lot sold at Heritage Auctions on June 14, for a $55,000 bid, contains the signatures of notable characters who include: Wyatt and Virgil Earp, Ike and N.H. Clanton, J.H. Behan, J. Hume and Fred J. Dodge. Distinguished from his brother Tom McLaury’s signature, Will signed “Fort Worth” after his W.R.; the attorney had come to Tombstone from Texas to become a member of the team prosecuting the Earp gang after the shoot-out behind the O.K. Corral on October 26, 1881. Even more, this book features the only known signature of Doc Holliday’s paramour, Kate.
Collectors collectively earned more than $450,000 on notable Old West treasures at the Legends of the West auction.
Photo Gallery
Described as exceedingly rare by Paul Fees, retired curator of the newly named Buffalo Bill Center of the West, this 1915 lithograph poster for Buffalo Bill’s Wild West and Congress of Rough Riders of the World bid in at $5,500.
UPDATE: After the auction, Heritage Auctions learned that this badge was a fake and offered the purchaser an immediate refund. We previously reported that the six-pointed star badge was owned by Texas Ranger Phillip Cuney Baird, who was elected sheriff of Mason County in 1888 and served through 1896.
– P.C. Baird photo courtesy James Baird Family –
The bear claw necklace Sitting Bull (far left) gave Buffalo Bill Cody (left), his Wild West showman boss in 1885, features 10 claws; most boast between 20 to 40 claws, so the Sioux chief may have been suggesting that Cody fill it out for himself; $32,500.
Len Gratteri, an author who became captivated by a lawman-turned-outlaw bank robber from Caldwell, Kansas, named Ben Wheeler, sold the assistant marshal’s .44 caliber Colt Single Action Army revolver, serial 98216, he had purchased at Christie’s New York in 1998 for $12,650. He roughly made back his investment, with the gun bidding in at $12,000 at Heritage.
Selling as the top lot, for $55,000, the 1880-81 Pima County Bank signature book contains the handwritten scrawls of notable Westerners from the O.K. Corral era, including the only known signature of the woman popularly called Big Nose Kate (inset). She is depicted here in a photo seated next to her sister, Wilhelmina, circa 1865, roughly a decade before she met her love, Doc Holliday.
Originally acquired from Julia Goodman, the sister of Buffalo Bill Cody, this cased, Cody-owned, Colt Model 1873 Single Action Army revolver, serial 77234, bid in at $32,500.
George Armstrong Custer’s personal Indian War-era lambskin gauntlets, with family provenance, sold for a $12,000 bid. The famous cavalry commander is shown wearing similar gauntlets in the photo.
David Odem Jr., whose father fought at the Battle of San Jacinto during the Texas War of Independence, served as sheriff of Patricio County from 1882-86 and 1896-1914. In the early 1890s, he helped found Sinton, and that town’s name is engraved on the grip of Odem’s pearl-handled, .38-40 Colt that sold for a $5,000 bid. Walter Tips, who owned a machinery shop in Austin, originally purchased this revolver (serial 191744) in 1899, according to the Colt factory letter.
Gratteri also sold other items tied to Wheeler, including a photograph taken after the Medicine Lodge bank robbery he participated in on April 30, 1884; $2,200. The posse surrounds the robbers (from left) John Wesley, shackled to Caldwell City Marshal Henry Brown, and William Smith, handcuffed to Wheeler.
An 1888 cabinet photo of the famed Texas Ranger Company D, passed down through the family of J. Walter Durbin (front row, fourth from left), hammered down for $13,000.
Sitting Bull’s autograph, on the back of an advertising card for the Randall House Hotel at Fort Randall in Dakota Territory, features a pencil notation dated 1882 by Maj. G.L. Andrews, who served at the post during Sitting Bull’s captivity; $6,000.
A pair of .41 Colt Single Actions, consecutively numbered 158425 and 158426, attributed to Texas Ranger Capt. Roy Aldrich, plus a Ranger badge, bid in at $7,500. Heritage earlier sold a photo of Aldrich (inset) for a $150 bid on September 21, 2013. Given his service from 1917-47, excepting a two-year break, Aldrich is credited as having the longest tenure of any Ranger.
From December 1893 to April 1894, William Weigel commanded these 17 Apache scouts and one white soldier in San Carlos, Arizona Territory. He is seen in the center, wearing the kepi with 11th Infantry insignia. The photo, which identifies each man, hammered down for $2,800.
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Inspired by the Arthurian quest to acquire the chalice of the Last Supper that received Jesus Christ’s blood from his crucifixion, collectors use the term “Holy Grail” to refer to a hard-to-find or rare piece that they must own to complete their collection.
