Press Release

Reno, NV, USA, April 24, 2024 -- A large California Gold Rush-era gold and quartz nugget sold for $25,000; an original 1881 photograph of a 13-man posse in Arizona brought $8,750; and a trove of letters from 1883-1886 pertaining to the “Bisbee Massacre” and Apache attacks in Arizona brought $12,187 in Holabird Western Americana Collections’ Wild West Relics Auction split between two weekends – April 6th-7th and April 13th-14th – online and live at the gallery in Reno, Nev.

It was a massive event, one that required a break between Sessions 1-2 and 3-4 it was so sprawling. Fully 2,300 lots came up for bid in over 60 collecting categories over the four days. Hundreds of lots went up for grabs, featuring many one-of-a-kind discoveries and great rarities. The sale came on the heels of a timed auction held two weeks earlier that also saw a lot of action.

Day 1, on Saturday, April 6th, contained 563 lots of art, jewelry, Native Americana, maps, World’s Fair/Expositions, books, autographs, photographs, tools and the Wilcox photo archive.

The Wilcox archive comprised hundreds of photographs taken circa 1860-1864 by Dr. Timothy Wilcox, an Army physician assigned to many of the Western forts, especially Fort Huachuca in Arizona. It changed hands for $2,625. But the top lot of the day was the 1881 mounted original albumen photograph of the 13-man posse that was sent from Tucson to Yuma, Arizona to arrest one of the Goldwater brothers for fraud in a suspected major retail goods swindle ($8,750).

A circa 1660, full edition copy of Il Capitolo dei Frati, handwritten in ink by Jesuit monk Sebastiano Chiesa, controversial for its time and banned by the Catholic Church (just owning a copy was punishable by death) fetched $5,000. Also sold was an archive of photos and personal papers from Oliver Parker Fritchie, a visionary who owned electrical vehicle and wind power businesses in the early 20th century. He was awarded his initial battery patent in 1903 ($3,125).

There were several stunning squash blossom necklaces in the auction. Chief among them was a stunning example with dark blue turquoise in a dark brown to black matrix, crafted circa 1960 by Jimmy Long, the spouse of Navajo silversmith Helen Long ($3,250); and an equally beautiful vintage Navajo necklace set in sterling silver, 24 inches in length, with ten turquoise nuggets up the necklace portion and another seven set in the naja at the base of the gorgeous piece ($2,875).

An early 1732 copy of Italian Renaissance artist Raphael’s masterpiece from circa 1815-1816 masterpiece, The Madonna of the Chair (or “Madonna della Seggiola / Sedia”), went for $3,875. The original is housed at the Pitti Palace in Florence, Italy. Also, a circa 1908-1911 Russian icon of Our Lady of Kazan, with three colors of gold plate over .875 silver oklad, a rose gold halo and yellow gold robes, the icon and frame seated inside a custom glass-top box, achieved $2,000.

Day 2, on Sunday, April 7th, featured 580 lots of 3D collectibles, clocks, musical items, furnishings, clothing, collectibles and flatware, advertising, general store, bottles, saloon, gaming, tobacciana, cowboy, entertainment, circus, toys, sports, transportation and railroad, political, military, firearms and weaponry (subject to federal regulations) and general ephemera.

To learn more about Holabird Western Americana Collections, LLC, visit www.holabirdamericana.com. Updates are posted often.

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