Press Release

Reno, NV, USA, March 28, 2024 -- Holabird Western Americana Collections, LLC plans to hold a massive, four-day Wild West Relics Auction split between two weekends – April 6th-7th and April 13th-14th – in which 2,300 lots will be up for grabs in a wide range of collecting categories. The auction will be held online as well as live in Holabird’s gallery located at 3555 Airway Drive (Ste. 308) in Reno.

“This sale closely follows a timed auction two weeks ago that saw a lot of action, with some good rarities as well as some great buys,” said Fred Holabird of Holabird Western Americana Collections, LLC. “We find ourselves moving the rare collectibles into our live sales, and the rare lesser expensive items to the timed sales, which are getting more popular by the month.”

He added, “April is no exception, with hundreds of lots up for grabs, featuring many one-of-a-kind discoveries and great rarities. When I write introductions to these sales, it gets harder and harder to know where to start and how to structure the essay because of the variety of collectible genres present – at least sixty different categories.” Start times all four days will be 8 am Pacific.

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

The Wilcox archive, lot 1062, comprises 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 (est. $5,000-$15,000). Also offered will be lots 1062-1064, a remarkable discovery of early 20th century original prints by the famous Western artist Frederic Remington, sold out of Remington’s own gallery, with his gallery card still attached (estimates $500-$1,500).

Lot 1446 is a circa 1660, full edition copy of Il Capitolo dei Frati, handwritten in ink by Jesuit monk Sebastiano Chiesa. The book was highly controversial for its time and was banned by the Catholic Church. Just owning a copy was punishable by death (est. $8,000-$3,000). Lot 1472 is 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 (est. $5,000-$10,000).

Lot 1298 is possibly the first known original map of Fort Weisport in Pennsylvania, drawn circa 1756. The fort was built with the help of Benjamin Franklin during the French and Indian War, in response to an Indian massacre in what is now Leighton. Lot 1524 is a large glass negative collection of photographs, probably unpublished, of one or more trips from Vancouver, British Columbia, north by steamer to the mining camps of the Fraser River region, during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The plates are fragile but high quality (both lots est. $5,000-$10,000).

Lot 1460 is a circa 1880 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 (est. $2,500-$7,500). Lot 1280 is a spectacular set of five maps showing California history from 1604-1767. One map shows California as an island (est. $600-$1,200). This map is part of a large offering of Gold Rush and early maps from two prominent collections.

To learn more about Holabird Western Americana Collections, LLC, and the Wild West Relics Auction on two weekends – April 6th-7th and April 13th-14th – at 8 am Pacific each day, visit www.holabirdamericana.com.

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