Relics of the American West: 1850-1920
Lot 2218:
Description
This remarkable 19th-century collection centers on “Lone Star Harry” (born ca. 1855, birth name unclear), a late 19th-century American cowboy, U.S. Army scout, and Wild West performer known primarily for his skill as a trick-pistol shot. The premier items in this group are a matching pair of period-correct, custom leather pistol holsters featuring a beautiful, hand-fringed trim and the performer’s initials, “LSH,” meticulously rendered in white glass beadwork on the front panels. Accompanying the holsters is a highly scarce, complete 16-page promotional souvenir pamphlet titled Lone Star Harry: American Representative Scout, published around 1894 by Dick’s Publishing House in New York. According to this contemporary biography, Harry began working as a cowboy at age 14 on Texas ranges—including Captain Richard King’s famed Nueces River ranching operations—and in 1882 spearheaded a massive cattle drive of roughly 3,500 head from Texas to Nebraska, lamenting how railroads were dismantling the trail-driving business. His frontier skills caught the attention of General George Crook, leading to 12 years of service as an Army scout, largely in the Cherokee Strip. Transitioning to show business, Harry managed Native American performers before becoming a premier trick shooter, touring between 1890 and 1893 with prominent outfits like Pawnee Bill, Wichita Jack, and Buckskin Bill’s Railroad Wild West. He performed extensively at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, winning medals as a master revolver handler. Notably, the pamphlet includes practical gunfighting strategies, advising readers to present a narrow silhouette: “Always stand sideways, left side toward them, then the left arm protects the heart, and the finest marksman in the world can’t reach it.” Because these pink-wrapped programs were cheaply produced for traveling shows, they are exceptionally rare today, with fewer than two dozen institutional copies documented. The collection is further anchored by a rare, double-sided pink broadside from the Globe Museum on the Bowery, dated Monday, December 3, 1894, highlighting Lone Star Harry alongside “French Rose the Bearded Beauty” and “Henry Thompson, Greatest Walker on Earth.” Lastly, a vintage newspaper clipping sheet functions as a period ad-sheet featuring local business directories and curio halls. The leather holsters remain supple with minor surface scuffing and honest wear to the back belt loops; the glass beadwork is largely intact. The paper ephemera exhibits expected age-toning, localized edge chipping, and horizontal fold lines consistent with late 19th-century newsprint and pamphlet stock, but the graphics remain bold and legible. Holsters: H 12″, W 5″, D 1″. Booklet: H 6.75″, W 5″, D 0.1″. Poster: H 20.25″, W 7.5″, D 0.1″. Clipping: H 12″, W 9″, D 0.1″. Please see photos for condition.
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