These items were up for auction on Saturday, July 15, 2023 at Donley Auctions in Union, IL. See more great items and register to bid online at DonleyAuctions.com
Rolls of film left behind by Bonnie & Clyde discovered by police after a botched raid on April 13, 1933 in a Joplin, Missouri apartment were developed and published by newspapers across the country. It is from these candid photos taken by Barrow, Parker, and W.D. Jones that built the myth of the two who, up until that time, were mostly unknown to the American public. The snapshots showed a couple of kids smiling, posing as heavily armed gangsters, and smoking cigars. In the depths of the Great Depression, disillusioned Americans didn’t have much to believe in anymore. The romantic notion of two love-struck bank robbers tearing their way through the heartland, captured the attention of the 15 million unemployed standing in breadlines across the country, many of whom had lost all of their savings when the banks failed.
SOLD! $1100 - Lot 1201 - Bonnie and Clyde Original 1933 Wanted Poster
From May 21, 1934. This double-sided mail out style poster issued by the Division of Investigation U.S. Department of Justice, Washington D.C. is the style that was made to mail out to post offices and law enforcement agencies.
The couple would be killed in an ambush by law enforcement officers just 2 days later on May 23 in near Sailes, Bienville Parish, Louisiana.
In good original condition with heavy water staining and horizontal crease for mail out fold over. Measures 8" X 8"
SOLD! $1800 - Lot 1202 - Bonnie and Clyde Photograph
Framed and matted 3.5" X 5" B&W photo of Bonnie and Clyde with a cache of weapons. The photo has a cut title stating "Original Photo of Bonnie and Clyde Counting Their Loot". The left hand edge of the photograph shows singe marks from a fire. Frame measures 11" X 11". Please note that this photo has been published. Age and provenance unknown.
SOLD! $750 - Lot 1203: Framed Photo of Clyde Barrow & W. D. Jones
Framed and matted original 7 X 9 black and white photograph of Clyde Barrow and W.D. Jones standing next to each other.
William Daniel Jones (May 12, 1916 – August 20, 1974) was a member of the Barrow Gang, whose crime spree throughout the southern Midwest in the early years of the Great Depression became part of American criminal folklore. Jones ran with Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker for eight and a half months, from Christmas Eve 1932 to early September 1933. He and another gang member named Henry Methvin were consolidated into the "C.W. Moss" character in the film Bonnie and Clyde (1967). "Moss was a dumb kid who run errands and done what Clyde told him," Jones later said. "That was me, all right."
SOLD! $900 - Lot 1204: Framed Clyde Barrow Funeral Flowers and Photos
Framed and matted under glass display of 2 dried flowers with a card saying that these were flowers worn by his parents, Mrs. Cumie T. Barrow, and Henry Barrow at his funeral. Included are 2 original 3" X 5" B&W snapshots of his parents at his grave site. In VG condition. Frame measures 22" W X 17" T
SOLD! $880 - Lot 1206: Clyde Barrow Death Pants Cloth Swatch
Framed under glass 1" X 1" piece of navy blue fabric from the trousers worn by Clyde Barrow when he was killed with Bonnie Parker on May 23, 1934. It is mounted on a certificate explaining what it is and is number 498/870. Comes with a COA from Marie Barrow dated 6/7/97 stating that the item is genuine and that the trousers had been returned to the family when the body was brought home for burial and that they had been in the family since that time. (Lillian) Marie Barrow was the youngest sister of Clyde Barrow. She was 16 at the time of his death and became a staunch defender of him. In later years she supported herself by contributing to books and articles and selling off items from her brother including the pieces of his trousers. She died in 1999. In VG condition. Frame measures 12.75" wide, 10" tall
SOLD! $2600 - Lot 1207: Original Bonnie and Clyde Photograph
Original B & W photograph of Bonnie and Clyde in an embrace. In good condition. Photo measures approx 6.5" wide, 9.5" tall. Currently framed and matted under glass.
Rolls of film left behind by Bonnie & Clyde discovered by police after a botched raid on April 13, 1933 in a Joplin, Missouri apartment were developed and published by newspapers across the country. It is from these candid photos taken by Barrow, Parker, and W.D. Jones that built the myth of the two who, up until that time, were mostly unknown to the American public. The snapshots showed a couple of kids smiling, posing as heavily armed gangsters, and smoking cigars.
SOLD! $32,750 - Lot 1208: Clyde Barrow Documented Revolver
Colt DA .41 revolver that has been modified in the "Fitzgerald style" with bobbed hammer, cut open trigger guard, and shortened barrel which measures 1 inch. In overall good condition having a broken trigger return spring. The box that holds the revolver was a display piece from the W. Parker Lyon Pony Express Museum The gun comes with 2 framed and matted provenance letters. The first letter is hand written and notarized dated 6-16-1955 from a Mary Russell Jones. In the letter she states that in 1933 Bonnie and Clyde had stopped at the home of her aunt, Mrs. Russell Jones in St. Clement Missouri, and asked to spend the night and offering to pay. The next morning her aunt went to clean the room and found the pistol with a hand written poem signed by Clyde Barrow.. The second letter is on W. Parker Lyon Pony Express Museum stationery is type written and states that the gun belonged to Bonnie and Clyde and was acquired for the museum from Mrs. Mary Russell Jones in 1955, Beneath the letter is the small hand written poem which reads,"Roses are red violets are blue This guns broke so I leave it for you. Clyde Barrow 1933. It measures approx. 3" X 4".
The W. Parker Lyon Pony Express Museum was located in Arcadia California and operated from 1935 to 1955. The museum was acquired by Harrah's Casino in Las Vegas Nevada and displayed there until the early 1980's when it was purchased by Greg Martin. Martin held a series of auctions in 1986 dispersing the collection.
