Western Outlaw Death Masks Display
- Donley Auctions
- Nov 12
- 2 min read
💀 The Face of Infamy: A Western Outlaw Death Masks Display from Donley’s Wild West Town
Some treasures offer beauty; others, pure, unadulterated sensation. Lot #1311 is firmly in the latter category. It is an extraordinary, one-of-a-kind relic that captures the public's morbid fascination with the frontier's most notorious criminals: A Display of Seven Western Outlaw Death Masks.
This November 22nd, you have the chance to acquire a piece of showmanship and a darkly captivating slice of history, sourced directly from the legendary Donley’s Wild West Town Museum.
A Relic of the Freak Circus
This display's story is as wild as the outlaws themselves. These masks were not created for a quiet museum; they were fashioned by Arthur V. Fraser, the "Dean of Display," specifically for Pop Palmer’s Freak Circus. Circa the turn of the century, this sensational attraction toured America and Europe, capitalizing on the public's hunger for relics of crime and notoriety.
Fraser, a pioneer who worked for Marshall Field & Co. creating manikins, applied his display mastery to casting the faces of infamous men. While some masks were cast directly from the subjects, others were reconstructed from portraits and measurements—a blend of chilling reality and show-stopping fabrication.
The Gang of Seven
Mounted in a rustic wooden cabinet and presented with evocative description placards and Confederate currency, the display features the preserved visages of men who lived outside the law.
The featured masks are identified as:
Bill Dalton
Bill Clinton
Cherokee Bill
Louis Carver
Lam Lawlett
Harvey Logan
The chilling ambiance is completed by a prop double-barrel, sawed-off shotgun laid across the bottom—a clear nod to the violence and danger these outlaws represented.
Rarity, Intrigue, and Provenance
What makes this lot truly exceptional is its extreme rarity. This set is part of an original group of 60 masks, with only seventeen surviving to this day. To find a display unit like this, intact and with its original theatrical flare, is virtually unheard of.
Considering they traveled the globe with a circus, the masks themselves are in very good condition, while the cabinet and display pieces bear the expected wear and patina of a genuine, turn-of-the-century traveling exhibit.
This display (Case Size: H 38.25” W 56.25” D 4.75”) is a dark jewel of Americana—a perfect piece for collectors of true crime, Western ephemera, or circus and sideshow history.
Auction Details:
Auction: Cowboys & Indians Auction - featuring The Donley's Wild West Town Collection
Date: Saturday, November 22nd
Look into the faces of the Old West’s most notorious outlaws.
