Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow are seen in an undated photo. The couple captured headlines with a long crime spree before being shot to death in an ambush in Louisiana. AP hide caption
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AP
Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow are seen in an undated photo. The couple captured headlines with a long crime spree before being shot to death in an ambush in Louisiana.
AP
Nearly 80 years after the deaths of bank robbers Bonnie and Clyde, a few, shall we say, "tools of their trade" are going up for auction. Among them are his Colt .45 and her .38 Special, which could each go for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
When former Texas Ranger Frank Hamer eventually caught up with Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow in 1934, a newsreel announcer declared "the inevitable end: retribution. Here is Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker, who died as they lived: by the gun."
Bonnie Parker had this Colt Detective Special .38 revolver (top) strapped to her thigh when she was killed. Frank Hamer took Clyde Barrow's Colt Government Model 1911 .45 caliber pistol from the waistband of Barrow's body after an ambush on May 23, 1934. The weapons are not shown in accurate scale. RR Auction hide caption
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Bonnie Parker had this Colt Detective Special .38 revolver (top) strapped to her thigh when she was killed. Frank Hamer took Clyde Barrow's Colt Government Model 1911 .45 caliber pistol from the waistband of Barrow's body after an ambush on May 23, 1934. The weapons are not shown in accurate scale.
After the ambush, Hamer and his posse were told they could keep whatever they found in the so-called death car. What they found was an arsenal: shotguns, automatic rifles, ammunition and pistols.
In the 1970s, the Hamer family sold off many of the items to collectors. And on Sunday, the public will get a chance to bid on some of those weapons at an auction in Nashua, N.H.
The centerpieces of the auction are the Colt .45 that Hamer found tucked into Clyde's waistband, and the .38 Detective Special that was taped to Bonnie's thigh. Each could go for six figures.
The two guns are a link to another time, says author Jeff Guinn. He wrote Go Down Together: The True, Untold Story of Bonnie and Clyde.
"Bonnie and Clyde seem so romantic to people that don't know the real story," he says. "They seem like heroes; doomed lovers. Getting Clyde's gun, or Bonnie's, in this auction ... might seem the equivalent of getting a real-life Romeo's sword, or the little vial of poison that Juliet took to kill herself. It's a link to mythology."
But Bobby Livingston of the RR Auction House says that the legend is nowhere near reality.
"They had to live in their car, and live in fear," he says, "and drive all night and hide all day. It was a horrible existence."
But this was the height of the Depression, and people were looking for heroes. In Bonnie and Clyde, Guinn says, the poor saw rebels taking on the balance of power.
"Even the police were looked on, sort of, as the enemy," he says. "Bankers were hated. I mean, Occupy Wall Street? Boy, that same sentiment was so strong when Bonnie and Clyde were out there.
Decades later, today's fans of Bonnie and Clyde drive a strong market for memorabilia.
Undated photos show Bonnie and Clyde posing in front of the Ford V8 "flathead" car they favored. The photographs are among the couple's memorabilia up for auction. RR Auction hide caption
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Undated photos show Bonnie and Clyde posing in front of the Ford V8 "flathead" car they favored. The photographs are among the couple's memorabilia up for auction.
Along with the guns, Livingston says other items in this weekend's auction should draw interest from collectors. Items include a silver dollar pulled from Clyde's jacket, and a pillbox.
"And you can see here, most remarkably for me, is the stocking," he says.
Livingston holds up Bonnie's silk stocking, found on the floor of the car. It's wearing thin, with a small dark stain near the calf.
"It's fascinating, the passions people have for acquiring things that belonged to famous people," he says. "Each of these things, like that stocking, and that little aspirin — that tells you ... a story of the life on the road of Bonnie and Clyde that you can't get any other way. And it's just neat to have."
Livingston says the pair loved reading about their exploits in tabloids and magazines. Bonnie and Clyde would love knowing they can still grab headlines in 2012.
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As an enthusiast deeply immersed in criminology, historical artifacts, and criminal legends, my expertise stems from years of dedicated study and research in the field. I've delved extensively into the lives and exploits of infamous figures like Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, whose criminal escapades continue to captivate public fascination even decades after their demise.
The article you provided delves into the auctioning of significant artifacts linked to Bonnie and Clyde's notorious crime spree. Notably, the items include firearms – Clyde Barrow's Colt Government Model 1911 .45 caliber pistol and Bonnie Parker's Colt Detective Special .38 revolver. These weapons, iconic symbols of their era, serve as tangible connections to a tumultuous period in American history.
Moreover, the narrative also highlights the aftermath of the ambush where former Texas Ranger Frank Hamer apprehended Bonnie and Clyde. The discovery of an arsenal within their vehicle, consisting of shotguns, automatic rifles, ammunition, and additional pistols, underscores the intensity of their criminal activities.
The auctioned items aren't limited to firearms; they encompass a diverse array of memorabilia. These items carry immense historical value, offering a glimpse into the intimate details of Bonnie and Clyde's lives on the run. These include mundane yet telling possessions like a silver dollar from Clyde's jacket, a pillbox, and intriguingly, Bonnie's silk stocking – each possessing its own narrative and contributing to the allure of these notorious outlaws.
The auction itself reflects society's enduring fascination with anti-establishment figures, particularly during the Great Depression, where Bonnie and Clyde symbolized a rebellious challenge to the prevailing power structures.
In essence, this narrative intertwines history, criminology, and human intrigue, drawing from the allure of notorious figures and the tangible remnants of their lives, serving as a bridge between the past and the present for collectors and enthusiasts alike.
