SOLD
127,000.00USDto i******y+ buyer's premium (25,400.00)
This item SOLD at 2016 May 14 @ 14:55UTC-7 : PDT/MST
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THE EXCEPTIONAL and HISTORIC GEORGE ARMSTRONG CUSTER INDIAN CAPTURE SHARPS MODEL 1859 CARBINE of CHEYENNE CHIEF BLACK KETTLE – A CLASSIC TROPHY of WAR from THE CUSTER FAMILY COLLECTION and a NATIONAL TREASURE
Serial No 68457. .52 caliber percussion breech-loader, 20-inch round barrel, standard maker, address and patent markings on barrel, breech and tang. Standard sights. Walnut stock embellished with tacks, more profusely on the right side, with less complex décor on the left side, consisting of seven-tack border to the buttplate (six of iron, one at center of brass, and of six iron and one brass to rear of the saddle ring bar), and in configuration like an arrowhead pointing to the buttplate.
Condition: Very good. With wear and patina to iron and brass. The stock with signs of use. Condition considered the state at the time of capture by Custer at the Battle of the Washita, November 27, 1868.
Note: Ongoing research includes the 54-page monograph The George Armstrong Custer Indian Capture Carbine A Classic Trophy of War, by Fred N. Holabird and R.L. Wilson (2016). Additional research since that publication provides further confirmation of the attribution of No. 68457 to Black Kettle personally, as well as to its status as a trophy taken by Custer at the Battle of the Washita, November 27, 1868.
The Holabird Americana website provides ample evidence pointing to Custer’s capture of the Carbine and to the death of Black Kettle. The monograph, The George Armstrong Custer Indian Capture Carbine A Classic Trophy of War, is presented on the Holabird Americana website at the following address: http://holabirdamericana.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Custer-booklet-small-pdf.pdf
On-going research on Custer Capture Black Kettle Sharps will be added to the website as new information is vetted.
Basic facts in the documentation are as follows:
1. Provenance (p 39 of monograph):
The Sharps Model 1859 Carbine No. 68457 comes from the G.A. Custer family, with the lineage as follows:
Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer (1868-76)
Nevin Custer (b. 1842-d.1915)
James C. Custer ?(b. 1871-d.1954)?
Charles A. Custer ?(b. 1910-d.1992)?
Elsie Olander Custer (b. 1912-d.1986).
Then by gift from Elsie Olander Custer to:
Richard A. Reyes (c. 1922-d.2009; received Custer Capture Carbine prior to 1986).
Garr R. Reyes (b. 1950- ); received Custer Capture Carbine on death of his father, 2009.
2. G.A. Custer kills Black Kettle, takes trophies.
Evidence presented on pages 28-30 of the monograph.
Conclusion of author T.J. Stiles (Custer’s Trials, p. 324) stating: “It is an inescapable fact that Custer killed the leading Southern Cheyenne peace advocate [Chief Black Kettle].”
3. Custer’s trophies from the Washita.
Detailed on pages 31 to 34.
Extremely important note in T.J. Stiles’ Custer’s Trials, p. 323, which led to the Detroit Free Press article of June 10, 1869, entitled “Custer Relics.” Therein the editor had reported that Custer had presented to the Detroit Audubon Club: “An assortment of Indian Relics which were obtained by me [G.A. Custer] at and after the battle of Washita, November 27, 1868.”
Custer went on to state in his correspondence with the Detroit Audubon Club: “Permit me to present . . . the accompanying Indian curiosities, obtained by me during the campaign of last winter.”
Quoting further from p. 32 of the monograph:
“The relics consisted of a shield, squaw’s dress, bow and quiver full of arrows, saddle, and scalp. The shield was oval, about 30 x 24”, made of buffalo hide and adorned with all kinds of feathers. The squaw’s dress was ‘beaded all around’. The bow was ‘finely made, well strung; with arrows about two feet long, ‘feathered and barbed’ . . . some of them covered with blood.’ The quiver was made of buffalo hide. Custer saved the best of the relics (that he gave them) for last:
The scalp [10” long] is that of Little Rock, [who] was killed at the battle of Washita . . . [he] was second in rank to Black Kettle.
Because of the peaceful nature of Chief Black Kettle, it is logical that Custer himself was reluctant to reveal his additional trophy, of the Chief’s Sharps Model 1859 Carbine, No. 68457, or the fact that he had been Black Kettle’s killer.
4. Other trophies taken by Custer are detailed on pages 35-36. Note the statement by the coauthors: “ . . . Custer was a master artifact collector, and he would absolutely have saved the most important artifact for himself, the gun of the great Chief Black Kettle.”
5. The number of times Custer was photographed with firearms is confirmation of his keen arms interests. Further, the photograph on p. 5 of the monograph shows portions of his arms collection in the right corner gun rack of the Custer residence at Fort Lincoln. Further, the monograph’s Chapter 2 (pp. 39-44) presents an inventory of known firearms from G.A. Custer’s collection. His prowess as a hunter and sportsman is also tied in with his firearms interests. These enthusiasms extended beyond their significance as “tools of the trade.”
6. Richard Reyes recognized the Custer Black Kettle Capture Sharps Carbine as the most important Custer item in his collection. This is proven not only because the Sharps was a special gift to him from Elsie Olander Custer, but that it was the prized gift from her - which he refused to sell on many occasions. Among the items which Richard Reyes had sold, consistently retaining the Sharps, were Custer’s Holy Bible, a Third Division battle flag, and some of Custer’s epaulets and uniform buttons. Quoting from p. 49 of the monograph: “Reyes proudly displayed his iconic Custer Sharps Carbine over the years to all of the collectors he knew, turning down serious cash offers on a regular basis. It was never for sale, a permanent fixture in the Reyes Arms Collection.”
The stock’s special marks suggest rare ethnological and pictographic indicators of important information, names and Indian warrior and leadership societies. These are the subject of on-going interpretation, and the brass and iron tacks are also considered to be signatures and indicators with special significance.
Description written by R.L. ("Larry") Wilson
ID# 38059
Auction Location:
3555 Airway Drive Suite 308, Reno, Nevada, 89511, United States
Previewing Details:
Preview will be at our Auction Location, 3555 Airway Drive Suite 309 Reno, NV 89511
On Thursday, May 12, 10:00 am to 5:00pm at HWAC or by appointment.
Please call 775-851-1859
Nevada State Sales Tax
Taxes:
| Tax | Rate | Desc. |
| NSST |
7.75% |
Nevada Sales Tax |
| INS |
1% |
Insurance |
Buyer's Premiums:
| From (Incl.) | To (Excl.) | Premium |
| 0.00 |
Infinite |
23% |
Additional Fees:
| Fee | Amount | Applicable Locations | Applied To |
| Handling fee |
5.00
|
Not Applicable
|
This fee applies to the total of the invoice
|
Shipping Details:
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Cowboys & Indians & Miners
Absentee Bidding will end
Thursday, May 12, 2016
Internet bids accepted any time
Terms and Conditions
1. This is a Live Auction conducted by Holabird’s Western Americana Collections (HWAC).
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From: To: Increment:
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$100 $190 $10
$200 $475 $25
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$30,000 UP $1000
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12. All stock certificates, checks, warrants, and other financial documents sold herein are sold as antiquities, and have no financial, securities, or public trading value whatsoever.
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14. The placing of a bid shall constitute the bidder’s acceptance of these terms of sale.
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27. Any claim, dispute, or controversy in connection with, relating to and/or arising out of the Auction, participation in the Auction, award of lots, damages of claims to lots, descriptions, condition reports, provenance, estimates, return and warranty rights, any interpretation of these Terms and Conditions, any alleged verbal modification of these Terms and Conditions and/or any purported settlement shall be exclusively heard by, and the parties consent to exclusive in personal jurisdiction of, the Superior Court of Washoe County, Nevada. THE PARTIES EXPRESSLY WAIVE ANY RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY. Any claim must be brought within one (1) year of the auction from which the claim arose or the claim is waived. In every case, the prevailing party shall be entitled to an award of its attorney’s fees and costs.
NEW BIDDERS
Bidders unknown to us must provide commercial references or a deposit of 25% of the amount to be bid in order for the auction staff to execute bids totaling over $25,000. Deposits will be credited towards lots won and any balance will be refunded within 10 business days after the auction has concluded. New online users will be given a spending limit at their initial request. In order to increase this limit, you may be required to provide a letter of authorization from your bank in addition to providing references. Please contact our office at any time if you have questions regarding spending limits or references required to bid.