LOT #47022 |
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James Bowie Autograph Document Signed. ...
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Sold on Sep 21, 2023 for:
$62,500.00
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Description
The scarcest of Texana autographs
James Bowie Autograph Document Signed. One page, 7.75" x 5";
January 26, 1829. A pay order fully written and signed by Bowie:
"Messrs / John Goodman and Co / Gentlemen ninety days after date
please pay to the order A Minton ninety dollars and oblige yours /
James Bowie." Minton signs on the verso acknowledging that he
has received payment. We cannot place where this document was
penned; as evidenced in Lot 47023, Goodman & Co. did business with
Bowie in New Orleans in 1831, and also sued Bowie that same year in
Adams County, Mississippi.Bowie first made his fame as a knife fighter during the 1827 Vidalia Sandbar Fight. The fight resulted in the deaths of General Samuel Curry and Major Norris Wright, but Bowie survived. Bowie had attended as a supporter of one of the duelists, and was badly injured in the resulting brawl. He suffered two bullet wounds and multiple stab wounds, and as the story spread through publications across the country, so did his fame.
The year after writing this pay order, Bowie moved to Texas and continued his involvement in land speculation schemes. He became a Mexican citizen and a Roman Catholic, and married Ursula Veramendi, daughter of the Mexican vice-governor of the province. When the fight for Texas independence broke out, Bowie immediately joined the struggle, leading troops at the Battle of Concepcion and the Grass Fight. His legendary status was forever sealed when he arrived at the Alamo in January 1836. Although there are conflicting accounts of his death, his legacy as an Alamo defender endures.
Condition: Flattened folds, with a small separation occurring at one of the margins. Age toning, darker at the edges. Paper loss to the top left margin, slightly affecting "Messrs."
Provenance: From the Private Collection of a Mississippi Gentleman.
Auction Info
2023 September 21 Historical Manuscripts Signature® Auction #6272 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
September, 2023
21st
Thursday
Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 5
Lot Tracking Activity: N/A
Page Views: 1,490
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