LOT #57223 |
Sold on Dec 12, 2009 for: Not Sold
Exceptional Archive Circa 1939-1940 Belonging to J. C. "Cal" Rose, Sheriff of Gray County, Texas, including His Badge, Two Co... (Total: 6 Items)
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Description
Exceptional Archive Circa 1939-1940 Belonging to J. C. "Cal" Rose, Sheriff of Gray County, Texas, including His Badge, Two Colt Revolvers, Handcuffs, Tooled-Leather Portfolio and Scrapbook. On January 2, 1939, J. C. "Cal" Rose was sworn in as the elected sheriff of Gray County, Texas, having run a campaign promising to wage war on "honky tonks", gambling and drunk driving, not a popular platform for certain elements in this Texas panhandle county. Less than a month after being sworn in, Cal Rose faced his first challenge as sheriff. On January 30, 1939, he and two of his men entered a local honky tonk and an argument shortly ensued between them and the club's owner, J. D. White. Guns were drawn, shots were fired, and when the smoke cleared one of Rose's men lay dead, and Rose had dispatched the club owner with six .45 bullets to the chest. An account of the incident appeared in the following day's edition of The Pampa Press, which read in part: "They were standing only two or three feet apart and facing one another...Rose is said to have ducked and bullets believed to have been fired at him drilled Otis Hendrix [a constable], who was standing directly behind him...Six bullets were found in White's chest. He was instantly killed." Included in this superb lot is the very pistol Rose used to dispatch White, a nickel-plated Colt single action Army revolver, serial number 349621. This revolver is accompanied by a provenance letter, dated March 5, 2008, on Colt Manufacturing Company letterhead indicating that this particular weapon was originally shipped to a Fort Worth, Texas store in February of 1927. Also included is a Colt Police Positive .32 caliber revolver, serial number 143552, that Rose had engraved at a local jeweler and gave to his mother for protection after he received threats following the shooting incident. Rose's named Gray County sheriff's badge, a pair of Peerless handcuffs (no key) in leather carrier, his personalized tooled-leather portfolio, and a scrapbook of newspaper clippings chronicling Rose's exploits from 1938 through 1940, including the shooting incident mentioned above, accompanies the lot. The archive is nicely supported with notarized letters of provenance from Rose's grandson. This is a wonderful group with a vivid and documented history.Auction Info
2009 December Signature Arms & Militaria Including Civil War Auction #6021 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
December, 2009
12th
Saturday
Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 1
Lot Tracking Activity: N/A
Page Views: 1,689
Buyer's Premium per Lot:
19.5% of the successful bid per lot.
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