Bonhams : JOHN WESLEY HARDIN'S SMITH & WESSON DOUBLE ACTION FRONTIER REVOLVER CARRIED WHEN HE WAS KILLED BY JOHN SELMAN. Serial no. 352, circa 1887, .44-40 caliber 6 inch barrel with two line address.

$ 250125.00

4.6 (670) In stock

Serial no. 352, circa 1887, .44-40 caliber 6 inch barrel with two line address. Nickel plated. Hard rubber grips. Condition: Very Good to Fine. Around 20% flaked nickel finish mostly on the frame. Slightly rubbed hard rubber grips with minor bruising and small chip to left heel. Provenance: John Wesley Hardin (sold to Hardin by Arthur A. Kline, May 21, 1895; photocopies of court documents from the trial, citing this gun by serial number as "Exhibit B," "taken from John Hardin by Carr"); purchased from the court by Mannen Clements, 1908 (bill of sale, see lot 234); sold to Tom Powers of the Coney Island Saloon (bill of sale, see lot 234); appears in his "Inventory of Important Guns in My Collection;" appears in his probate); Ron Peterson Collection; sold to Jim and Theresa Earle (through Jack Funderburgh), March 14, 1974. Literature: Garavaglia & Worman, Firearms of the American West, 1866-1894, Albuquerque, NM, 1985, p 321; Marohn, Richard, John Wesley Hardin: The Last Gunfighter, College Station, TX, 1995, pp 294-301; Wilson, R.L., The Peacemakers, New York, 1992. THE SMITH & WESSON CARRIED BY JOHN WESLEY HARDIN WHEN HE WAS KILLED BY JOHN SELMAN. On the afternoon of August 19, 1895, John Wesley Hardin threatened Constable John Selman and his son in El Paso, Texas. Later that evening, as Hardin continued drinking and playing dice, Selman shot him, likely from behind, although that is a matter of some dispute. The Reverend E.W. Higgins, called to attend the body, was asked how Hardin had looked: "Better than I ever saw him," he replied. He added that if Hardin was shot through the eye from the front, 'It would be remarkably good marksmanship,' and if he was shot behind the right ear and not from the front, "it was probably remarkably good judgment." Of all the early gunfighters, John Wesley Hardin may have been the most dangerous. Rumor has it that he once shot a man for snoring. However, as is often the case, the truth is much more complicated. Hardin was born in Bonham, TX, in 1856. He killed his first man at 15, although likely in self-defense. Post-Civil War Texas was governed largely by the military, and Hardin and his father did not believe he could get a fair trial, so he ran from the authorities, beginning a near-20-year flight and fight with the law becoming both a villain and a folk hero. According to Leon Metz, however, "In his own mind, he never killed a man that did not deserve it" ( John Wesley Hardin: Dark Angel of Texas, Norman, OK, 1998). After being sentenced to prison in 1877 for 25 years, Hardin, after numerous failed escape attempts, began to study law. His letters to his wife and the advice to his children as they grow reflect his outlook, exhibiting an obsession with lawfulness, righteousness, and character. Upon his release in 1894, he joined his children in Gonzalez, TX, his wife having died in late 1892. He applied to the state bar of TX and was admitted (see lot 227), and he arranged a pardon from the Governor. However, he soon discovered that his grown children had their own lives. His law work—largely with indigent populations he grew up with—was paid largely in trade and consideration, but little cash. He soon began to drink and gamble again. After his unsuccessful opposition to a local political race, he left Gonzalez for El Paso. Throughout 1895, he bounced from town to town, reconnected with his cousin "Killing Jim" Miller, and met Helen Beulah Mrose (or Mroz or M'Rose), marching inexorably towards his death. In June, Beulah's husband Martin Mrose was ambushed and killed, in the presence of Texas Ranger George Scarborough (who would, coincidentally or not, kill Old John Selman a year after Selman killed Hardin, see lot 225). In early August, Hardin, while drinking, bragged that he had paid Scarborough for the killing, only to retract the statement publicly in the newspaper the following day. Around the same time, with Hardin out of town, John Selman, Jr., arrested Beulah Mrose on a drunk and disorderly charge, holding her for $50 bond (which normally would have been $5). Hardin confronted Selman, Sr. about the affront on August 19th, and insulted the younger Selman. After the confrontation Hardin returned to the Acme Saloon, and diced at the corner of the bar. "You have four sixes to beat," he said to Henry Brown. Selman then entered the Acme and shot Hardin in the back of the head, firing 3 more shots until Selman Jr. pulled him back, reporting "He's dead," according to his court testimony (see lot 233). At trial, according to the court documents, John Wesley Hardin's Smith & Wesson .44 caliber revolver, serial number 352, "taken from John Hardin by Carr," became exhibit B; and Selman's Colt .45, serial number 141805, which he killed Hardin with, was exhibit A (see lot 234). After the trial, both guns were held by the court, until they were sold at auction by the court, and both were bought by Hardin's cousin Mannen Clements, who sold them to Tom Powers of the famed Coney Island Saloon on the same day.
Serial no. 352, circa 1887, .44-40 caliber 6 inch barrel with two line address. Nickel plated. Hard rubber grips. Condition: Very Good to Fine. Around 20% flaked nickel finish mostly on the frame. Slightly rubbed hard rubber grips with minor bruising and small chip to left heel. Provenance: John Wesley Hardin (sold to Hardin by Arthur A. Kline, May 21, 1895; photocopies of court documents from the trial, citing this gun by serial number as Exhibit B, taken from John Hardin by Carr); purchased from the court by Mannen Clements, 1908 (bill of sale, see lot 234); sold to Tom Powers of the Coney Island Saloon (bill of sale, see lot 234); appears in his Inventory of Important Guns in My Collection; appears in his probate); Ron Peterson Collection; sold to Jim and Theresa Earle (through Jack Funderburgh), March 14, 1974. Literature: Garavaglia & Worman, Firearms of the American West, 1866-1894, Albuquerque, NM, 1985, p 321; Marohn, Richard, John Wesley Hardin: The Last Gunfighter, College Station, TX, 1995, pp 294-301; Wilson, R.L., The Peacemakers, New York, 1992. THE SMITH & WESSON CARRIED BY JOHN WESLEY HARDIN WHEN HE WAS KILLED BY JOHN SELMAN. On the afternoon of August 19, 1895, John Wesley Hardin threatened Constable John Selman and his son in El Paso, Texas. Later that evening, as Hardin continued drinking and playing dice, Selman shot him, likely from behind, although that is a matter of some dispute. The Reverend E.W. Higgins, called to attend the body, was asked how Hardin had looked: Better than I ever saw him, he replied. He added that if Hardin was shot through the eye from the front, 'It would be remarkably good marksmanship,' and if he was shot behind the right ear and not from the front, it was probably remarkably good judgment. Of all the early gunfighters, John Wesley Hardin may have been the most dangerous. Rumor has it that he once shot a man for snoring. However, as is often the case, the truth is much more complicated. Hardin was born in Bonham, TX, in 1856. He killed his first man at 15, although likely in self-defense. Post-Civil War Texas was governed largely by the military, and Hardin and his father did not believe he could get a fair trial, so he ran from the authorities, beginning a near-20-year flight and fight with the law becoming both a villain and a folk hero. According to Leon Metz, however, In his own mind, he never killed a man that did not deserve it ( John Wesley Hardin: Dark Angel of Texas, Norman, OK, 1998). After being sentenced to prison in 1877 for 25 years, Hardin, after numerous failed escape attempts, began to study law. His letters to his wife and the advice to his children as they grow reflect his outlook, exhibiting an obsession with lawfulness, righteousness, and character. Upon his release in 1894, he joined his children in Gonzalez, TX, his wife having died in late 1892. He applied to the state bar of TX and was admitted (see lot 227), and he arranged a pardon from the Governor. However, he soon discovered that his grown children had their own lives. His law work—largely with indigent populations he grew up with—was paid largely in trade and consideration, but little cash. He soon began to drink and gamble again. After his unsuccessful opposition to a local political race, he left Gonzalez for El Paso. Throughout 1895, he bounced from town to town, reconnected with his cousin Killing Jim Miller, and met Helen Beulah Mrose (or Mroz or M'Rose), marching inexorably towards his death. In June, Beulah's husband Martin Mrose was ambushed and killed, in the presence of Texas Ranger George Scarborough (who would, coincidentally or not, kill Old John Selman a year after Selman killed Hardin, see lot 225). In early August, Hardin, while drinking, bragged that he had paid Scarborough for the killing, only to retract the statement publicly in the newspaper the following day. Around the same time, with Hardin out of town, John Selman, Jr., arrested Beulah Mrose on a drunk and disorderly charge, holding her for $50 bond (which normally would have been $5). Hardin confronted Selman, Sr. about the affront on August 19th, and insulted the younger Selman. After the confrontation Hardin returned to the Acme Saloon, and diced at the corner of the bar. You have four sixes to beat, he said to Henry Brown. Selman then entered the Acme and shot Hardin in the back of the head, firing 3 more shots until Selman Jr. pulled him back, reporting He's dead, according to his court testimony (see lot 233). At trial, according to the court documents, John Wesley Hardin's Smith & Wesson .44 caliber revolver, serial number 352, taken from John Hardin by Carr, became exhibit B; and Selman's Colt .45, serial number 141805, which he killed Hardin with, was exhibit A (see lot 234). After the trial, both guns were held by the court, until they were sold at auction by the court, and both were bought by Hardin's cousin Mannen Clements, who sold them to Tom Powers of the famed Coney Island Saloon on the same day.

The Early West 2021-08-27 Auction - 266 Price Results - Bonhams in CA

The Early West 2021-08-27 Auction - 266 Price Results - Bonhams in CA

Bonhams : JOHN SELMAN'S COLT SINGLE ACTION ARMY REVOLVER USED TO SHOOT JOHN WESLEY HARDIN AT THE ACME SALOON IN EL PASO, TEXAS, AUGUST 19, 1895. Serial no. 141805 for 1891, .45

GUNS Magazine A Death In El Paso - GUNS Magazine

Bonhams : JOHN WESLEY HARDIN'S SMITH & WESSON DOUBLE ACTION FRONTIER REVOLVER CARRIED WHEN HE WAS KILLED BY JOHN SELMAN. Serial no. 352, circa 1887, .44-40 caliber 6 inch barrel with two line address.