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History In The Making .....
Old West Collector’s Auction: A Living History
[See 2002 Cowboy Collectibles
Auction page for current information, and Lot lists.]
Rapid City, SD -- Win Bauer of Vale, SD, spends a lot of his time
in the past.
It’s there that he finds the stories of the great American West,
preserved in bits of steel, leather and paper.
He thinks it’s why people from all over the country line up for a
buyer’s card and a seat at the Black Hills Stock Show Foundation Cowboy
Heritage VIII: Old West Collectible’s Auction. “People want a connection to
history - whether their own or the country’s,” he observes. “They want to
seek it out in a place where a deal is still settled with a handshake; where
between a cup of coffee and item displays, they meet old acquaintances and make
new ones; where they know the authenticity of lots has been researched - by a
number of people.” It’s that low-key, friendly atmosphere as much as the quality offering
built over the past eight years, that draws the novice and the professional
collector to the auction, that begins with a preview on Friday, Feb. 1 from
4:00-7:00 p.m. in the new location for the event, the Rushmore Plaza Civic
Center Theater.
Now known across the Midwest as a premiere collectibles auction,
there’s another key to the successful staging of the event - its range in
what’s presented. “I can’t say we go about it every year thinking,
‘well, we have this grouping in this price range and that grouping of items in
another.’ It just works out that way,” notes Bauer, “and I figure it’s
supposed to. There should be no place in time that is kept out of the reach of
anyone who appreciates and treasures .... history.”
The center stage of that history will play out Saturday, Feb. 2, opening
first with another preview from 8:30 - 10:00 a.m., when approximately 250 lots
will go under the auction gavel. And ‘center stage’ is a literal phrase, as
the Foundation presents the collector’s event on the stage in the theater.
“The stage there is huge,” says Bauer, “and actually provides more square
footage for seating than the previous location we were in. Add to that the
convenience of the theater being more easily accessible to people who won’t
have to deal with crowds and flights of stairs, and we think it’s a good
move.”
Bauer is excited about the offering this year, calling it, “truly
outstanding as far as uniqueness and quality. For example, we have one of the
finest examples of Duhamel saddles that you’re going to find. It goes
back to the 1920 era, full flowered carved and custom built bags that go with
it.” It’s that timeless symbol of the West, the cowboy’s saddle, that
will offer auction goers a real glimpse of history ... and history in the
making. On display, side by side, will be two President’s saddles, including
the 2002 Saddle of Independence commissioned by the Foundation and built by
Benton Moore Saddlery in Texas as a tribute to the 43rd President of the United
States, George W. Bush and the American people.
“The Saddle of Independence” is symbolic of the living history
of America; it speaks to the stamina, courage and sacrifice of a nation built on
independent freedoms and the call to defend those freedoms. “What the
President has called, “the hallmarks of the American spirit .... unity,
resolve, freedom,” ride with this saddle,” says Moore, a service
veteran himself. “If we are to truly honor those who have given so much in
this war - or in any conflict - then we are called upon to remember.”
Whether watching history unfold or capturing a piece of it, the
Foundation’s collector’s auction will feature a spur collection that Bauer
calls, “the best selection we’ve offered yet. Names like Crockett, Kelley
Bros., Buermann, McChensey, Rex Schnitger and from places like Canon City,
Colo., and the era of Wyoming and Montana territorial prisons, come some of the
most highly sought spurs - are all represented in the auction.”
Bauer says organizers are also excited about a prison guard’s shotgun
from the Deer Lodge Territorial prison, and the quality of Wells Fargo and U.S.
Cavalry pieces. “When we started this auction eight years ago, we didn’t know what to
expect,” he recalls. “From the beginning, the support of the Duhamel family
has played a big role. It’s all been built through volunteers like auctioneer
Doug Strotheide and his crew. They’ve been with us from the very beginning,
when it wasn’t the big event it is today. And the fact that it’s tied to the
Foundation has a lot to do with its success.”
In creating the auction, Foundation director/treasurer Bruce Blair,
Piedmont, SD, felt that the event could serve to expose a wide audience to the
goals of the Foundation, among them to create and grow and a strong scholarship
program. “We don’t expect collectors to donate items to this auction,”
says Blair. “We spend all year searching for pieces to add to this sale. What
is donated in full, and what makes this auction unique to any other in the
country that I know of, is that the commissions are donated in full.”
“You know,” observes Bauer with a wry smile, “you don’t have to be
too smart yourself but if you surround yourself with smart people, well, you can
get a lot done that way.”
 For more information, contact Bauer at 605-456-2971 or auction
co-chairman and Foundation director Jay George at 605-343-5140. Click here for a
complete
listing of auction items. |
