I was at K-W Books in Kitchener the other day.
And there’s Roy and Dale.
I’ve seen these shirts before but never so well. They are distinctly Nathan Turk. I’ll check up on this later, but I believe his wife was the embroiderer. Her style is unmistakable.
I didn’t have a lot of time to look around, but I got a 1927 biography of Annie Oakley, and Stompin’ Tom Connor’s 1996 first hand accounting, Before The Fame.
Nudie fitting Roy Rogers, one of a group of photos of Nudie and Roy, and of Roy in Nudie outfits. Estimated at $300-500, the photos sold for $1188.
Estimated at $300-500, this photo went for $17,500. It reads:
To Roy- A lot of water has gone under the bridge Happy Birthday and many happy trails to you and may they all be long ones. My best always, Gene Autry 10-28-76
Three pairs of cream gabardine pants with rhinestone embellishment by Nudie, belonging to Roy Rogers. Estimated at $300-400, the lot sold for a much more realistic $2000.
Made in the 1920s by The Western Saddle Manufacturing Company, Roy’s basket stamped billet batwing chaps. Estimate: $800-1,200. Sold for: $11,250.
Dated 8/2/62. Estimate: $800-1200. Selling price: $2250.
grey suede bib shirt with white stitching, conchos and red fringe. Estimate: $300-500. Sold for: $3000.
I don’t know who did these estimates, they are all low, but this one is particularly ridiculous. For these beautiful shirts, by one of America’s most famous designers, for America’s most famous cowboy?
Last week, Roy Rogers’s horse Trigger, and Bullet “The Wonder Dog” were bought at Christie’s auction by RFD-TV. They will be on set behind Roy Jr as he introduces the network’s Saturday morning reruns of Roy’s 188 films, all of which featured Trigger.
Trigger (1934-1965) was a 15 hand high Palomino who could count, do the hula, untie ropes, shoot a gun, knock on doors and walk on his hind quarters. He went for $266,500.
Bullet, lot 231, and Buttermilk, lot 230 (1941-1972). Buttermilk was Dale’s horse, who was sold to a private buyer for only $25,000, below the $30,000-40,000 estimate.
Bullet, who was in the movies and on the TV show, as well as being the family pet, was great at biting guns out of bad guys’ hands, and untying Roy. He went for $35,000, estimated at $10,000-15,000.
There will be more reports on the clothing and other memorabilia in the auction. Almost everything (except poor Buttermilk) went well above estimate.
Cathy Elkies, the auctioneer, said it was the “most colorful, emotional and sentimental” sale she had experienced in her 20 years at Christie’s.
At the end of the auction, the audience broke out spontaneously in a rendition of the Roy Rogers theme song “Happy Trails.”
Snelling Johnson. Happy Trails Roy and Trigger.. Large bronze, 1981. Estimate: $1500-2500. Selling price: $17, 500.
I make western shirts and jackets, and do chainstitch embroidery. I also write about Hank Snow, the history of westernwear and country music, slow fashion, and Willie Nelson's rap sheet.
