bonnie and clyde

From the History Blog

“Two Colt handguns that Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker were carrying when they were ambushed and killed in a hail of bullets on May 23, 1934 are coming up for auction in September. RR Auction in Amherst, New Hampshire has already opened Clyde’s Colt .45 1911 Government Model semi-automatic pistol and Bonnie’s Colt Detective Special .38 revolver to online bidders; the auction closes on Sunday September 30, 2012.”

Clyde Barrow

From the auction page: “With the Colt is a notarized letter from former Special Texas Ranger Frank Hamer, Jr., dated December 18, 1973 in which he states that this pistol, #164070, was removed from the “waistband of Clyde Barrow’s trousers the morning that he and Bonnie Parker were killed by my father in Louisiana.” He goes on to say “This pistol is also described and pictured in my father’s book I’m Frank Hamer. He also states that ”this pistol was believed to have been stolen from the federal arsenal in Beaumont, Texas,” and that the federal government gave this Colt to his father. Although Clyde Barrow had many guns during his notorious career, there cannot be any with a closer association to him than this one carried at his death.”

Bonnie Parker Squat Gun

Bonnie Parker’s Squat gun has the following description:

Bonnie Parker’s Colt Detective Special .38 revolver, carried by her at the time of her death. A notarized letter from former Special Texas Ranger Frank Hamer, Jr., dated December 10, 1979, identifies this gun and states, “On the morning of May 23, 1934, when my father and the officers with him in Louisiana killed Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker. My father removed this gun from the inside thigh of Bonnie Parker where she had it taped with white, medical, adhesive tape. My father said that one reason she had the gun taped to the inside of her leg was that, in those days, no gentlemen officer would search a woman where she had it taped…Sometime later, my father gave this gun to Buster Davis who had been a Texas Ranger and was, at the time, an FBI Agent.” Included with this gun and mentioned in this letter is a framed handwritten note from Frank Hamer, written on the back of an old Texas Ranger Expense Account form, reads “Aug/1934 Davis hold onto this. Bonnie was ‘squatting’ on it. Frank.”

Apparently, some describe as “salacious” the fact that the gun was taped to the inside of her thigh. Furthermore, these guns are expected to sell for between $100,000 and $200,000.

Okay, enough about these auctions.

Let’s be real folks. The purpose of a gun is to kill.

There are times that we have to kill, for example in self defense or in defense of others (police) or in times of war and even in the case of legitimate hunting when the kill is actually eaten. However, I see no reason to glorify guns or to bid for guns that killed mostly police officers. I can’t imagine that the relatives of those people who were killed by Bonnie and Clyde are salivating at the thought of these auctions.

Some might say this is just another collector’s item. Well let’s just say that I would not want to own guns that have a proven track record of being used by two criminals who loved to kill.

Often in fantasy novels, you find that the sword of a warrior drinks the blood of its victims and almost retains the memory of the victim or killing. I wonder if guns do the same?