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Tombstone Western Heritage Museum Auction: The Earp Brothers & Cowboys

Sat, Jul 26, 2025 11:00AM EDT
  2025-07-26 11:00:00 2025-07-26 11:00:00 America/New_York North American Auction Company North American Auction Company : Tombstone Western Heritage Museum Auction: The Earp Brothers & Cowboys https://live.naabid.com/auctions/north-american-auction/tombstone-western-heritage-museum-auction-the-earp-brothers-cowboys-20021
Join North American Auction Company on July 26th for a once-in-a-lifetime auction of the Tombstone Western Heritage Museum Collection. This extraordinary sale features the largest private collection of Tombstone history, including rare and historic pieces tied to Wyatt Earp, the Earp Brothers, and the infamous Cochise Cowboys. From original artifacts, outlaw relics, and the largest collection of C.S. Fly photographs, this is a can’t-miss event for collectors of the Old West’s most legendary chapter.
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Lot 629

1881 Tombstone Anheuser-Busch Letter

Estimate: $900 - $1,400
Starting Bid
$300

Bid Increments

Price Bid Increment
$0 $5
$50 $10
$100 $25
$500 $50
$1,000 $100
$2,000 $250
$5,000 $500
$10,000 $1,000
$25,000 $2,500
$100,000 $5,000
For your consideration is this 1881 Tombstone Anheuser-Busch Handwritten Letter to the Pima County Bank in Tombstone, Arizona Territory. Provenance: Tombstone Western Heritage Museum, Tombstone, Arizona. Originally named E. Anheuser & Co. by Eberhard Anheuser, the company was renamed Anheuser-Busch Brewing Association in 1879. In 1957, Anheuser-Busch became the largest brewer in the United States. This handwritten letter states, "Office of Anheuser=Busch Brewing Association St. Louis, Mo. April16, 1881. Pima County Bank, Tombstone, AT (Arizona Territory) Please find enclosed for collection and returns 11448 John A. Kelly $67.50 Answered April 16/81 No Protest. Please report by numbers, Yours Respectfully, Anheuser=Busch Brew'g Assoc'n. If parties fdesire time until arrival of goods, or in case where a few days extension is advisable, grant it." Kelly's Wine House opened May 1880 ; two months later Kelly opened another called Kelly’s Wine Rooms. On the 26th of October sometime around 10 a.m., while in Kelly's Wine House, Ike Clanton said, he was ‘heeled [armed]’ and that ‘we have come to fight on sight.’ Clanton had told others pretty much the same thing that morning, but his ravings had fallen on deaf ears. Kelly took Ike’s big talk more seriously. During the trial that followed the O.K. Corral shootout, he testified that he had ‘cautioned (Ike) against having any trouble’ as he ‘believed the other side would fight if it came to that.’ Later that same afternoon, the now legendary Fight at the O.K. Corral occurred between the Earp brothers and Doc Holliday against the outlaw Cowboys of which Ike and his brother Billy were members of. Tombstone Western Heritage Museum code written along top edge of both sides, "L65". The letter is in well preserved condition in a clear plastic sleeve, age tanning consistent with age and use. Letter measures 6"W x 9.625"L, sleeve is 8.375"W x 10.25"L. Combined weight is U6.

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