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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 100

C.S. Fly Boudoir Photograph, "Group of Hostiles"

Estimate: $2,000 - $3,000
Starting Bid
$500

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
Featured in this lot is this Rare C. S. Fly Boudoir Card, "Group of Hostiles", 1886. Provenance: Tombstone Western Heritage Museum, Tombstone, Arizona. Camillus "Buck" Sydney Fly (CS Fly, C. S. Fly, C S Fly, Buck Fly) was an Old West photographer and lawman who is regarded by some as an early photojournalist and who captured the only known images of Native Americans while they were still at war with the United States. His photographs are legendary and highly prized. Based in Tombstone, Arizona Territory, C.S. Fly documented the peace treaty between Apache Chief Geronimo and the U.S. Army in 1886, as well as other iconic moments of the Old West. Fly gained access to some of the most iconic names of the 19th century: Apache Chief Geronimo and the bandits behind the shootout at the O.K. Corral. Without his studio in the notorious boomtown of Tombstone, Arizona Territory, we would be sorely lacking some dimension to our ideas of the frontier. While Fly didn't get any photographs of the actual gunfight which only lasted approximately 30 seconds, he did manage to capture both the outlaws and the lawmen on film before and after the bloodshed. Fly also served as Cochise County Sheriff from 1895 to 1897. Albumen boudoir card photograph featuring sixteen Apache men, women, and children from Geronimo's camp. Fly famously took this image in late March 1886 at Canon de los Embudos, during a summit that was supposed to end in the surrender of Geronimo and his followers. Remarkably, it is part of a series of the only known images taken of American Indians during wartime. The attached Tombstone Western Heritage Museum label on the face of the clear protective plastic sleeve, "1886 C. S. Fly sample view from his gallary. Printed on back "SCENE IN GERONIMO'S CAMP The Apache Outlaw and Murderer Taken before the surrender to Ge. Crook, March 27, 1886, in the Sierra Madre mountains of Mexico. Escaped March 30, 1886" Hand wrtitten, "No. 181 A group of Hostiles" Museum code, "P31". Fly's studio stamp located on front lower left corner. Reverse has Fly's stamp at top centre, "COPYRIGHT, 1886, By C. S. Fly, Tombstone, Ariz." Boudoir Card is in preserved condition, age tanning, staining and slight foxing exhibited. Boudoir card photograph measures 5"W x 8"L, sleeve is 6.375"W x 9.25"L. Weight is U6.

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