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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 246

Ca. 1911 Wyatt Earp Signed ALS to John Flood

Estimate: $15,000 - $25,000
Starting Bid
$2,500

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
This is quite possibly the rarest example of a handwritten and signed letter and envelope by Wyatt Earp to John Flood in circa 1911 (about their business together and general health); Provenance: From the Tombstone Western Heritage Museum in Tomabstone, Arizona and historian John Gilchrease collection. The ALS letter is signed and written by Wyatt Earp’s own hand to John Flood who was his long time friend, confidant, personal secretary, and author of the only authorized biography of Wyatt Earp. The letter is written on blue stationary and is transcribed for collectors with a typed version. This original letter comes complete with its original envelope penned in Wyatt's own hand. Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp (March 19, 1848 – January 13, 1929) was an American lawman in the American West, including Dodge City, Wichita, and Tombstone. Earp was involved in the gunfight at the O.K. Corral, during which lawmen killed three outlaw Cochise County Cowboys. While Wyatt is often depicted as the key figure in the shootout, his brother Virgil was both Deputy U.S. Marshal and Tombstone City Marshal that day and had considerably more experience in law enforcement as a sheriff, constable, and marshal than did Wyatt. Virgil made the decision to enforce a city ordinance prohibiting carrying weapons in town and to disarm the Cowboys. Wyatt was only a temporary assistant marshal to his brother. The condition of this authentic letter from Wyatt Earp to John Flood is good and well preserved condition with no obvious signs of damage with some age fading to the ink and browning to the envelope consistent with the age but otherwise shows a well preserved condition. Provenance: From the Tombstone Western Heritage Museum in Tombstone, Arizona, collection of Stephen Elliott and Marge Elliott (Steven Elliott); the letter was from the estate of John Flood Jr. and was collected directly from the estate by historian, Tombstone author and museum curator John Gilchrease who later sent to piece to the Tombstone Western Heritage Museum. This is believed to be one of, if not the only, hand written letter from Wyatt Earp to John Flood; the other examples were either typed or were dictated by Wyatt and written by his wife Josephine Earp. This is also one of the earliest examples of a Wyatt Earp to John Flood letter from circa 1911. The measurements of the pages to the letter is 10" x 8" and the envelope measures 3 5/8" x 6". A TYPED letter with signature by Wyatt sold at Bonham Auction in 2021 for $16,600.00. E117

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