North American Auction Company
Live Auction

The West Rides Again: Tombstone Museum Part II, Western Art & Navajo Treasures

Sat, Nov 15, 2025 11:00AM EST
  2025-11-15 11:00:00 2025-11-15 11:00:00 America/New_York North American Auction Company North American Auction Company : The West Rides Again: Tombstone Museum Part II, Western Art & Navajo Treasures https://live.naabid.com/auctions/north-american-auction/the-west-rides-again-tombstone-museum-part-ii-western-art-navajo-treasures-21122
Join North American Auction Company on November 15th for Part II of the Tombstone Western Heritage Museum Collection with other rare items. 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 C.S. Fly photographs, this is a can’t-miss event for collectors of the Old West’s most legendary chapter.
North American Auction Company tucker@naabid.com
Lot 300

Rare Minnie Jane Hart 1868-1881 Carte-de-Visite

Estimate: $800 - $1,200
Starting Bid
$250

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 a Rare Minnie Jane Hart Carte-de-Visite by J. L. Koonz, circa 1868-1881. Provenance: Tombstone Western Heritage Museum, Tombstone, Arizona. This carte-de-visite was taken by John L. Koonz in his Appleton, Wisconsin photography studio. Koonz was a photographer in Appleton from from 1868 to 1885. The legacy of S.L. "Lum" Hart as gunsmith to the cowboys, gamblers, lawmen, and gunfighters of Tombstone cannot be over estimated. Today a firearm with the "S.L. Hart" stamp is almost priceless. His daughter Minnie Jane taught school in 1890 at Tombstone's first school house. She replaced the first woman schoolteacher in Tombstone, Sarah Herring Sorin, who eventually became Arizona's first woman attorney and the first woman to try a case in front of the US Supreme Court unassisted by a male attorney. Minnie taught for three years in Tombstone before her father Lum moved the family to Tucson, where she continued teaching. This carte-de-visite of Minnie in Appleton is from when the family lived in Menasha, Wisconsin before her father moved the family to Tombstone, Arizona Territory. Minnie would have been in her early 20's when this portrait was taken. Tombstone Western Heritage Museum label on the face of the clear protective plastic sleeve reads, "Minnie Jane Hart", museum code, "TTP-19". On the reverse of the carte-de-visite is the hallmark, "J. L. Koonz, Photgrapher Appleton, Wis.", "Minnie Jane Hart" handwritten in ink on the right edge, museum code, "TTP-19". Carte-de-visite is in amazing preserved condition, age tanning consistent with age. Measures 2.5"W x 4.125"L, protective sleeve is 3.875"W x 6.125"L, weight is U6.

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