Description:

CLYDE BARROW AND BONNIE PARKER RELIC GROUPING
An astounding, historic archive of relics and photos directly related related to infamous outlaws Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker, all associated with the 'Sowers Raid' conducted by a Dallas sheriff's posse on November 22, 1933 and personally obtained by Dallas Chief Criminal Deputy Millard Sweatt. On November 21, 1933, the pair showed up at a pre-arranged rendezvous with their families on a lonely stretch of road, near the town of Sowers, Texas to celebrate Clyde's mother's birthday, but since he didn't have a gift for her, they planned on returning the following evening. With a tip from an informant, the sheriff's department set a trap for the pair. When Bonnie and Clyde returned the next day, family members Emma Parker and Cumie Barrow (their 'mothers'), L. C. Barrow, Billie Mace, Marie Barrow, and Marie's fiancé Joe Bill Francis were present. Sheriffs had been tipped off and were lying in wait in a ditch about about 75 feet away. As the criminal couple approached at a high rate of speed in a stolen 1933 Ford Model B, deputies Millard E. Sweatt, Smoot Schmidt, Ted Hinton, Ed Caster, and Bob Alcorn unleashed a hail of bullets. Unable to continue in the decimated vehicle, the gang was forced to abandon it and flee on foot, despite wounds to both Parker's and Barrow's legs from a bullet that passed through the car. The outlaws escaped, and Sweatt set about collecting relics from the bullet-riddled car, recovering a number of artifacts. The highlight of this lot is a group of those artifacts recovered by Sweatt, from Clyde Barrow's damaged automobile which was left at the scene. First is a .45 caliber magazine for a Colt M1911 semi-automatic pistol, and it exhibits wear clearly consistent with use. Live ammunition was also recovered by Sweat and is present here, including eight (8) live .45 caliber rounds of ammunition, each stamped 'F A 32' on the bottom, two (2) Smith & Wesson .38 Special pistol rounds, and two (2) .38 Smith & Wesson 'short' pistol rounds. Third, a 6 in. x 2.25 in. section of an ammunition cartridge box for M1911 .45 caliber military rounds, issued by the Frankford Arsenal. The final Sowers-specific item is a stolen Texas license plate recovered from the gang's abandoned vehicle, a stolen 'Texas-1933' plate showing number '8*688', orange on white, 12.75 in. x 4.75 in., recovered from within the vehicle. Of great interest also, are 11 period glossy photographs ranging in size from 5 x 4 in. to 8 x 10 in. These the depict gang members including Barrow and Parker, W. D. Jones, Henry Methvin, the site of their first murder, onlookers at the couple's death scene, their bullet-riddled car and Clyde's shredded jacket. Sheriff Millard Sweatt duplicated these photos from Ted Hinton's originals, and Hinton's initials are seen in the borders of several of the images. In overall very good to fine condition. Also present is a 12 in. dia. privately recorded LP with typed typed label: 'CONFESSION' Ted Walters - Working Copy', made in Dallas, Tx. by Sellers Co. It is likely the first recorded confession ever made The record is constructed of a thin black material laid upon silver coated shellac. The black coating is delaminating, therefore expert examination will be required to determine if the piece may still be played. In any event, Huron Ted 'Terrible Ted' Walters (1912-1971) was also a notorious Texas outlaw and was said to have been associated with Parker and Barrow. Millard Edgar Sweatt joined the Dallas County Sheriff's Department in 1931 and while working under the command of legendary Sheriff Richard A. 'Smoot' Schmid (alongside future Dallas Sheriff J.E. 'Bill' Decker) participated in the apprehension of Depression-era outlaws such as the Hamilton brothers, 'Huron' Ted Walters, and members of the notorious Barrow Gang - the latter pursuit lasting until the deadly 1934 ambush of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow by a task force which included Dallas County Sheriff Deputies and Sweatt's lifelong friend, Ted Hinton. Millard Sweatt ascended through the ranks of the Dallas Sheriffs Department until, coinciding with the election of Bill Decker as Sheriff in 1949, he was promoted to Chief Criminal Deputy - second in command of Dallas law enforcement. After retiring from his distinguished career at the Dallas Sheriff's Department, Millard Sweatt became Chief Investigator for Dallas District Attorney, Henry Wade. It was from his office in Dealey Plaza that - exactly 30 years and one day after he raided Bonnie & Clyde - that Millard Sweatt witnessed the assassination of President John Kennedy and its aftermath: the open limousine carrying Kennedy passed directly beneath his office window, close enough for Sweatt to comment about Jackie Kennedy's feet just before the first rifle shots rang out.* The responsibility of building criminal cases against Lee Harvey Oswald and, ultimately, Jack Ruby, then fell in large part to Millard Sweatt. (*Data confirmed by the son of Millard E. Sweatt, an executive within the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.) From the Sweatt Family archive. Consigned by the owner of the largest and most prestigious crime collection in the world.

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April 2, 2025 10:00 AM EDT
Elkton, MD, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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