BACK IN SANTA FE
Brian Lebel’s Cody Old West Show & Auction makes a triumphant return to Santa Fe.
Brian Lebel’s Cody Old West Show & Auction makes a triumphant return to Santa Fe.
Strong crowds, high sales and engaged buyers were reported June 22 and 23 at Brian Lebel’s Cody Old West Show & Auction in Santa Fe, New Mexico. More than 150 dealers were spread out in the Santa Fe Community Convention Center offering anything from cavalry rifles and parade saddles to Navajo weavings and Pueblo pottery.
“We have been trying to reach a younger audience for some time. But it’s only in the past couple of years that we’ve had any success. I attribute that to us expanding our social media efforts,” Lebel says, adding that offering the show in Santa Fe has also increased interest. “We’re committed to working with the city and the community to keep growing the show and its economic impact on the local area. At the very least we’re filling a lot of hotel rooms.”
Especially prominent in the show are the Native American offerings, both historic and contemporary. Lebel’s shows are known for their rich assortment of weavings, pottery, jewelry, ledger art and paintings, sculpture, carvings and artifacts, including war shirts, leggings, weapons and moccasins.
In addition to the dealer show was the live auction event, which featured more than 225 lots of highquality Western material. The top lot was the Edward H. Bohlin Dick Dickson Jr. parade saddle. The saddle, made by Bohlin for John R. Dow of Kansas City, Missouri, featured long tapaderos, matching breast collar and bridle, and Bohlin’s trademark raised buffalo head on the silver horn. Estimated at $25,000 to $30,000, the 1950s saddle sold for nearly $26,000. “This particular style of Bohlin parade saddle was originally designed by and named for movie theatre executive, rancher and RV regular, Dick Dickson,” Lebel says. “In the 1930s, the Dick Dickson, Miss Dickson and Dick Dickson Jr. became the most popular parade styles made by the Bohlin company, and remained so for a quarter of a century.”
The auction realized more than $407,000. Lebel’s next show, the annual Mesa Old West Show & Auction, will take place January 25 and 26, 2020, in Mesa, Arizona.