Their names have become synonymous with partners in crime.
On this day in 1934, Bonnie Elizabeth Parker and Clyde Chestnut “Champion” Barrow were shot to death by officers in an ambush in Louisiana, ending one of the most intense and highly-publicized manhunts in American history.
They were responsible for 13 murders at the time of their deaths.
The outlaws and their gang criss-crossed the United States committing a slew of robberies, kidnappings and murders between 1932 and 1934, and became the subject of much intrigue in the media.
On multiple occasions they narrowly avoided capture, such as in November 1933, when the Texas sheriff set a trap near Grand Prairie. They managed to come away unscathed despite a hail of bullets.
In December 1932, the FBI found a stolen Ford with a prescription bottle inside. It led agents to a drug store in Texas where they learned it was prescribed to Clyde Barrow’s aunt. A warrant was eventually issued for the duo’s arrest on May 20, 1934, kicking off the now-famous manhunt.
Officers from Louisiana and Texas hid themselves early in the morning on May 23, 1934, waiting for Bonnie and Clyde, and before they could escape again, police opened fire and killed them both instantly.
They later inspired the 1967 film “Bonnie and Clyde,” starring Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway, further cementing their place in popular culture.
A number of items relating to their lives, crimes and death, sold at RR Auctions Thursday night, including two guns recovered from the “Death Car.”
The first, a Colt .25 Model 1908, was taken from Bonnie’s purse at the scene of her death and given to a local passerby, Jesse Orville Pinkston, who happened to be driving near the area after the ambush.
According to a letter from his grandson referenced in the lot, a police officer gave the weapon to Pinkston, saying, “We were so trigger happy before the shootout, if Bonnie and Clyde hadn't passed you, that when we saw your Ford we might have shot you; how would you like a souvenir of the day you almost got killed?”
The letter also notes that Pinkston recalls some of the officers crying because “men simply didn't shoot a woman in cold blood, especially since they were not given a chance to surrender.”
Sometime in the 1950s, silver plating was added to the weapon, which may have harmed its value as it is no longer “as is.” It sold for $43,758.
Another gun taken from the “Death Car,” a Smith & Wesson given by the sheriff to a friend, who passed it down through his family for more than 75 years, sold for $41,250.
Interestingly, the “Death Car,” riddled with over 160 bullet holes, was exhibited at shows and carnivals around the country for years before it was purchased for $175,000 in 1973 by casino owner Peter Simon. At the time, it was a record for an antique car.
Other items from the sale at RR included an autographed letter from Clyde Barrow to his brother from his hideout ($14,949), an original newspaper from the day after the shooting ($795) and an original photo archive and bullets for more than $11,000.
Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct, the premier company for collectible culture.