Pistol Belonging to Outlaw Bonnie Parker, Found By Mortician, Sells For $99K

Funeral Industry News February 2, 2014
CDFuneralNews

We believe that every funeral director should have the tools to succeed. With the help of our field-leading partners, we publish daily funeral industry news and provide free tools to help our readers advance their careers and grow their businesses. Our editorial focus on the future, covering impact-conscious funeral care, trends, tech, marketing, and exploring how today's funeral news affects your future.


Pistol Belonging to Outlaw Bonnie Parker, Found By Mortician, Sells For $99K

A gun that once belonged to outlaw Bonnie Parker has sold at auction for $99,450.

The Knoxville News Sentinel  reports the winning bidders for the item asked to remain anonymous. More than 300 people attended the event at Case Auctions and Antiques in Knoxville.

The nickel-plated .38 pistol belonged to Bonnie Parker, who was gunned down by police with her lover, Clyde Barrow, in 1934.

The newspaper reports the bid for the gun, bullets and photos from the shooting scene was below an estimated value of $125,000 to $175,000.

The gun was found hidden in Parker’s dress by a mortician preparing her body for embalming.

Sarah Drury, who is vice president of fine arts and decorative arts for Case Auctions and Antiques, said the event brought out people who normally don’t pay much attention to an art and antique auction.

“It was such a historical object, it really captured the public’s imagination,” she said. “We did have a lot of history buffs who came and wanted to see this firearm sell.”

Dustin Hofstetter, a furniture restorer with the company, said it was an unusual item.

“Case Antiques has been doing a lot of really neat historical items and to have this in the mix of things is huge for Knoxville,” Hofstetter said. “It puts us on the map. There’s a lot of history here and there are a lot of people willing to share that history.”

Source