A percussion revolver said to have ridden with one of America’s most notorious outlaws will headline the Morphy Old West auction in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Saturday, June 20, 2026. The 515-lot sale — formally Morphy’s Old West & Native American Art Auction — is staged on Day 1 of the 36th Annual Old West Show, with the gavel falling at 5pm MT (7pm ET) and every form of remote bidding available — absentee, phone, mobile app, and live online through Morphy Live.
For collectors who follow frontier-era firearms, the catalog is worth a careful read. Three lots in particular sit squarely in the gunfighter tradition that built the American West’s reputation — and they share the room with Western fine art, Native American pottery and textiles, master-made saddles and silverwork, and Hollywood-cowboy memorabilia.
The headliner: a Manhattan Navy tied to Jesse James
The sale’s top lot is Lot 1325, a Manhattan Arms Navy Series IV single-action percussion revolver, serial number 64240, with ownership attributed to Jesse James. According to the consignment, the revolver was carried by James at the robbery of the Southern Bank of Kentucky in Russellville, Kentucky, on March 20, 1868 — and the attribution is backed by a letter signed by James’s son, Jesse Edward James, and daughter-in-law Stella James. The estimate is $100,000–$150,000.
The Manhattan Fire Arms Company of Newark, New Jersey, built .36-caliber Navy-pattern percussion revolvers closely modeled on Colt’s 1851 Navy — close enough that Colt eventually took the firm to court. Manhattan’s guns earned a reputation as well-made working revolvers in their own right, and a surviving example with documented outlaw provenance is exactly the kind of intersection — gun, history, and legend — that draws serious bidding.
A Civil War Henry that lived to see the frontier
Lot 1340 is a New Haven Arms Model 1860 Henry lever-action rifle, manufactured circa 1864 during the Civil War, described as clean and mechanically fine with a 24-inch blued octagon barrel. Estimate: $30,000–$40,000.
The Henry needs little introduction here. B. Tyler Henry’s .44 rimfire repeater gave a single rifleman the firepower of a squad, and Confederate troops who faced it called it “that damned Yankee rifle you load on Sunday and shoot all week.” Many Henrys that survived the war went west afterward, continuing their working lives on the frontier — and the direct lineage from this rifle to the Winchester Model 1866 makes any genuine New Haven-marked example a cornerstone for lever-action collectors. (For more on this rifle’s story, see our history of the Henry Model 1860.)
John Wesley Hardin’s last days, in six artifacts
Lot 1154 gathers six original artifacts tied to John Wesley Hardin (1853–1895) — the Texas gunfighter, gambler, and, late in life, lawyer who claimed dozens of killings before being shot dead at the Acme Saloon in El Paso on August 19, 1895. The group, presented in an open-top case, includes two gambling chips from the Acme Saloon itself; an authentic shot poker card with four bullet holes Hardin put through it, signed and dated “J.W. Hardin / 4-6-1895”; an original Hardin calling card; and a chit from the Wigwam Saloon in El Paso, signed by Hardin just five days before his death. Estimate: $10,000–$15,000.
It is a rare thing to hold the documented, signed traces of a frontier gunfighter’s final months — and rarer still to find a bullet-marked card he shot himself.
Beyond the guns: Western art, silver, and Native American works
The firearms are part of a much broader Old West catalog. Several lots stand out for anyone who appreciates the craftsmanship of the period.
Frederic Remington’s “The Rattlesnake,” cast in silver (Lot 1344). A 17-inch sculpture by the renowned American artist (1861–1909), cast in more than 1,000 troy ounces of .999 silver — #3 of an edition of 100, produced at Oregon’s Maiden Foundry in 1989. With silver near record highs, Morphy’s pitches it as both Western art and investment metal. Estimate: $70,000–$100,000.
The first Nolte-Olsen silver parade saddle (Lot 1341). The pinnacle of Al Nolte’s San Francisco parade saddles, circa 1937, with silverwork by Robert Schaezlein and tooling by Gene Sisco — mounted on a horse only twice in its life. Estimate: $40,000–$60,000.
An 18K gold-quartz California grizzly pocket watch (Lot 1359). A rare Waltham hunting-cased watch with pink-and-white gold-quartz panels framing a yellow-gold grizzly bear, on an 1889 Vanguard-grade movement. Estimate: $20,000–$30,000.
A Maria Martinez and Popovi Da San Ildefonso vase (Lot 1410). A mid-20th-century blackware long-neck vase, a collaboration between Maria Martinez (1887–1980) and her son Popovi Da (1923–1971), decorated with the Tewa water-guardian Avanyu. Estimate: $12,000–$20,000.
A pair of Kiowa high-top women’s moccasins (Lot 1079). Covered in bright green pigment and beaded with blue, red, white, black, and green — each moccasin worked with a beaded star and brass buttons. Estimate: $3,000–$5,000.
A Montana-prison hitched-horsehair bridle (Lot 1253). A bright, intricately worked bridle with a kissing-bird-style half-breed bit, made by inmates — the kind of folk-art object that defines Western Americana. Estimate: $8,000–$10,000.
Fred Harman / Red Ryder comic art (Lots 1269–1289). A deep run of original work by cartoonist Fred Harman (1902–1982), who drew the Red Ryder strip for 25 years and 40 million readers across 750 newspapers — dailies, storyboards, oils, prints, and pen-and-ink drawings.
Harley May rodeo collection (Lots 1363–1377). A deep run from three-time World Champion steer wrestler and ProRodeo Hall of Famer Harley May (1926–2008) — saddles, engraved silver buckles, trophies, horse bits, spurs, reatas, and rodeo gear.
How to preview and bid at the Morphy Old West auction
The auction is part of the 36th Annual Old West Show at the Santa Fe Community Convention Center, 201 W Marcy St, Santa Fe, NM 87501. Lots may be previewed in person during show setup on Friday, June 19 (12 noon–5pm MT) and Saturday, June 20 (9am–4pm MT), or anytime online. Both the preview and the auction are free and open to the public.
The auction itself begins Saturday, June 20 at 5pm MT (7pm ET), with absentee, phone, mobile-app, and live online bidding through Morphy Live. The fully illustrated catalog is available at Morphy Auctions. To register to bid or to discuss consigning to a future sale, call Morphy Auctions at 877-968-8880 or email [email protected].
All photography in this article is courtesy of Morphy Auctions.
