Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
(800) 937-3880
SELL

Lot #2082
Blanche Barrow Collection of (36) Original Vintage Candid Photographs Including (8) Signed

Engaging photographic timeline of Blanche Barrow—including eight signed candids

Estimate: $2000+
Sell a Similar Item?
Share:  

Description

Engaging photographic timeline of Blanche Barrow—including eight signed candids

Amazing collection of 36 vintage glossy and semi-glossy photographs kept by the family of Blanche Barrow, the wife of Marvin 'Buck' Barrow and the sister-in-law of Clyde Barrow, ranging in size from 2 x 3 to 3.25 x 5, with the majority depicting Blanche, Buck, and various other Barrow relatives and friends. Blanche has annotated several photos in ink or pencil, and has added her signature to a total of eight photos, with two signed "Blanche" and the five others signed with her initials, "B. B." The other signed image, a profile portrait of Blanche wearing fur, is annotated on the front in ink, "Taken during W. W. 2," and signed on the reverse in pencil, "Blanche B. Frasure," who adds her address and various physical details. Another photo showing Blanche in a full-length pose and wearing a black dress is inscribed on the front in black ink, "Love to dad," and bears an ANS on the reverse, "These are not very good but you can tell I am well and getting along fine. So dear don't worry this was taken beside the hospital where I live. I will have some more taken soon and send you a good one if I can take a good one ha ha. Now cheer up dear and get well so you can see your big fat baby girl some of these days before long." Other highlights include: a 2.25 x 4.25 full-length photo of Darrell Barrow and Buck Barrow sitting on the front steps of a porch; a 2.25 x 4 full-length photo of siblings Marie and L. C. Barrow posing in a car, annotated below in green ink by Blanche; and a 3 x 4.75 photo of a candid snapshot photo of a small house on a platform surrounded by water, which, according to historian Jonathan Davis, was a Gulf of Mexico hideout used by the Barrow Gang at different times. In overall very good to fine condition, with some scrapbook remnants to reverse of some. Consisting of pictures taken before and during her brief time with the Barrow Gang, and then in the wake of her six-year residence at Missouri State Prison, this is a tremendous collection of photographs that poignantly chronicle the life of Blanche Barrow, a woman whose intense devotion to her husband earned her unintended membership into one of America’s most storied gangs.

Auction Info

  • Auction Title: Gangsters, Outlaw & Lawmen
  • Dates: #503 - Ended June 23, 2017