Raynors HCA 2015-08
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 8/27/2015
James H. East, cowboy, lawman, and author, was born on August 30, 1853, on a farm near Kaskaskia, Illinois. As a boy he heard many tales about Texas, and, after turning sixteen in 1869, he headed there, inspired by having read of Davy Crockett and the fall of the Alamo. He participated in his first long cattle drive, to the New Orleans market, in 1870, and other drives soon followed. For the next ten years East, as a cowboy in South Texas, experienced occasional brushes with Indians and Mexican bandits, and in 1877 he made his first drive north over the Western Trail to Dodge City, Kansas. He was a member of Patrick F. Garrettqv's posse that trailed and captured Billy the Kid and killed Tom O'Folliard and Charlie Bowdre in November 1880. In 1882 East was elected sheriff of Oldham County. In that position he aided Pat Garrett's Home Rangers and quickly restored order to Tascosa after the "Big Fight" on March 21, 1886, which left four men dead. East also owned the Equity Bar at Tascosa and later bought the Cattle Exchange Saloon. During this time he married Nettie Boulding of Virginia. After his tenure as sheriff, East was hired by Lucien B. Scott as range foreman of the LS Ranch. In this role he continued as a deputy sheriff. On May 13, 1889, he killed a gambler named Tom Clark in a shoot-out at Tascosa. This group of rare original images show East and members of his family. They include: 1/6th plate tintype of Jim East, ca. 1870 (although marked on the paper mat as 1862). Mounted in an embossed paper frame. VF...Plus; Studio portrait of Jim East, 6 3/4" c 10 3/4" with matt, ca. 1915. A dignified East is shown in later life. VF condition...Plus; Cabinet card of Nettie East, 1884, by Thomson, Kansas City, Missouri. East's wife is shown here "at time of wedding". Some soiling, else VG condition...Plus; Cabinet card of Lillian May East, ca. late 1890's, by Franzlau, Nashville, Illinois. Jim East's daughter. Vg condition.. Plus; Photograph, 3 3/4" diamond, ca. 1895. John R. Bouldin, East's brother-in-law, with his mother and East's wife, Nettie. Light stains on mount, else Fine condition...Plus; Portrait of Jack M. Potter, 7" x 11" in mount, ca. 1915. A verso inscription describes Potter as a "Texas Trail Driver". Fine condition...Plus; Copy photograph of Nancy Coltaire East, 7" x 9 1/2", ca. 1870's. Jim East's mother is shown in a print made from an earlier image, probably a tintype. Aging and chips to mount. Good condition...Plus; Cabinet card of James R. Bouldin, ca. 1890. A verso inscription notes that this portrait was "taken at Miles City, Montana during trail drive days". Top border clipped, some scuffs. Good condition...Plus; Cabinet card of James R. Bouldin,(deputy sheriff Douglas Arizona) ca. 1890's, by Sherman, Amarillo, Texas. A more prosperous looking Bouldin is shown at a somewhat later date. Chips, aging, and tiny perforations. Good condition...Plus; Cabinet card of two men, ca. 1890, by Carson Brothers, Billings, Montana. Two pards wearing barkeep aprons pose here. One is identified on the verso as Bowie Reed. Scuffs, else VG.
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