Bonnie and Clyde's handguns to be auctioned

Bonnie Parker's Colt .38 Detective Special snub-nose revolver (left), and Clyde Barrow's Colt Model 1911 U.S. Army pistol, recovered for the bodies of the outlaw duo the day they were shot and killed in a police ambush in Gibsland, La., on May 23, 1934. The two weapons and other artifacts are being auctioned. / RR Auction

(AP) She kept a Colt .38-caliber revolver close, while he preferred a .45-caliber pistol from the same maker.

But neither weapon was enough to save American outlaws and lovers Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow during a 1934 ambush by law enforcement officers.

After the duo was dead, authorities recovered the revolver Bonnie had secured to an inner thigh with white medical tape.

They also seized the handgun Clyde had tucked into his waistband.

Nearly 80 years later, those guns and other items connected to the infamous gangsters will be going up for auction in New Hampshire on Sept. 30. An auction official estimated Thursday that each Bonnie and Clyde weapon could bring between $100,000 and $200,000.

"They were pretty famous in their moment and I think that's lasted through time," said Bobby Livingston, vice president of RR Auction in Amherst, N.H.

Besides the guns, other items Livingston's company will auction include a gold pocket watch Clyde was wearing when he died, and a cosmetics case Bonnie was using to carry lipstick, Coty face powder and a powder puff. The brown leatherette box was inside the Ford automobile the gangsters were riding in when a posse of lawmen riddled it with bullets on a Louisiana road.

Also in the auction is a letter that Clyde wrote to his brother L.C. Barrow on the back of a photo showing a house on a platform surrounded by water. He signed it "bud," his code name when he was on the run.

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FBI files say Bonnie and Clyde met in Texas in 1930 and were believed to have committed 13 murders and several robberies and burglaries by the time they died. Law enforcement officials were among their victims.

Notorious robbery partners Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow are seen in this picture taken between 1932 and 1934.

/ AP GraphicsBank

The duo became infamous as they traveled across America's Midwest and South, holding up banks and stores with other gang members.

Texas Ranger Frank Hamer led the posse of six lawmen who carried out the ambush, and auction officials said authorities gifted him the guns from the lovers' bodies as part of his compensation for the operation.

Auction officials said all the Bonnie and Clyde items are coming from the estate of Robert E. Davis. He was a collector from Texas who acquired items Hamer had owned, along with items that came from the estate of Clyde's sister, Marie Barrow.

Jonathan Davis, whose book "Bonnie & Clyde & Marie: A Sister's Perspective on the Notorious Barrow Gang" is expected out shortly, befriended Marie Barrow in the early 1990s and is acting as an adviser for the auction.

He said Thursday that people are drawn to Bonnie and Clyde memorabilia because of the romantic aspect of their story and because there's always an interest in outlaws.

L.J. Hinton, the son of a Texas deputy sheriff who was part of the ambush, shared a similar view Thursday. Besides the outlaws' love story, he said people also have been fascinated by Bonnie and Clyde because they became Robin Hood-like characters by robbing banks during the Depression.

The 78-year-old retired law-enforcement official manages the Bonnie & Clyde Ambush Museum in Gibsland, La., the town where the takedown happened. He predicted the September auction will attract a lot of interest.

"Just hang on to your hat, because it will be a bidding war," he said.

12 Photos

Bonnie and Clyde's guns auctioned for $504K

[lonestar9000]

More "authentic" Bonnie and Clyde guns. Not long ago they auctioned off a Thompson submachine gun supposedly owned by Clyde. I've read many books on Bonnie and Clyde, and none have ever mentioned the duo having a Thompson. Nor have any of the books (including the memoirs of the officers who killed them, and the coroner who made the official death report) ever mentioned a gun being found taped to Bonnie's thigh. I hope whoever is going to bid on these things does a lot of research first.

[RichardKanter]

Once saw Billy The Kid's Colt Thunderer over at Lionseek being sold. Should have made a move it on. These pieces will definitely be the target of someone's collection.

[hypnotoad72]

I love how society turns scumbags into idols and role models to fawn over and celebrate.

Hey, they got rich as well. Some people around here say we're always supposed to respect the rich... pity the same people saying that can't be bothered to reflect on legal issues, morals, ethics, and other unprofitable issues it seems...

[you_MAY_be_right]

Yeah, I wish I had the $$ to spend and could afford to bid on both of them myself. I's like to keep them as a pair.

[knewsteerrrrr]

It's not "society" who is going to pay $100,000 to $200,000 for one of these ordinary guns- it's morons with too much money on their hands

[JustWantToComment1]

I can't wait to rob a bank with those guns!!!

[LCCLYDE]

Rest in Peace Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker.Although your young lives were short and irresponsible only the Lord can judge you.

[liberalmike]

Utter B.S.!
These 2 were cold-blooded killers and everyone knows it regardless of what you think "YOUR" god says.
For you to even suggest they rip is crazy talk. They are simply dead and when someone dies they don't go nowhere but in the ground but you are free to believe the crap you want to.

[LCCLYDE]

Sorry to step on you athiest Nazi toes "liberalmike" maybe you'll have a right to say as you please when its your family being talked about,till then hit your crack pie and beat your wife some more.