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The Ned and Jody Martin Texas Bit Collection

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Western Americana Start Price:100.00 USD Estimated At:180,000.00 - 220,000.00 USD
The Ned and Jody Martin Texas Bit Collection
(Photos and descriptions of ALL 86 bits are available here: http://www.denveroldwest.com/texasbits/index.htm#1)

We are pleased to offer the incredible Ned and Jody Martin Texas Bit Collection, a one-of-a-kind collection used as the primary study group by the Martins for their landmark book, Bit and Spur Makers in the Texas Tradition. Their book, co-authored with Kurt House and published in 2002, is considered by many to be the most important ever written on Texas bits and spurs and their makers.

In creating the Martin Texas Bit Collection, great care was taken to make sure that only the highest quality examples by a wide range of makers were added to the collection. It is the culmination of countless miles of travel, in-depth study, and years of dedication. This museum quality collection would be difficult, if not impossible, to duplicate today.

The collection contains 86 bits by over 28 different makers (some makers are unknown), including the early masters J.O. Bass, G.A. Bischoff, Robert L. Causey, C.P. Shipley, Joe Bianchi, Bob Boone, P.M. Kelly and Oscar Crockett. It is the most documented collection of early Texas style bits known in existence, with 66 of the bits pictured in Bit and Spur Makers in the Texas Tradition, many of which serve as the representative examples for their respective makers. The page numbers listed in the descriptions reference this seminal work.

The collection, in its entirety, is being offered for the first time ever at public auction. It is being sold as a single lot, as is only appropriate for a collection of this magnitude.

Notes: Bit numbers 2, 8, and 61 were not part of the Martin Collection and are not included in this lot.