A sword cane once owned by legendary Wild West gunman Doc Holliday has been added to the roster of remarkable artefacts in Guernsey's six-day Harrisburg Auction.
 Holliday may have been a fearsome gunfighter, but the sword cane's provenance shows he was a forgetful fencer |
Celebrating Harrisburg, Pennsylvania's role as the "Gateway to the West", the sale runs from July 15-20. Holliday's cane will form the highlight of day four, valued at $4,000-6,000.
Doc Holliday began life in Atlanta, Georgia in 1851, before being diagnosed with tuberculosis at the age of 22 in 1873. He subsequently moved to the American Southwest, in the hope that the climate would stem his sickness.
The qualified dentist soon developed a taste for the heady life of the Wild West and established a reputation as a shrewd gambler and fearsome gunfighter.
Holliday is best remembered for his role as a temporary marshal alongside the likes of Wyatt Earp and his brothers at the Gunfight at the OK Corral. He was one of the few lawmen to survive the battle, but became embroiled in the ensuing killings. He died in Colorado aged just 36.
According to an unclaimed property tag that accompanies the cane, it was left behind at a hotel by Holliday on October 2, 1878, having been found in the coatroom following his checkout. It was then sold to a Michael Sutton for $4 in 1879.
Also accompanying the cane is a notarised and signed letter from Sutton's grandson in 1955, which states that he is selling it for health reasons for the sum of $450.
The auction also features a range of vintage Americana, such as a 19th century slot machine named The Owl, which is valued at $10,000-15,000.
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