Their owners were lovers and partners, and their guns stay together as well.
They are Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. Their guns survive them as a pair, thanks to an anonymous Texas collector who paid a collective $504,000 for the two pistols sold at a New Hampshire auction.
Barrow was 25 and Parker 23 when they were killed in 1934, the result of a two-year manhunt following a multi-state crime spree involving killings, kidnappings, bank robberies, auto thefts, and a prison break. A combination of Louisiana police and Texas Rangers found Bonnie and Clyde in a northern Louisiana hideout, and the following firefight left the outlaws dead.
The two were lovers, and their story captured the popular imagination for a time during the Great Depression. But it's the tangible things they left behind that were on display at auction.
Parker's gun, a .38 special that was found taped to the inside of her thigh, brought in $264,000, slightly more than the $240,000 paid for Barrow's gun, a Colt .45 that was found in his waistband.
The guns came from the collection of another memorabilia enthusiast, who bought them for about $100,000 total in 1986.
Other items sold at this most recent auction included Barrow's gold pocket watch ($36,000), a silver dollar taken from his pocket ($32,400), and one of Parker's silk stockings ($11,400).
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