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(AMERICAN CRIME) A suite of 10 photographs detailing the infamous life and death of Bonnie and Clyde. Circa 1932-34 & 1934.

(AMERICAN CRIME)
A suite of 10 photographs detailing the infamous life and death of Bonnie and Clyde. Circa 1932-34 & 1934.
Silver press prints, the images measuring 5½x9½ to 7½x9½ inches (14x24.1 to 19.1x24.1 cm.), and one the reverse, the sheets 8x10 inches (20.3x25.4 cm.).

Bonnie & Clyde, Kissing and Embracing * Clyde Barrow's Stolen Ford V8 * Clyde's Bullet Riddled Ford V8 Sedan with Texas Rangers in the Background * The Automobile of Bonnie & Clyde * Bonnie Parker (post-mortem) * The Bodies of Bonnie & Clyde * Clyde Barrow (post-mortem) * The Jacket of the Infamous Clyde Barrow * Clyde Barrow's Criminal Record * Former Texas Ranger Frank Hamer & the Posse that ended the lives of the Notorious Bonnie & Clyde (Standing: Dallas Deputy Sherrif Ted Hinton, Louisiana Deputy Sheriff Presley Oakley, and former Texas Ranger Manny Gault; Sitting: Dallas Deputy Bob Alcorn, Louisiana Deputy Sherrif Henderson Jordan, and Former Texas Ranger Frank Hamer)

"You be Bonnie and I'll be Clyde!" Petite blonde Bonnie Parker and clean-cut Clyde Barrow resemble a conventional 1930s western couple looking to get married, have children and buy a house with a picket fence and Oldsmobile in the driveway, but with the Great Depression raging around them, the young couple instead exchanged the mundane American experience for robbing banks and killing those unlucky enough to get in their way.

Clyde started his life of crime early but knew he had to go straight when he met the love of his life, a 19-year-old waitress named Bonnie. By this time, Clyde had already been on law enforcement's radar for small crimes, including petty theft and carjacking so he'd thought it would be best to lay low and stay out of trouble for Bonnie. Unfortunately, the 20-year-old delinquent slipped up and landed in jail once again, but this time he'd found a partner in crime willing to aid in his escape. Bonnie helped smuggle a gun into the prison which Clyde then used to flee with some other inmates. The passion burned even brighter for the couple after this, their love story becoming a fire raging, ready to engulf anyone in its path. Clyde ultimately ended up getting captured after his escape but was released on parole; this did nothing to deter the couple but instead fed their hunger.

After losing his job to police harassment the couple joined other hardened criminals on a string of bank robberies and murderous encounters. This continued for about two years, law enforcement attempting to wrestle in the evasive couple, even showing up at Clyde's brother's home in Missouri and enacting an ambush that resulted in two dead officers and an unknown treasure trove of negatives that Bonnie and Clyde had left behind. These photographs would be highly desired and flooded into newspapers everywhere, only fulling the public's intrigue about the couple. The gang proceeded to commit a handful of robberies, killing at least 12 people in the process over the span of their two-year spree. Eventually the cat and mouse hunt for Bonnie and Clyde ended on May 23,1934 with a posse of law enforcement officers from Texas and Louisiana finally catching up to the pair in their 1934 Ford Model B after a tip from a former betrayed Barrow gang member, under the guise that his father's car had broken down. Bonnie and Clyde stopped to help but soon enough the posse surprised the couple, ending their spree but never their legacy, in a fatal shootout. In death, the two are together with the posse standing over them. Despite their horrible crimes and graphic ending, Bonnie and Clyde are still idolized to this day and their "portraits" highly desired. This set of 10 images after their death are very rare, particularly the photograph of the two embracing, lips locked and chained together for eternity.

  • Condition: This suite of 10 photographs documenting the life and death of infamous crime couple Bonnie and Clyde are in overall good condition. The vintage press prints exhibit the handling imperfections associated with the format, but also showcase rich contrast and detail throughout. The series offers an unparalleled narrative of their complicated lives and death, including one rarely seen image of the couple embracing before their untimely end.

    In general, the surfaces of these prints exhibit the faint surface inconsistencies and shallow linear rubbing typical to the format. Much of this is largely apparent in strong, raking light and does not detract from the image itself. Some of the prints evidence faint and isolated soiling. All the prints also evidence pinholes at the corners and/or right/left edges. These imprecise and at times uneven holes are sometimes accompanied by small tears and chips, and are both in the margin and within the image area (this is noted with distinction below). The backs of the prints are all faintly soiled.

    Additional specific notes as follows.

    Bonnie & Clyde, Kissing and Embracing:
    small chip at the center (within Bonnie's skirt), soiling at the lower right corner (a red pigment, as associated with the press format), pinholes at the upper left and lower right corners within the image area (others in margins)

    Clyde Barrow's Criminal Record:
    scattered faint soiling, pinholes at the edges, and one within the writing at the top edge, small chip at the lower left corner

    The Bodies of Bonnie & Clyde:
    soiling at the top edge and far lower left corner (the same red pigment) and within the upper right quadrant (visible in our illustration), pinholes slightly impacting the image area


    Bonnie Parker (post-mortem):
    pinholes with visible areas of loss at the corners and edges, stray red pigment line at the far right center edge, closed tear right margin

    Clyde Barrow (post-mortem):
    pinhole at the center left edge slightly impacts the image area, but other imperfections are largely confined to the margins.

    The Jacket of the Infamous Clyde Barrow:
    chip in the margin at center left and closed tear entering the image area, pinholes at the corners, a couple tiny specs of stray soiling

    The Automobile of Bonnie & Clyde:
    pinholes very slightly impacting the lower left corner and center edges

    Clyde's Bullet Riddled Ford V8 Sedan with Texas Rangers in the Background: closed tear right center edge, pinholes within the corners, stray soiling marks (spec upper center and lower right corner)

    Clyde Barrow's Stolen Ford V8:
    pinhole with some loss center left edge, other soiling and a closed tear in the margins

    Former Texas Ranger Frank Hamer & the Posse that ended the lives of the Notorious Bonnie & Clyde:
    visible area of loss and short closed tear at the far left center edge, closed tear at the far right edge (slightly impacting the image area), stray soiling (including faint red pigment at top edge and faint tan soiling in the figure in the white jacket), pinholes at the corners and top center (this last confined to the margin)


    Please contact the Specialist for the auction to request a condition report.

    Condition reports and additional images are provided as a courtesy and should be used by you to aid in the formation of your own opinion regarding condition. All material is sold subject to Swann's standard Terms and Conditions of Sale as published in our catalogues and posted on our website, and include the following terms: (1) all property is sold "as-is"; and (2) works cannot be returned on the basis of condition.

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May 8, 2025 12:00 PM EDT
New York, NY, US

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