Waco To Host World's Largest Spur Auction; Austinist Still Hoping To Spot an Actual Horse

The spur collection once belonging to a W.F. "Bill" Reynolds, late of Wichita Falls, TX, is to be auctioned off this weekend in Waco, in what's being billed as one of the biggest such auctions ever held.

We're all but clueless about most things wild west, but according to one O. Hibler, a board member of the NBSSCA (National Bit, Spur and Saddle Collectors Association -- "preserve and protect our Western Heritage!"), "Reynolds' broad knowledge of western collectibles and the breadth of his personal collection rank it in the top 5, if not number one."

Reynolds' collection contains almost every design ever made, from a double diamond worn by John Wayne to the "gal leg" style, shaped like a woman's leg complete with slippers and stockings. Many are embellished with inlaid silver, engraving, and figures of Buffalos, Longhorns, bucking broncos, snakes, flowers and swans. Others are adorned with rubies, emeralds, and sapphires -- intended, obviously, for the more fabulous cowboy.

Among the more sought-after items in the auction lot are a pair of rare spurs made possibly a century ago, if not before then, by Joe Petmecky, a Hungarian émigré who opened up a gunsmith shop in Austin in the middle of the nineteenth century. Petmecky gained recognition in the American West after inventing the spring-shank steel spur, which would automatically dislodge from a rider's boots should he be thrown from his horse, thereby avoiding possible broken ankles. The pair are valued somewhere in the neighborhood of $15,000.

You can check out all of the hot cowboy action at A&S Antique Auction Company's website.

Photo of J.C. Petmecky, Howell Petmecky, and Robert Felix at J.C. Petmecky's Gun Shop, Austin, 1925. From Institute of Texan Cultures.