Collins Alamo Collection

Collins usually had an eye toward excellent provenance. I’m guessing this knife at very least belonged to Bowie at one point. I do not think it’s “the knife”, and don’t think any of the usual Bowie suspects are “the knife”. Bowie was aware of his celebrity and quite likely owned many knives made by makers from wherever his travels took him. Like famous lawmen who used to buy guns at pawnshops and give them away as gifts as “this gun belonged to so-n-so”. I’d bet folding money Bowie did the same thing.

fascinating topic!

hso said:

Don't bet on that. "Bowie" knives are rife with wishful thinking, family mythology, and forged paperwork dating back to the 1800s.

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lol that’s a good point. Like i said bowie knew what he was, and his family certainly knew to try and capitalize on him if possible.

i still think the collins collection is well-provenanced, but i will admit i’m not very familiar w the brass-backed hot topic.

Yeah, I remember when Mr. Collins made
his generous donations
There were a few articles about it then

As far as "THE " Bowie knife, JMHO it's
like the who killed Kennedy thing.
Nobody will ever know for sure

I'm in the big butcher knife camp myself.
The Rezin Bowie newspaper letter about
" not brought about through my agency "
or however he put it is what makes me
think that way

I would guess that the knife Mr. Bowie used at the Alamo is sitting right next to the ark of the covenant.

Whether the original Jim Bowie knife still exists, who knows. It is only wishful thinking to assume it does. I do believe that the knife that Resin Bowie made, and gave to Jim, and used at the sandbar fight, would have been similar in construction to this one



The Edwin Forrest Bowie is the closest "reputed" knife (or disputed knife) to what I think Jim Bowie would have had, given the period and the style. And it is not the sandbar knife, which Resin Bowie described. The sandbar knife had a shorter blade.



This is basically a big butcher's knife.

This is one of the very earliest documented "bowie knives", sold for $27,000 in 2012. One dated 1835 sold for $40,000

https://www.morphyauctions.com/jamesdjulia/item/4407-394/



The Gravely & Wreaks Bowie was described in an ad from the 1830's, and this one was dated 1839. But Gravely & Wreaks sold Sheffield made knives, and probably never met Jim Bowie or saw what he had on his belt. And Gravely & Wreaks sold other patterns before 1840.

https://www.thefifthfield.com/swt/graveley-wreaks-bowie-knife/

Wait a doggone minute here.... I thought that I had J.B.'s knife!

Now on second thought, maybe it's Jesse James' pistol that I have - or was it George Washinton's axe?

All three being items that I have been *assured* were held by sellers.

Todd.

hso said:

The history is that Resin had it made to his specifications. Gentlemen didn't get their hands dirty in the forge.

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Flayderman quotes the Resin letter establishing the size of the famous first Bowie knife. Resin Bowie says he made it. Maybe he did. Or maybe he had it made. Either way, it was to his design.

Collins did a good thing donating his collection, I didn’t appreciate his controversial remarks towards the President in his “not dead yet Tampa show” other than that he is a good artist...

Thewelshm

hso said:

Jesse Cleft was the smith that made the knife that Rezin designed, but John Bowie claimed that another smith, Snowdon, made the knife use by Jim Bowie at the infamous Sandbar Fight.

Then there's the idea that the sharpened clip is a much later addition. Instead the first "Bowie knife" still extant that fits Rezin's description is the Schively Bowie.
View attachment 999427

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Similar pattern to the Edwin Forrest bowie, maybe Edwin actually got his knife off Jim Bowie, or purchased one that looked like it.

The sharpened swedge supposedly develops with James Black who supposedly made the knife for Jim Bowie based on a wooden model Bowie provided. Legend has it that Bowies model didn't have a sharpened back and Black decided to offer a version to his client. Bowie accepted it and a new version is born. See how complicated these stories get.

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From what Flayderman wrote about James Black, I am of the opinion that James Black is one of those false glory guys. As an example Roland Sperry, who was a real WW2 airman, wanted more fame. So he wrote a book, "China through the eyes of a Tiger" and pretended to an original pilot of the famous Flying Tigers. Roland Sperry showed up at Flying Tiger meetings, sold his book, bathed in the glory of his claims to be a Flying Tiger. He was a B24 gunner, but not a Flying Tiger. http://blogs.dailybreeze.com/history/2013/08/09/roland-sperrys-dangerous-flight/

History is full of these characters, and from what I have read of James Black, he is one of them.

hso said:

I cynically expect that most of the knives attributed to Rezin and/or James Bowie never touched their hands. The Bowies exploited the myth so why shouldn't others.

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I agree. The old saw is "History is the lie we agree on". There is a lot of truth in that.