BONNIE & CLYDE'S "DEATH HATS"

[ShanghaiJack]

I saw this on the web today, after watching their Biography on TV.
A bit of Historical clothing from two famous Americans during the Golden Era of America.

http://texashideout.tripod.com/hats.html

Tails Up!
ShanghaiJack

 

[The Wingnut]

I'll bet that Art could bring that fedora back from the dead. I've got a tan Steson that was in similar shape that he resurrected...funny thing, the actor that portrayed Clyde in the Barrow Gang episode that I did for the History Channel wore my tan Stetson!

There's a cloche at the local vintage shop that's a dead ringer for Bonnie's, too...I should buy it for the hell of it.

 

[shamus]

Is that the back end of Clyde's hat? Or is the picture flopped? The bow is on the right and not the left... it's so beat up it's hard to tell.

 

[MJL]

Interesting link. I am still wondering how a bullet would make it through the brim? My understanding is that Texas Ranger Hamer and company used rifles they specifically KNEW would penetrate the automobile body. Barrow had earlier written a letter to none other than Henry Ford to congraulate him on making car bodies strong enough to deflect police bullets and fast enough to out run most police cars of that era. I believe their car of choice was the Ford Model A Roadster. As it turns out .45acp bullets fired from Thompson Sub-Machine guns or M1911s will just bounce off most car bodies of that era and today. It was designed as a knock down round and not a penetrator. Same goes for rounds like the lead round nosed .38 Specials most LEOS carried at that time. They would just slide on their soft round lead noses off glass, metal, etc. I was not aware that Barrow got out of the car. I thought they slowed down and the posse opened up on them, despite what the movie showed. I could be wrong on that. The death car was on display in a Casino in Primm, NV and it is a mess. The passengers would have been riddled with bullet fragments and schrapnel from the automobile body. They likely did not feel much despite reports that Parker was still alive when the posse approached the car. I think it is important to point out that historical criminals like the Barrow gang, Dillinger, etc were degenerates who thought nothing about killing over a few dollars. They robbed and killed small store owners, uninsured banks (pre-FDIC) and murdered countless numbers of their victims, including LEOS. Contrast them with the Hole-In-The-Wall gang of 30-40 years earlier. They only robbed railroads and large companies pay rolls. They never intentionally killed anyone. They gave more money away to the locals that they ever spent. I am not saying Butch Cassidy was a saint but one thing he was not was a degenerate killer like the Barrow gang. I feel no sympathy for Barrow/Parker. They got what they deserved and Texas Ranger Hamer is a true hero in my book....despite what the totally inaccurate movie portrays.

Now back to hats: Anyone want to hunt down and post the photo of Barrow,Parker and Hamer when they captured the Ranger? It is out there. As well there is an excellent photo of the Hole-In-The-Wall Gang, taken in Texas where they are all wearing brand new Derby hats...bought with money from a heist. Sitting right in front is Cassidy. They are alleged to have sent a copy of that photo to the Pinkertons (who are those guys). More likely the photo was sent by a local Texas LEO who recognized the gang from the photo the studio photographer hung in his window!

 

[up196]

Pinkertons (who are those guys) . . .

The posse portrayed in the movie chasing Butch and Sundance is based on a Special Ranger Posse of the Union Pacific Railroad that was headquartered in Cheyenne, Wyoming, complete with the train for transporting the posse and horses to the scene. It had been formed by hiring the most capable people for the job and included Joe LeFors, George Hiatt, Si Funk, Henry Davis, T. Kelliher and Thomas`"Jeff" Carr. Some had ties to the Pinkertons, some to the Rocky Mountain Detective Agency and so on, but the UP put them on the Wild Bunch for the Wilcox and Tipton robberies. Believe me on this one, we have a photo of the posse in my office, as well as some of the crime scene photos from Wilcox and Tipton.

 

[MJL]

The posse portrayed in the movie chasing Butch and Sundance is based on a Special Ranger Posse of the Union Pacific Railroad that was headquartered in Cheyenne, Wyoming, complete with the train for transporting the posse and horses to the scene. It had been formed by hiring the most capable people for the job and included Joe LeFors, George Hiatt, Sy Funk, Henry Davis, T. Kelliher and Thomas`"Jeff" Carr. Some had ties to the Pinkertons, some to the Rocky Mountain Detective Agency and so on, but the UP put them on the Wild Bunch for the Wilcox and Tipton robberies. Believe me on this one, we have a photo of the posse in my office, as well as some of the crime scene photos from Wilcox and Tipton.

Well, the Newman/Redford movie about the Hole-In-The-Wall gang is as about as inaccurate as the Barrow Gang movie. The Pinkertons seems to have made it their business to track down members of the gang with vigor. I seem to recall they were responsible (via posters, etc) for getting gang member Kid Curry arrested in TN of all places. Of course the sad truth about the Hole-In-The-Wall gang is that private companies were able to literally go around the law by creating special posses to go after them. The use of hired killers, like Tom Horn, would surprise many people today. It is generally assumed that Horn was hired by the Cattlemens Association to identify and kill those responsible for wholesale theft of cattle off large ranches in the Browns Hole area. Again, these folks were no angels but they stand in STARK contrast to the pyschotic degenerate criminals like the mytholized criminals of the 1930s.

 

[Matt Deckard]

Check out this thread.

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=3343&highlight=bonnie

 

[RBH]

I reposted this shot from the non Shorpy thread.
Dallas Co. deputies posing with items from Clyde Barrow's car.

 

[TomS]

Look at all those registration plates! Crooks still use incorrect plates to disguise their identity to this day. Of course with technology a criminal has to be a bit more resourceful than in 1933...lol.

 

[DIYsara]

RBH's photo with all the plates makes me think of a Mythbuster's episode where they try to beat a speed trap camera by going super fast...it didn't work. Jamie made a rotating plate so he could flip a switch and rotate to different license plates.

Besides the plates, I love how they had the detective magazine in their car. To beat your enemy you have to know your enemy LOL.

- Sara

--------------------------------------

 

[Andykev]

I'll bet that Art could bring that fedora back from the dead. ...

Hey Wingnut, where you been???? Still in CA?

Oh, Art is a wonderful hatter, a true craftsman. But his isn't God, and certainly couldn't resurrect that hat! A clean and block, new liner, sweat, and ribbon would only dress up a wreck! And that .45 caliber "moth hole" is beyond any hatters talents.

 

[scottyrocks]

Art could do a fine job with the bullet hole. He could start a whole new line of hats called 'Artie-One-Horse.'