DALLAS, TX.- An elk-skin jacket and a 7th Cavalry footlocker owned and used by Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer were the two top-earning lots at Heritage Auctions’ Sept. 13 William and Joey Ridenour Ethnographic Art, Western Memorabilia, & Antique Firearms Signature® Auction.

Along with a wide variety of Indigenous artifacts dating from Pre-Columbian time to the present, the assortment of items from the collection of the Scottsdale, Arizona couple included several items relating to the leader of the U.S. Army 7th Cavalry Regiment forces defeated June 25-26, 1876, by a coalition of Lakota, Dakota, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho warriors at the Battle of the Little Bighorn in Montana Territory.

An elk skin jacket that has been described as a gift from the Cheyenne to Custer sold for $52,500 including the buyer’s premium, making it the top lot of the auction. It was among many Custer possessions put into storage at West Point after the disastrous Little Bighorn campaign. Custer’s widow, Elizabeth Custer, presented it in 1897 to Arthur McCall, who in turn gave it to Iowa artist Otto Gerhardt, who wore it and described its history for a newspaper article and photograph in the 1920s, establishing its provenance. It went on to change hands a few other times until Ridenour purchased it in 2013 for $30,000.

Custer’s personal 7th Cavalry footlocker, possibly used to convey his personal items to his hometown of Monroe, Michigan, after his death, was the second highest-priced item of the auction, selling for a total of $35,000. Ridenour purchased it for $16,250 in 2017.

Other notable lots included a Winchester Model 1873 rifle owned by 7th Cavalry Sergeant John Ryan, which sold for $20,000. Ryan reportedly fired the last shot of the Battle of the Little Bighorn. And a surrealistic Tairona sheet gold mask with dangling eyes took in a total of $16,250.

Heritage Auctions’ upcoming Ethnographic Art sales include two auctions on November 6: the Property from an Important New York Collection Signature® Auction and the Ethnographic Art: American Indian, Pre-Columbian and Tribal Signature® Auction.