John Wayne Memorabilia, ca. 1950
GUEST:
It's a John Wayne saddle. It's actually a John Wayne productions saddle. My dad was in partners with John Wayne in the catering business back in the 1950s, '60s and '70s.
APPRAISER:
Which is what this picture is here, correct?
GUEST:
Correct.
APPRAISER:
This is John Wayne with your dad, Rolly.
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
It was the groundbreaking for the catering business, but it was actually done in Georgia, because they were doing the movie The Green Berets in Georgia. Okay, so tell me how you got the saddle.
GUEST:
John Wayne gave it to my dad...
APPRAISER:
Right.
GUEST:
And later on when I was growing up, I had an interest in horses and it was given to me, and I have been using this saddle since I have been about ten years old.
APPRAISER:
Is that right?
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
An absolutely incredible saddle. The condition of it is wonderful. You have relined it, you have the new sheepskin on the inside, but you didn't just replace it. You did restore it, which we say at the ROADSHOW all the time: do it, do it right, and it will help keep the value. The company that made this saddle is the Simco company, and they worked with John Wayne's production company, which is the Batjac. And they're located out in Bandera, Texas, and that's where they actually set up when they were filming "The Alamo." And after that time, John Wayne continued to have his production company there in Bandera, and they did a lot of the shooting up there, and a lot of the Western scenes were actually filmed up in that area.
GUEST:
Actually, one of the first movies, I think, that John Wayne produced himself was "The Alamo," and my dad catered that.
APPRAISER:
Is that right?
GUEST:
Actually, my dad helped him because with that movie, "The Alamo," he ran out of money because it was such a large production.
APPRAISER:
And then that began a 35-year friendship.
GUEST:
Pretty much. It even started before that. Unfortunately, my father passed away and I don't know the time frame. You know, I wish I did but...
APPRAISER:
Now, you said to me you have a huge collection of this stuff. You have a number of John Wayne items. Tell me a little bit about what you've got.
GUEST:
Well, we have a lot of mugs that were given to my dad from John Wayne, after shooting movies.
APPRAISER:
This particular one comes from the movie "McLintock," I noticed.
GUEST:
Correct, yes.
APPRAISER:
And it's funny, because we talked earlier how John Wayne, you said, had these manufactured and gave them out to...
GUEST:
To different people that he knew, as gifts, just kind of saying, you know, like a thank you. I mean, it wasn't for everybody. It was to very close personal friends.
APPRAISER:
Personal friends. And your dad, again, "Rolly from the Duke." Well, it's an absolutely wonderful saddle. The condition is nice.
GUEST:
I like to keep using things.
APPRAISER:
Keep it in good shape. You do realize, though, that after a while, if you continue to use it, it may affect the condition and the value may go down. If you keep it as it is now, a saddle like this... If it was just a saddle, $200 to $300. Because this came from John Wayne's production company and it does say... up in the saddle, it does have the John Wayne production company "Batjac" stamped right on the underside of the saddle, you're looking at about $2,500 to $3,500 minimum--
GUEST:
Really?
APPRAISER:
--for it. The coffee mug-- in the $100 range. And the picture-- well, obviously, that's priceless, because it's got your dad in it. So you're probably looking, for the two items, in the $2,600 to $3,600 range. It's a great piece of movie memorabilia. Thanks for bringing it in.
GUEST:
Well, thank you very much.
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