Bonnie Parker’s personal cosmetic case, retrieved from her and Clyde Barrow’s car after their shooting on May 23, 1934. Light brown leatherette case measures 11 x 8 x 6, with a slide lock, carrying handle to hinged top, and a mirror inside of the top cover. Accompanied by a copy of a 1976 notarized letter from Frank A. Hamer, Jr., transferring the ownership of the case from himself to Raymond Brown. Letter reads, in part: “This case was in the 1934 Ford V-8 car used by Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow at the time of the shooting on May 23, 1934. The case at that time contained lipstick and a box of Coty face powder and a powder puff…This case was obviously used by Bonnie Parker for personal grooming purposes. It was about the only feminine touch item in their possession.”
Provenance:
Bonnie Parker
Texas Ranger Frank Hamer
Special Texas Ranger Frank Hamer, Jr.
Raymond Brown Collection
Tom Keilman Auctioneers, 1986
Robert E. Davis
Also includes a Loan Agreement to the Dallas Historical Association for the item’s showing in the renowned 2001 Bonnie & Clyde Exhibition held at the Hall of State in Dallas, Texas.
Despite the fact that her home was a getaway car, Bonnie Parker never let her appearance slide. Always photographed in perfect style, her final day was no different; she was killed wearing a fashionable red dress and red shoes, with freshly done hair, nails, and make-up. With no stable home, no bathroom, no place for nonessentials, all she had to maintain an image on the run was a suitcase and this cosmetic case. This is a wonderfully personal effect, one of the only creature comforts in the otherwise rough and violent life of a young fugitive.
