The stuffed horse belonging to cowboy actor and singer Roy Rogers along with his saddle took top dollar at an auction in July for memorabilia from the Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Museum Collection.
The Museum closed in December 2009, less than six years after it picked up and moved from its longtime Route 66 home in Victorville, California, to Branson, Missouri.
Christie's auction house, which ran the sale along with Western auctioneer High Noon Americana, said the collection of items related to Rogers' and wife Dale Evan's roles on television and in the movies brought in $2.9 million.
Trigger, the palomino horse which Rogers had stuffed after it died in 1965, was bought by rural cable television station RFD-TV for $266,500, while his saddle fetched $386,500 from a private buyer.
Other top sellers included Roy Rogers' 1963 Pontiac Bonneville and the Nellybelle jeep, an iconic emblem on the Roy Rogers Show, which ran on television in the 1950s and 1960s.
The more than 300 items included in the sale ran from Roy's sunglasses to a sterling belt buckle and a Roy Rogers directors chair. Here is a partial listing of some of the items that were sold at auction:
Roy 's 1964 Bonneville sold for $254,500, it was estimated to sell between 100 and 150 thousand dollars.
His script book from the January 14,1953 episode of This Is Your Life sold for $10,000 (est. $800-$1,000)
A collection of signed baseballs (Pete Rose, Duke Snyder and other greats) sold for $3,750
A collection of signed bats (Yogi Berra, Enos Slaughter, Bob Feller, and others) sold for $2,750.
One of many of Roy 's shirts sold for $16,250 and one of his many cowboy hats sold for $17,500.
One set of boot spurs sold for $10,625. (He never used a set of spurs on Trigger.)
A life size shooting gallery sold for $27,500.
Various chandeliers sold from $6,875 to $20,000. Very unique and artistic in their western style.
A signed photograph by Don Larsen taken during his perfect game in the world series against
the Dodgers on Oct.8, 1953, along with a signed baseball to Roy from Don, sold for $2,500
Two fabulous limited edition BB guns in their original boxes with numerous photos of Roy,
Dale, Gabby, and Pat sold for $3,750.
A collection of memorabilia from his shows entertaining the troops in Vietnam sold for $938.
His flight jacket sold for $7,500.
His set of dinner ware plates and silverware sold for $11,875.
The Bible they used at the dinner table every night sold for $8,750.
One of several of his guitars sold for $27,500.
Nellybelle sold for $116,500.
A fabulous painting of Roy, Dale, Pat, Buttermilk, Trigger, and Bullet sold for $10,625.
One of several sets of movie posters sold for $18,750.
A black and white photograph of Gene Autry with a touching inscription
from Gene to Roy sold for $17,500.
A Republic Productions Poster bearing many autographs of the people that played in Roy's movies sold for $11,875.
Dale's horse, Buttermilk (whose history is very interesting) sold below the pre-sale estimate for $25,000. (est. 30-40K)
Bullet sold for $35,000 (est. 10-15K). He was their real pet.
Dale's parade saddle, estimated to sell between 20-30K, sold for $104,500.
One of many pairs of Roy's boots sold for $21,250.
It's no wonder Trigger fetched over $266,000 at the auction. He was a genuine Hollywood star. Roy and Trigger made 188 movies together. The horse began it's "career" in show biz in the 1930s. Do you remember the 1938 movie The Adventures of Robin Hood with Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland? Well Olivia rode Trigger in that movie.
Trigger was bred on a farm co-owned by Bing Crosby. Roy bought Trigger on a time payment plan for $2,500. Trigger even out did Bob Hope by winning a P.A.T.S.Y. award (animal equivalent of the Oscar) for the movie Son of Paleface, in 1953.
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