Canon City Horsehair Bridle with Bob Baldwin Gal Leg Bit
Bob Baldwin, prisoner #9647 maker-marked, silver inlaid, Gal Leg bit attached to hitched red and black diamond pattern horsehair bridle constructed with split reins and slider, flat 1 ½” wide cheeks, brow and nosebands, round multi-strand headbands and hitched hair rosettes. The bridle and bit are mounted on a custom wall hanging stand and were rumored to have given to the Canon City Warden, Tom Tynan, as a gift in the early 1920s
Bob Baldwin was born in North Carolina shortly before his family moved to Colorado around 1892. He was sentenced to his first stint of 3-10 years at the Colorado State Penitentiary in Canon City in 1912, for burglary and larceny -- along with his recidivist father and two brothers. Paroled in February of 1914, he immediately returned to his home and wife in La Veta, Colo. His wife gave birth to a son ten months later but in May of 1915, when the child was only 6 months old, Baldwin was arrested for the heinous crime of suffocating the infant. He was charged with first degree murder and on June 29, 1915, convicted and sentenced to life at the State Penitentiary. He served nearly ten years and then, one day, just simply disappeared. For the warden, Tom Tynan, his escape became a huge embarrassment and prisoner #9647 whereabouts remains a mystery to this very day. Unfortunately, Dora Baldwin was again pregnant when her husband murdered their son. Taking no chances, she moved to California, divorced Baldwin, and eventually remarried -- raising her new boy without even informing the child of his natural father. It was not until Dora's death, that the child, now long grown, learned the truth returning to Colorado where he eventually discovered the whole gruesome saga.
Lot 566, Sold $12,100
Brian Lebel's Mesa Old West Auction - January 21st & 22nd, 2022 - Mesa, AZ.