Rare early American cockfighting / game-fowl archive belonging to W. E. “Wade” Hampton of Shreveport, Louisiana, consisting of original 1906–1910 correspondence, advertising ephemera and an early mounted photograph of a gamecock.
The highlight is an April 26, 1910 two-page typed letter signed by noted game-fowl authority George W. Means of Concord, North Carolina, breeder of Red Cuban Games and later author of The Game Cock: From the Shell to the Pit (first published in 1911).
Means writes directly to W. E. Hampton regarding game stags, their prices, conditioning or “walking,” acclimatization and plans for fighting the birds the following November. He also discusses his reputation among experienced cockers and criticism appearing in game journals. The letter concludes “Very truly yours” and is signed Geo. W. Means.
Included is the original illustrated George W. Means / Red Cuban Games mailing envelope, addressed to:
Mr. W. E. Hampton
1520 Harvard Ave.
Shreveport, La.
and postmarked Concord, N.C., April 26, 1910, with a Shreveport receiving postmark on the reverse.
Also included is a remarkable April 20, 1906 J. C. Sturzel advertising circular for “Sturzel’s Hurricanes — The Autocrats of Pit Games.” The illustrated circular advertises fighting cocks, brood stock and cockers’ supplies and describes previously fought birds offered for sale, together with period equipment including carrying cases and sparring muffs.
The third item is an original early mounted photograph of a gamecock, approximately 8+ inches across overall, showing the bird outdoors. The mount exhibits considerable age and edge wear as photographed.
Provenance: W. E. “Wade” Hampton was my great-grandfather and worked as a conductor for the Kansas City Southern Railway. These items descended through the Hampton family and have remained together. They provide unusual primary-source documentation of the early-20th-century American game-fowl and cockfighting culture.
A period family photograph of Wade E. Hampton in his Kansas City Southern conductor’s uniform, standing beside “The Flying Crow” passenger train, is shown in this listing for provenance and historical context. The photograph is identified “Wade E. Hampton” on the reverse.
Also shown for provenance is a period Port Arthur News “Believe It or Not” newspaper feature about Hampton. The feature identifies him as a Kansas City Southern Railway conductor and states that he “has worn a red rose each day on a passenger run for 37 years.” Remarkably, the red rose can be seen pinned to Hampton’s uniform in the accompanying family photograph.
The photograph of Wade E. Hampton and the Port Arthur News clipping are shown for provenance and historical context only and are NOT included in the sale.
All pieces offered in this lot are original period material, not reproductions.
Condition varies with age. The correspondence retains original folds; envelope has staining, wear and edge losses; Sturzel circular has folds, toning and handling wear; gamecock photograph and mount have fading, spotting and substantial edge/corner wear. Please examine all photographs carefully.
An unusual group for collectors and researchers of cockfighting history, game fowl, gamecocks, poultry history, sporting Americana, Southern history and early 20th-century ephemera.
Priority mail shipping is included in purchase price.
Thank you for looking!
Related Items:
1906-1910 COCKFIGHTING Archive GEORGE W MEANS, Sturzel, Gamecock Photo, Letters
$325.00
