From November 8 to 11, Arizona-based Western Trading Post is rolling out the red carpet for Western fans with a variety of events to celebrate its move from Casa Grande to Wickenburg, northwest of Phoenix. .
The kick-off party starts November 8 with a Western-themed shindig at the gallery that will include lunch, entertainment, an auction seminar, Old West reenactments, wagon rides, gallery and museum tours and much more. The main event, a 200-lot auction, will take place on November 12, with preview days held on November 10 and 11. The Grand Opening Auctionwill feature fine art, Native American material and objects, Western memorabilia, Old West firearms and much more.
Oleg Stavrowsky (1927-2020), Silent Journey, oil on canvas, 60 x 46 in. Estimate: $10/20,000
Auction co-owner Jim Olson prides his trading post and auctions for having a diverse array of material at a variety of prices. “We’ll get items from a few hundred dollars all way up. In the past we’ve had squash-blossom necklaces sell for $112,000 and concho belts sell for $68,000. We get every price point,” Olson says. “We normally call these sales the Advanced Collector Sale, but since this is our first big one in Wickenburg, we thought the Grand Opening Auction fit better. We get material all year round for this sale, and we hold the good stuff back.”
Olson says that Western Trading Post specializes in material related to the Old West and Southwest, and says that Native American jewelry is one of its top-selling categories. “People come from all over to see our turquoise. That’s what we get the most of and we get so much we have to turn some away,” he says.
Billy Klapper (1939-2024), the artist’s personal spurs, ca. 1991, heel opening 3¼ in., shanks measure 17/8 in. Estimate: $7,500/15,000
Jewelry in this sale includes a turquoise squash-blossom necklace by the renowned Navajo silversmith Mark Chee, whose works are treasured by collectors of Native American jewelry. The necklace is estimated at $7,500 to $15,000. Another piece available to bidders is a gold Bisbee turquoise necklace set that includes a ring and earrings. They are estimated at $9,000 to $18,000.
Mark Chee (Navajo (Diné), 1914-1981), turquoise and silver squash-blossom necklace, 27½ in. Estimate: $7,500/15,000
In the category of fine art, the sale will offer Oleg Stavrowsky’s painting Silent Journey, estimated at $10,000 to $20,000.
One lot that should thrill collectors of Old West gear is a pair of spurs owned and worn by bit and spur maker Billy Klapper. The spurs were purchased right from his boots in the 1990s at an event in San Angelo, Texas. Although Klapper, who died in 2024, rose to fame in the 1960s, his star was still bright right up until his death. He even made a cameo as himself on hit TV show Yellowstone. The Klapper spurs are estimated at $7,500 to $15,000. “These spurs are definitely going to a top collector who will display them proudly,” Olson says.
14K gold Bisbee necklace set, necklace, 25 in.; ring size, 10¼; earrings, ¾ x 1½ in. Estimate: $9/18,000
Other items in the sale include pottery, basketry and textiles, including a second-phase Navajo chief’s blanket, as well as bronze sculpture, two stunning parade saddles, one stamped with RKO Pictures, and another by Tommy Singer adorned in silver and turquoise. —
Grand Opening Auction
November 12, 2025
Western Trading Post
935 N. Tegner Street, Wickenburg, AZ 85390
(520) 426-7702
www.westerntradingpost.com
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