Kit Carson items on the auction block

Carson's message pouch

An auction in Santa Fe next month will feature Archbishop Jean Baptiste Lamy’s leather riding coat, plus more than a dozen of Kit Carson’s personal effects. The Auction of Santa Fe at the Hilton Hotel on Aug. 11 and 12 includes 653 items, including nearly 300 paintings by well-known artists and more than 300 American Indian collectibles. It also includes 18 lots of historical artifacts collected by the late artist Ralph Meyers of Taos and his family. Among those items is the elk-skin riding coat that belonged to the French archbishop of New Mexico in the 19th century, estimated to be worth between $10,000 and $15,000. The Carson artifacts include his flintlock pistol, issued for use in the Mexican-American War; his personal document bag, used to carry items to presidents and generals; pack saddles; bridles; snowshoes; a trastero or cupboard; a tin box; a wooden bench and other items...more