Artwork > All Sculptures, Americana, Cowboys & Cowgirls > Gunfighter Bookends
Gunfighter Bookends
Specifications:
Each Bookend is appx: 10″H x 6 1/2″W x 7”D
Edition of 50
Price:
$6,800 for set
Scott’s Piece Description
This piece takes me back to my childhood…when as a 6 or 7 year old boy, after a Christmas morning, with my shiny new Billy the Kid Cap Pistol hanging proudly at my waist, I’d find myself shooting up everything in the neighborhood. I can still smell the sulfur smoke from firing those red roll caps.
Do we ever outgrow our childhood? I have a distinct memory of the first time I saw Lucas McCain (played by Chuck Connors) rapid fire his rifle during the opening scene of ‘The Rifleman.’ I’d hold my breath as the shock of each concussed round went off. Or seeing Steve McQueen, in ‘Wanted Dead or Alive,’ walk the dusty streets carrying his bobtailed sawed off 1892 Winchester ‘Mares Leg,’ with its oversized lever handle. I ached to be that cool. Oh, how I wanted one of those rifles.
In 1972, at age eleven, and possibly the first time I ever wanted someone to die was after watching the skullduggery of Bruce Dern's character, Long Hair, kill Will Anderson (John Wayne) in ‘The Cowboys.’ I remember struggling with the confusion, hate and sadness that welled up inside me from that scene.
“Yes”…..and even the corny ‘F Troop’ and ‘Petticoat Junction’ played a role in forming the humor I find myself drawn to in life.
Surely I was forever touched and influenced by watching Sam Pekinpah’s ‘The Wild Bunch’ that came out when I was 9 years old. The list goes on: ‘Alias Smith and Jones,’ ‘Have Gun Will Travel,’ and to this day an occasional deep throated “Move ‘em out, head ‘em up: ‘Rawhide!’” leaves my lips now and again. Surely these Gunfighter Bookends were influenced by the opening montage of frozen title sequence graphics in every episode of ‘The Wild Wild West.’
When I boil it down, every piece I create that makes me go “Wow” can be traced back to a life altering, character forming event(s) and can most assuredly be called a self-portrait.
Note: If you’re a bit younger and would like a taste of 1960’s TV western nostalgia, check out Frankie Laine’s song “Rawhide.”
I get to pondering a piece description and sometimes the words just keep coming....please indulge a few more:
Who can think of the old west for too long without their mind conjuring up famous gunfighters or gunfights (i.e. Billy the Kid, Tom Horn, Doc Holliday, Sam Bass, or the gunfight at the OK Corral)?
The old west was generally slow paced, as folks eked out livings in sod huts, behind plow horses or perhaps swinging a hammer against iron on an anvil. Some who chose an even quieter life (trappers and some settlers) could live for months without seeing another human. Then there were times when things got lively and a trail herd would come through town, highwaymen might cause trouble on a stagecoach road, or armed cowpunchers might get liquored up and want to let off a little steam.
Whenever you had the right mixture of tough men, guns, short tempers and very little law – it’s not hard to picture a variety of outcomes. Oft’ times the price paid, for dealing with the wrong man who felt crossed, was one’s life.
Note: As I was about to write this piece description, my wife, Janette, said,
“You could call it ‘Gunfight at Bookend Pass.” She’s a genius!
Image Gallery
Curator Review
In the American West, danger often hid just beneath the surface of dusty streets and calm saloons. Gunfighter Bookends captures this energy in playful, sculptural form. Two rugged figures face off across a row of books, frozen in a moment that feels pulled from a dime novel — weapons drawn, grit in their expressions, and tension thick in the air.
This set is more than just functional art; it’s a miniature Western showdown that channels the legends of old — Billy the Kid, Doc Holliday, Tom Horn. These bookends pay homage not just to the men who walked the line between outlaw and hero, but to the everyday volatility of life in frontier towns. In places where law was scarce and tempers ran hot, it wasn’t uncommon for disputes to be settled with iron rather than words.
While much of the Old West was slow-moving — settlers raising cabins, blacksmiths hammering steel, or trappers living off the land — towns could come alive with sudden bursts of chaos. A trail herd riding in, stagecoach robbers, or rowdy cowhands with whiskey on their breath could shift a sleepy afternoon into legend.
There’s humor tucked into this piece, too. As books rest between two armed men mid-duel, it’s impossible not to smile. It’s a clever contradiction: literature framed by lawlessness, history held in place by the mythmakers of the West.
As the artist notes, the name Gunfight at Bookend Pass came from his wife, Janette — a fittingly witty title for a sculpture that straddles storytelling, craftsmanship, and good-natured Western fun.
Get In Touch
We’ll confirm if this sculpture is available now or reserve your place in the next casting (4–5 months).
Phone: 1.435.469.1646
Email: hello@scottrogerssculpture.com
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