The Red River D Belt Buckle

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  • Last year I asked at the Winterset museum and they could not offer any info on the buckles. With the exception of course they are available on line. BTW I'm only 3 hours from Winterset but if you haven't gone since they built it a few years back you surely should.

  • Benscout,


    Yes Duke wore the Red River D buckle in most every western he made after that.


    Can anyone else add to that?


    Thanks,
    Tbone

    Tbone



    "I have tried to live my life so that my family would love me and my friends respect me. The others can do whatever the hell they please."

  • Tbone, Thanks....This whole idea started when I moved my JW standup and I noticed the buckle. Then started looking at other pictures and noticed it showed up a lot. Based on Red River being an older movie I thought it had to be worn a lot more than one movie.

  • So was watching Rooster Cogburn tonight and guess what Duke was not wearing.


    Go figure.

    Tbone



    "I have tried to live my life so that my family would love me and my friends respect me. The others can do whatever the hell they please."

  • From what I have found out Wayne's original Red River D buckle was stolen from a silversmith shop in the early 80's when son Michael loaned it to them to have replicas made for friends and family. I had not heard of the Disney story about it. I suppose Disney could have requested a replica for perhaps some future business purpose.

  • It’s interesting that the belt buckle they show in the Yesterworld video is not the JW would have worn. The initials are wrong.

    Tbone



    "I have tried to live my life so that my family would love me and my friends respect me. The others can do whatever the hell they please."

  • I mentioned in a previous post several months ago that I located an individual that claimed to own an unfinished Red River D buckle that was made in the same shop as the original 1946 buckles made for the cast and crew members of 'Red River.' The buckles were made in the La Azteca Silver Shop in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico just across the border from Nogales, Arizona. The filming location of Howard Hawks 'Red River' film took place in 1946 in Elgin, Arizona just about fifty or so miles from Nogales.
    The Martinez family owned the La Azteca Silver Shop in Nogales for over thirty years. Brothers Jose and Elias were excellent craftsman in the jewelry and silver field. In the early 1960's the shop was sold to a successful Nogales businessman named Jose Guadalupe Jimenez Cortes. He was known to his friends as 'Lupe' and to thousands of customers as "Mickey" because of his longtime proprietorship of Mickey & Cia. on Avenida Obregen in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico.
    This buckle was located in the shop among the other items included in the sale. Lupe gave it to his son. I located him and corresponded via text messages on several occasions. He said, yes, he indeed have the buckle and was very excited about sharing photos of it with me when he got the chance. Unfortunately, he passed away a couple months ago. I was able to follow up with his son who did locate the buckle provide me these photos to show you.



    Edited 2 times, last by Drpmkp ().

  • Also, I might add, this buckle only has the word "STERLING" on the back side. This buckle was probably made sometime within the fifteen year period from 1946 until the La Azteca Silver Shop was sold in the early 1960's.

    Edited 4 times, last by Drpmkp ().

  • I am sorry about the death of Arturo, but it is so cool that you were dogged enough to finally get a picture of the buckle. Are you thinking of making an offer to the son? That would be a hell of an addition to your collection.


    Mark

    "I couldn't go to sleep at night if the director didn't call 'cut'. "

  • This is sort of a "look but don't touch item." It's not for sale. I heard about it and was always curious of what it looked like. The family was kind enough to let me share the photos of it with you. The buckle will remain in the family as a keepsake.

  • Here is a photo I found of a variation on the design of the Red River D buckle.
    The buckle has the rope design around the edges with a loop in the lower left corner containing a star. There is a large 'D' used to spell put the name 'DUKE'S.' Between the two wavy lines is the word 'HOLLYWOOD" and at the bottom is the word 'COWBOYS.'


    I have never seen anything like it before. I believe it was sold via Ebay or Etsy in March 2018 to at least one individual. More perhaps could have been sold.


    Does anyone have any information on this buckle or happen to own one? Just curious.



  • This is a smaller size version of the Red River D buckle that John Wayne owned. This smaller buckle was only one inch wide by two and a half inches long. He wore it in his personal life. Due to it's smaller size it was much more comfortable for everyday wear. The buckle was sold at auction in 2011 for a price of $16,500.


    I would be very interested to learn what year John Wayne acquired this buckle and the maker of it. It has the initials 'JW' in the lower corner. Also, instead of '1946' in the upper corner it had a Herford head.


    The famous full size Red River D buckle from 1946 with initials 'HWH' that John Wayne wore in nine films remains missing. It was presumably stolen from a silver shop in Los Angeles in September 1981 when it was left there by the Wayne family to have copies made for the family.


    According to the Los Angeles, California police bulletin from October 1981 the value of the buckle as a collector's item could exceed $100,000.


  • It's the time of the year to decorate the tree at the Red River D Ranch.
    My request to Santa is to bring back this Kurt Adler ornament from several years ago. I do not know what year this ornament was issued.
    Does anyone have any information on this item to share?


    Kurt S. Adler
    Catalog # JW2143
    JOHN WAYNE™ RED RIVER BELT BUCKLE ORNAMENT
    Item Size: 4.35 IN
    Packaging Type: Polybag W/Rat Tail
    Master Carton Dimensions: 16.50L x 15.13W x 10.00H


    Season's Greetings from The Red River D Ranch!


  • Do you remember the last scene in the Howard Hawks film 'Red River' when Thomas Dunson (John Wayne) and Matthew Garth (Montgomery Clift) make peace? Dunson advises Matt to marry Tess (Joanne Dru) and tells him that he will incorporate an 'M' into the Red River D brand, because he has earned it. The new brand is then drawn into the sand by Dunson.


    Recently I ran across a unique buckle for sale on Ebay that incorporates this "Red River Last Scene" brand design into it. The maker of the buckle has been a master silversmith and goldsmith for over 40 years and is very familiar with the Red River D buckle story. The handsome buckle is made in silver with also gold added if requested. It is hand fabricated with the new owner’s initials added in the lower left corner.


    Check out the Ebay listing if it’s still available to take a look at it. Put in "Red River Last Scene" in the Ebay search box to find it. It says a portion of the proceeds of the sale benefit the John Wayne Cancer Foundation. Check it out!

    Edited once, last by Drpmkp ().