Frontier Legends: The Western Americana Collection of Jochen Zeitz
This spring, the renowned collection of Western Americana, assembled over several decades by former Harley-Davidson and PUMA CEO, philanthropist, and leading conservationist, Jochen Zeitz, will be offered at auction through Boston-based RR Auction.
The collection traces the turbulent decades of the nineteenth-century American frontier, when vast landscapes were undergoing rapid transformation through exploration, settlement, and conflict. Manuscripts, early photography, and artifacts included in the sale illuminate the personalities and events that shaped the American West.
Among the figures represented are George Armstrong Custer, Sitting Bull, Wyatt Earp, Wild Bill Hickok, Davy Crockett, Daniel Boone, Bat Masterson, and members of the James-Younger Gang.
One highlight is an 1885 contract signed by Sitting Bull agreeing to travel with Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West Show under the management of John M. Burke. The agreement set Sitting Bull’s salary at $50 per week and allowed him to sell his own photographs and autographs during the tour – an arrangement reflecting both his prominence and the growing commercial fascination with the frontier story.
Another notable artifact is a nineteenth-century U.S. Army officer’s frock coat associated with George Armstrong Custer, tied to one of the most debated figures of the Indian Wars period. Nearby appears a stark photographic record of frontier law enforcement: the original glass negative of the 1894 Wyoming Territorial Prison mugshot of outlaw Butch Cassidy, captured before the mythology of the outlaw era had fully taken hold.
The collection also includes a saddle attributed to Simón Bolívar—the Venezuelan general and liberator whose military campaigns resulted in the independence of present-day Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Panama, and after whom Bolivia was named. Known as “El Libertador,” Bolívar remains one of the most consequential figures in the history of the Americas, a legacy that has seen renewed popular attention through the Netflix historical drama Bolívar, which dramatizes his life and campaigns across sixty episodes.
Taken together, the collection presents a portrait of a formative period in American history—one shaped not only by conflict and expansion, but also by the transformation of landscapes and wildlife that once defined the continent.
And the transition of Jochen Zeitz’s collection from private archive to public auction becomes part of a much larger narrative. Artifacts that document the transformation of one frontier now contribute to efforts aimed at preserving another significant global landscape, as a substantial portion of the proceeds from the auction have been committed to supporting the vitally important conservation initiatives of the ZEITZ foundation in Kenya.
Founded by Zeitz in 2008, the ZEITZ Foundation promotes sustainable solutions guided by what it describes as the “4C” philosophy: Conservation, Community, Culture, and Commerce. The foundation’s work is centered at Segera Conservancy in Kenya’s Central Laikipia region, where programs at the 50,000 acre conservancy focus on wildlife protection, biodiversity preservation, habitat restoration, education and community development, while also supporting anti-poaching ranger programs and broader sustainability initiatives designed to benefit both ecosystems and local communities.
“Jochen has spent decades building one of the most innovative conservation programs in the world,” said Bobby Livingston, executive vice president of RR Auction. “This auction gives a remarkable collection of Western Americana new homes while helping advance the ZEITZ Foundation’s mission to re-introduce endangered rhinos back to the Segera Conservancy in Kenya.”
The Western Americana collection assembled by Jochen Zeitz will be offered in a dedicated single-owner auction conducted live and online by RR Auction on May 21, 2026. A catalogue and digital exhibition will be released ahead of the sale.
