Jackson County (Mo.) Historical Society

Portals to the Past

by David W. Jackson

Indian Now on Private Sentry Duty in Kansas City

When reading in The Star about Hallmark Cards Inc. auction of Jerry Smith’s antique toys and collectables (see, “For many items Americana, it’s out with the old,” April 10, 2008; C1), I recognized one of two cigar store Indian statues being auctioned as significant to Kansas City. However, I was “a day late and a dollar short” since the auction had already taken place by the time I was clipping the article for the Society’s newspaper subject files.

The cigar store Indian, once as frequently seen as barber poles, is nearly extinct. Clothed in fringed buckskins, draped with blankets, and decorated with feathered headdresses and sometimes shown holding tomahawks, bows, arrows and spears, cigar store Indians were once a universal symbol.

The recent specimen on the auction block was described as a “painted carved wood figure on original tin covered with wood trimmed base with cast iron wheels….” A “tin panel on base retains the tobacconist’s trade name, “E. J. Reardon” cigars and tobacco.

There he was! This was the scout who for more than 50 years identified the Reardon Tobacco Company at 709 Main Street in downtown Kansas City. The “Reardon Indian” was made in Germany and was posted on his sentry duty in 1889. Sometime around 1900, according to an undated article I found by James P. McGilley, “a passing heard of Longhorn steers knocked off his arm and trampled it beyond repair. A new one was made of metal and the workmanship was so good that even to this very day you can’t tell it’s an artificial limb.”

E. J. Reardon rejected a $1,500 offer in 1948 for the Indian his father bought in 1889 and named, “Johnny Swift Wing.” Ed Reardon, grandson of E. J. Reardon, said Johnny eventually sold and was on display in Crown Center for some 20 years as part of the collection of Kansas City Buick car dealer (and avid collector and philanthropist), Jerry Smith.

BTW, in 1974, Smith had also acquired the “Indian Hunter” (aka “Minnehaha”) cigar store Indian statue that had for years graced Independence Square. At that time, Smith said, “I have 6 Indians: 5 wooden and 1 pewter. A model imprint cast in pewter uses the same sand mold as a wood carving. Brittle pewter is subject to age-cracks. Five or more paint layers covered ‘Indian Hunter.’” The exact whereabouts of “Indian Hunter” today remains a mystery. By 1974, it was on loan to Lamar Hunt, and it stood in his offices at Arrowhead Stadium.

Smith, who died in 1984, collected for more than 25 years, and amassed more than 11,000 antique toys and unique Americana. His greatest joy was exhibiting this amazing treasure trove as a natural fundraiser helping local charities.

In 1977, Hallmark Cards, Inc., purchased the mammoth Smith collection for use as resource material for their products. They also sold selected items through retails sales at Halls in Crown Center. As noted above, the remainder of the famous collection was recently auctioned.

I e-mailed the auction house, Noel Barrett, who swiftly forwarded my inquiry to the winning bidder who phoned me. It turns out I was WAY MORE than a dollar short. While another cigar store Indian from Smith’s collection went for $70,000, Kansas City’s Reardon Indian commanded $22,000.

The best news for Kansas Citians is that Jerry Smith’s daughter and son-in-law held the highest bid, and I’m happy to report that the “Reardon Indian” will be “keeping close to the reservation;” it’s now back in Kansas City in the family’s private collection.

If you know the whereabouts about the “Indian Hunter” (aka “Minnehaha”) cigar store Indian statue that once stood on the sidewalks on Independence Square, please let us make a record of it.

It probably isn’t politically correct; but, it would be worth exhibiting--if even for a short time--these unique statues of Americana so more people might discover their fascinating history. If anything, I would hope it might raise awareness of the importance of preserving artifacts from our local history so they may be available to the public into the future.

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