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Old 24th June 2019, 07:43 AM   #13
Jim McDougall
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Route 66
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Very thorough Fernando, and its great to keep our discussion going. It is a fascinating topic and actually, I had never known there was any question about Van Gogh's death. As many people, I had known only of his medical issues and the 'ear incident', so presumed that suicide was pretty expectable situation.

In searching further I found another book "Morgue:A Life in Death" by Ron Fransell, along with Dr. Vincent DiMaio, an expert in gunshot forensics. In some of the text reviewing this book, the .380 caliber gun which Mssr. Ravoux sold Rene Secretan, he claimed was 'faulty' and used just for hunting squirrels and rabbits.
Rene claimed Van Gogh stole it from his rucksack, presumably for the tricks and taunting he had endured from him. When he was interviewed many years later, he claimed that he and his brother had gone to Paris the day of the shooting, and had not heard of it until they saw it in a Paris newspaper.
There has never been evidence of such a report ever found in any paper, and the suggestion begs he question, why would the accidental shooting of an unknown and pretty much raggedy painter in a rural area bring the attention of a Paris newspaper?

Going to the gun sold at auction, described as a 7mm Lefaucheaux a broche revolver, found in 1965 in the field where Van Gogh was shot, and the bullet found in his body MATCHED?

When Van Gogh was examined after returning apparently in pain to the Inn, it was said there was very little if any blood. The discoloration around the wound was claimed to be from point blank discharge of a weapon, but forensically this is normal for any penetration wound. As mentioned, no powder evidence.
The reason Van Gogh died is that the wound became septic, as no surgeon was available, and the bullet was NOT removed. With his death, there was no reason to remove the bullet. As far as known ,it is still in the remains.

So how is the auction gun matched to the caliber that killed Van Gogh, and if the gun he allegedly stole from Rene was a .380 cal, how can the 7mm gun be the one?

That discrepancy is the issue I meant when noting the Liege mfg. relevance. If the 'death gun' was a .380, it does not matter if it was made in Liege, and of course if the auction gun is Lefaucheax, it would not be made in Liege.
Not ALL Liege guns are marked, there are cases of unmarked, despite the regulation being carried out. I have had the impression that there are many makers and shops there, and with cheap products in volume, such protocol was not necessarily faithfully observed. Rather like the blade 'blanks' produced in Solingen and stamped elsewhere.

The John Wayne quote was paraphrased from Wyatt Earp , perhaps mentioned in the largely fictional Stuart Lake 'biography' (1931) where he expresses his disdain for theatrics and speed in gun fighting. He claimed 'fast is fine, but accuracy is everything......in a gunfight you need to take your time...in a hurry!'. Earp was of course an advisor in Hollywood in the 20s for 'western' movies, and young Marion Morrison (John Wayne) me him, and was spellbound by the aged legends tales. Chances are the quote was actually from the man himself.

At the OK Corral in 1881, Wyatt, Morgan and Holliday all had pocketed guns, while Virgil had his in waistband. The 'cowboys' were wearing holstered guns...the root of the issue, among other problems between the factions.

But again we digress still fun talking about these things. As we are soon to roll the bookmobile westward, one of our first stops will be in Hico. Texas, where 'Brushy Bill' is buried. He died claiming he was the real William Bonney (aka Billy the Kid) . We also hit Ft. Sumner New Mexico where Bonney's grave is. Problem is, it is a cenotaph, his remains (?) were lost when the PecosRiver looded in 1904.
Another mystery!!!


PS, in your #4, the image showing a 'Lefaucheaux' being thrown into the river is surely one of the'big' ones of earlier you spoke of.

Last edited by Jim McDougall; 24th June 2019 at 07:53 AM.
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