A bookshop owner from Houston, Texas emerged as the only and winning bidder for the 3-inch (8 cm) strand of hair of Bolivian icon, Che Guevara, auctioned by the Heritage Auction Galleries in downtown Dallas for a staggering price of $119,500.

The 61-year-old Bill Butler placed his order by telephone, claiming he wanted to display the hair of the Bolivian icon as a main attraction in his bookshop.

"Che", an Argentine who became a guerrilla leader is considered an icon by left-wing movements. At age 37, he was killed in the Bolivian jungle by a group of CIA-backed soldiers.

Upon his execution, a U.S. intelligence officer named Gustavo Villoldo removed strands of hair from his head and took his fingerprints to serve as proofs that the mission was "completed" and he was shot dead.

Meanwhile, the auction prompted Che's wife and supporters to stage protests, saying the sale is tainting the memory of the dead revolutionary leader.

This was not the first time however that the Heritage Auction Galleries "sell for profits" locks of popular figures. Hot finds here include the strands of hair of Abraham Lincoln, Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe.