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| These are actual articles owned
and used by Buffalo Bill. The “flavor of realism and
nationality” defined not only Cody’s stage plays for a dozen years but
also his great arena show, Buffalo Bill’s Wild West (1883 – 1913).
Better than any other medium of its day, the Wild West Show tied
America’s development to “the winning of the West.” The show put it
into a clear narrative format and presented it to millions of people in
the U.S. and abroad. In Europe, Buffalo Bill is still one of the most
recognizable of Americans. |
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| Born
Phoebe Ann Moses, Annie Oakley was an American sharpshooter and
exhibition. Her amazing talent
and timely rise to fame led to a starring role in Buffalo
Bill's Wild West Show show, which propelled her to become the first
American female superstar. One of Annie's most famous tricks was to
be able to split a playing card, edge on, and put several more holes in it
before it could touch the ground, while using a .22 caliber rifle, at 90 feet.
At 5 feet tall, Oakley was given the nickname of Little Sure Shot" by
fellow performer Sitting Bull. Annie married but never had
children. She and Bill Cody remained friends throughout their
lifetime. Cody appreciated the independent nature of women. As
a showman, he met numerous able women and became convinced that women
could and should, do anything men did, including vote. He was proud
of the fact that he paid men and women performers equally. |
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| In the museum, we were able to
view a number of short videos containing actual footage of Buffalo Bill. |
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| "Buffalo Bill's Wild
West" posters were works of art. The show visited all but
one of the 48 continental United States. It also made several trips
through southern Canada. Buffalo Bill also took his performances to
12 European countries during 3 tours from 1887 through 1906. Over
the course of its 30-year history, Buffalo Bill's Wild West traveled the
equivalent of nearly 10 trips around the world. He was truly and
international superstar. His troupe was comprised of 700 staff
members of various nationalities along with horses buffalo, and many other
animals. It was a HUGE traveling show. |
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| In 1900, Buffalo Bill was the
most widely recognized man in the world - perhaps the world's first
superstar. In 1869, a New York newspaper published the first story
about him. Hundreds of newspapers republished it. Over the
next 4 decades, some 700 Buffalo Bill stories and novels appeared.
Cody became the hero of more fictional stories than any other figure in
American history. |
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| In 1913, Cody organized a 2-week
camping and hunting trip in the Rockies for Monaco's Prince Albert, who
was visiting Wyoming. This was among Cody's most memorable fall
hunting trips, but it was also his last. Always looking to get rich,
Cody began investing heavily in new ventures during the 1890's. His
willingness to take risks had made him successful in life and the world's
most famous man. However, many of these new ventures were very
chancy, and he lost huge amounts of money on most of them. He died
nearly penniless. |
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| In the Whitney Western Art
Museum, there were many beautiful works of art. Ann's favorite was
"Yellowstone Falls" by Albert Bierstadt (1830-1902). |
