Condition Report
Contact Information
Lot 991
Sale 2067 - American Historical Ephemera and Photography
Lots Open
Nov 6, 2024
Lots Close
Nov 20, 2024
Timed Online / Cincinnati
Own a similar item?
Estimate
$500 -
700
Price Realized
$953
Sold prices are inclusive of Buyer’s Premium
Lot Description
[WILD WEST SHOWS]. Trio of Buffalo Bill Wild West pennants. Ca early 20th century.
Three pennants attached to bamboo cane. Largest pennant, 17 x 8 in. mounted and framed,41 x 28 in. (some rubbing). Provenance: Previously sold Heritage Auction Galleries 25 August 2018, sale 6183 lot 43363; Edward C. Gillette Collection.
The first Buffalo Bill's Wild West show took place outside of North Platte, Nebraska in 1883, organized by American soldier and bison hunter William Frederick "Buffalo Bill" Cody. The show was a great success and quickly became one of the most popular of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with such performers as Annie Oakley, Frank Butler, Sitting Bull, and others prominently featured. In 1908 Buffalo Bill joined forces with Pawnee Bill to form the Two Bills show. The first pennant dates from the show's first year, while the second dates from 1910, shortly before the show was foreclosed upon. The third likely dates from shortly before the Two Bills show was formed and is clearly unofficial, as "Wild West Show" was never used on Cody-approved materials.




