Circus Zack Mulhull Wild West Show Cowboy Band real photo 1907

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Circus related postcard showing a horse mounted cowboy leading a cowboy band past several Indian teepees. Descriptions of back identify as Colonel Zack Mulhull on horse Olive Bell leading his Cowboy Band in October 1907 at New York City. Real photo unused AZO 4 triangles point up in corners of stamp box est. 1907 . Condition is very good+ near excellent, embossed with Technical Photo Company New York at bottom right corner. Zack Mulhull (1847-1931) wasa circus and wild west showman, a pioneer frontiersman, local mayor, Presidential friend, railroad stock agent, and rancher. He may have been born as Zack Vandiveer, with his parents dying while he was quite young. It appears he was adopted from a convent by other family members and given their last name of Mulhull. In 1889 he participated in the “Last Run” of the Opening of the Oklahoma Territority and claimed 140 acres. This humble small ranch would grow to encompass 80,000 acres. Zack moved his family (wife + 2 daughters, later a son) on to the small ranch. In 1890, the people of the ranch town then called Alfred successfully petitioned to change the name to Mulhull, and Zack was elected its Mayor in 1890. The girls were sent to a Catholic school in the near by Territorial Capital of Guthrie. His daughter Lucille showed great talents with roping and horsemanship. The mayor of Guthrie asked Zack to put on a western show featuring his daughters Lucille (age 13) and Agnes (aka Bossie), and some of his cowboys for visiting officials. The first show was in 1899 and put on under the title of Zack Mulhull’s Congress of Rough Riders and Ropers. This show is usually credited in circus circles with being out from 1900 to 1915. I have also seen the title listed as Zack Mulhull’s Wild West Show, which may or may not have been a formal title. Zack and Lucille had close personal ties with Teddy Roosevelt, beginning back when the was running for Vice President and continuing beyond the end of Mulhull’s show, so I tend to think the correct title for the entire life of the show was Congress of Rough Riders and Ropers. Lucille Mulhull is perhaps the greatest woman in rodeo. She was World Champion Roper, when the competition included both men and women, not a separate bracket for men and one for women as it does today. The newspapers (especially in New York ) had difficulty fully describing this small young woman from Oklahoma , so the term “COWGIRL ” was coined to describe Lucille. She is also credited with taking the Mulhull show on the road when Zack was laid up with medical maladies. The show’s Cowboy Band was active at least as early as July 1903 as documented by the Guthrie newspaper article mentioning a show put on by the band to promote the Oklahoma exhibit to be at the 1904 World’s Fair. The show's big break did come when it performed at the Saint Louis World’s Fair of 1904. Lucille was a feature act, but appearing with her on the show was the young trick roper “the Cherokee Kid”, who was later known by his real name of Will Rogers. Tom Mix is also attributed to the show, but I can’t confirm that he appeared. What is recorded is that Zack met Tom Mix as he worked as a bartender in Oklahoma City . Tom Mix was a frequent visitor to the ranch and was friends with both Zack and his son Charlie. If you have any corrections or additions to this description, please send me an email. Th is is 1 of many circus postcards and photographs that I will be offering on ebay for the next 2 to 3 years, watch my auctions if you are an amusement park, circus, carnival, theater, vaudeville, playground, or amusement device postcard collector, I am listing on ebay my 35-year collection of postcards. Abbreviations: rppc = real photo postcard, est. = estimate my best guess, used = postal used, unused = not postal used but may have written message. W inner pays $1.75 postage and handling cost. Multiple auction wins that are paid from a single combined invoice with a single PayPal payment and are shipped together in 1 package, receive reduced total postage cost when possible . read more

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