Wild West BUFFALO BILL 1910 "Farewell Tour" Program

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This is a rare, fact-filled souvenir program from the 1910 "Farewell Tour" of BUFFALO BILL CODY's "WILD WEST SHOW" with PAWNEE BILL ....... The 52 page program measures 6 7/8" X 10 1/8" inches and includes the complete history of Buffalo Bill Cody's military career and his extensive touring with the Wild West Show in the States and abroad. Includes many photos of Colonel William F. Cody (Buffalo Bill) as well as photos of Major Gordon W. Lillie (Pawnee Bill), Ex-President Theodore Roosevelt (who left the Presidency the previous year), William Sweeney and his Cowboy Band, Brevet Major-General E. A. Carr, General Hayes, Sitting Bull, General Custer, Duke Alexis, Madison Square Garden, Duke of Argyle, General Phil H. Sheridan, General Lord Wolseley, Bret Harte, James G. Blaine, Rt. Hon. John Bright, Chauncey M. Depew, Charles Stewart Parnell, King Edward VII visiting the Indians, Jonnie Baker and the Eiffle Tower. The program includes an original story, "A Horse's Tale" by Mark Twain. Also includes many wonderful vintage advertisements including Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer, Wrigley's Spearmint Pepsin Gum, Baker's Caracas Sweet Chocolate, Murad Cigarettes, Stetson, Maxwell "The Great Economy Car", Bull Durham Smoking Tobacco, Angelus Player-Piano, Cracker Jack's and Miner's Theatrical Make-Up. The most recent date shown in the program is February 2nd, 1910 at the base of "The Parting Tribute" shown in the fourth scanned image. The last photo in the program shows Col. William F. Cody crossing the Soshone River in the winter of 1909. The ad for the Maxwell car shows the number of automobiles sold in 1909. These dates prove the program to be an original and authentic souvenir from that final tour ..... HISTORICAL BACKGROUND: William F. Cody, better known as Buffalo Bill Cody, first went on the road in 1883 with Dr. William Carver and a Wild West Show. It wasn't until Buffalo Bill Cody parted company with William Carver and joined up with Nate Salsbury that the "Buffalo Bill Cody Wild West Show" became a reality. In 1884, the outdoor Wild West Show had authentic cowboys, Indians, buffaloes, horses, sharpshooters and melodramas. For three hours, audiences would fall under the spell of the Wild West Show, cheering for the good guy and hissing at the men dressed in black. For the Americans, east of the Mississippi, this was even better then the dime western novel. In 1885, the Buffalo Bill Cody Wild West Show's main attractions were Sitting Bull and Annie Oakley and ticket sales tallied a stunning $100,000. In 1877 Mark Twain encouraged the entourage to go to Europe and show them something truly American. The Buffalo Bill Cody Wild West Show went to England for Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee. In all, some 18 buffaloes, 181 horses, 10 elk, 4 donkeys, 5 longhorn Texan steers, 2 deer and a Deadwood Concord stagecoach along with 97 Indians and the rest of the Buffalo Bill Cody Wild West Show descended upon England. The crowds were spell bound by the activities in the arena and thirty to forty thousand people came daily to the experience the American Western frontier. The Wild West Show remained until the spring of 1888 when it returned to the States to play at Staten Island. In 1889, the Buffalo Bill Cody Wild West Show once again crossed the Atlantic and invaded the continent of Europe. For three years they traveled England, France, Spain, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany giving the Europeans a taste of the wild and romantic west. In 1893, the Wild West Show returned to the United States and stayed in Chicago for the World's Colombian Exposition which drew over six million customers. In 1902, the financial manager of the Show, Nate Salsbury who had been failing in health since 1894 died. That same year Annie Oakley, after failing to regain satisfactory health following a catastrophic train accident the previous year, left the Wild West Show. 1906 saw the final tour of Europe for the Buffalo Bill Cody Wild West Show, which was now owned by Pawnee Bill. In 1910, Buffalo Bill Cody went on the road with Pawnee Bill for his fa... read more

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