[Objects associated with Buffalo Bill].
Found In:
Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library > [Objects associated with Buffalo Bill].
Description
- Title
- [Objects associated with Buffalo Bill].
- Creator
- Salsbury, Nathan, 1846-1902, collector
- Contributor
-
Colt's Patent Fire Arms Manufacturing Co., associated name.
James Dalziel Dougall & Sons, associated name. - Published / Created
- [circa 1870-1895]
- Publication Place
- United States and England
- Abstract
-
A collection of weapons and costume accessories owned by Nathan Salsbury and associated with colleagues of William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody, including John Burwell "Texas Jack" Omohundro and Sitting Bull. Included are a shotgun, a bolas, a pair of moccasins, and a quiver containing a bow and arrows, as well as a revolver owned by Salsbury
One double-barrel shotgun made by James Dalziel Dougall & Sons, and owned by John Burwell "Texas Jack" Omohundro, as a gift from the Irish game hunter Windham Thomas Wyndham-Quin, 4th Earl of Dunraven. The gun is 121 cm in length and was engraved by the maker in several places: "J. D. Dougall. Gun & Rifle Manufacturer to H. R. H. The Prince of Wales. 59 St. James's St. London" on low concave game rib, "J. D. Dougall's Patent Lockfast" on the bottom of the action, "J. D. Dougall" on each lockplate, and the serial number "3303" on the tang. An oval copper plate set in the bottom edge of the European walnut straight grip buttstock is engraved: "From / Earl Dunraven / to / Texas Jack / 1874."
One twisted rawhide bolas with three rawhide-covered weights, and measuring 121 cm in length. Used to capture running game during a hunt, the bolas is unmarked and its original owner is unidentified
One pair of deerskin moccasins and a two-pouch deerskin quiver reputedly part of Sitting Bull's stage costume during the four months in 1885 that he appeared in "Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show." The mocassins and quiver are decorated with designs worked in colored beads and quillwork; all carry decorative fringe. The moccasins each measure 27 cm in length. The quiver is 102 cm in length and contains eight feathered arrows in one section and a wood and sinew bow in another
One revolver made by Colt's Patent Fire-Arms Manufacturing Company and owned by Nathan Salsbury. The gun is 29 cm in length and was stamped in several places: "Colt's PT. F. A. Mfg. Co. Hartford CT. U.S.A. / Patented Aug.5.1884 Nov.6.88. Mar.5.95." along the top of the barrel, "Colt. D. A. 38" along the side of the barrel, and a rampant colt in a circle at the top of the ivory grip. It is stamped "411" on the cylinder release, and with serial number "15 / 936" on the buttstrap. The monogram "NS" is inlaid in gold on the side between the grip and the cylinder, and is surrounded by engraved flourishes. The revolver is housed in a fitted velvet-lined box
- Description
-
Nathan Salsbury (1846-1902), Civil War veteran, actor, and theatrical entrepreneur; after 1884 co-owner, producer and manager of "Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show."
William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody (1846-1917) was born in Scott County, Iowa Territory, on February 26, 1846, and raised in Leavenworth, Kansas Territory. He was a cattle herder, fur trapper, gold miner, and Pony Express rider before serving as a Union scout during the Civil War, and was periodically called back by the U.S. Army for scouting and other duties through the 1890s. Cody also worked as a buffalo hunter and guide to hunting parties, and in the early 1870s appeared in the stage shows "Scouts of The Prairie" and "Scouts of The Plains." In 1883 he organized "Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show," which he toured throughout the United States and Europe for three decades, but eventually lost to creditors. Cody died in Denver, Colorado, on January 10, 1917.
John Burwell "Texas Jack" Omohundro (1846-1880) was born July 27, 1846, in Palmyra, Virginia. A Civil War veteran, scout, sharpshooter, and hunter, he met William F. Cody in 1869, and worked with him as a scout and guide; they also appeared together in the stage shows "Scouts of The Prairie" and "Scouts of The Plains" in the early 1870s. Omohundro was regularly employed as a guide for European aristocrats who visited the American West to hunt wild game. He died of pneumonia on June 28, 1880, in Leadville, Colorado.
Sitting Bull (1831-1890), Hunkpapa Lakota chief, was born approximately 1831 in the Dakota Territory; his birth name was Tȟatȟánka Íyotake. Sitting Bull became a tribal chief during years of resistance to United States government policies, and for four months in 1885 toured with "Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show." He was killed by Indian agency police on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation on December 15, 1890.
Title devised by cataloger.
Box 1 contains shotgun. Box 2 contains bolas. Box 3 contains moccasins. Box 4 contains quiver with bow and arrows. Box 5 contains revolver.
Inscriptions in English. - Provenance
- Gift of Rebecca Salsbury James and Rachel Salsbury Schloss, 1964-1967.
- Extent
- 14 items : 121 cm and smaller (in 5 boxes)
- Extent of Digitization
- This object has been completely digitized.
- Language
-
English
Collection Information
- Repository
- Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
- Call Number
- WA MSS S-3019
- Container / Volume
- Box 1
Subjects, Formats, And Genres
- Genre
-
Arrows United States 19th century
Bolas (projectile weapons) United States 19th century
Bows (weapons) United States 19th century
Moccasins United States 19th century
Revolvers (firearms) United States 19th century
Shotguns England 19th century - Material
- steel, copper, wood, deerskin, beads, quillwork, feathers, rawhide, ivory, and gold ;
- Resource Type
- three-dimensional form
- Subject (Geographic)
- United States.
- Subject (Name)
-
Buffalo Bill, 1846-1917.
Dunraven, Windham Thomas Wyndham-Quin, Earl of, 1841-1926.
Omohundro, John Burwell, 1846-1880.
Salsbury, Nathan, 1846-1902.
Sitting Bull, 1831-1890.
Buffalo Bill's Wild West Company.
Colt's Patent Fire Arms Manufacturing Co.
James Dalziel Dougall & Sons.
Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. - Subject (Topic)
-
Theatrical managers
Wild west shows - Subjects
-
Buffalo Bill, 1846-1917
Dunraven, Windham Thomas Wyndham-Quin, Earl of, 1841-1926
Omohundro, John Burwell, 1846-1880
Salsbury, Nathan, 1846-1902
Sitting Bull, 1831-1890
Buffalo Bill's Wild West Company
Colt's Patent Fire Arms Manufacturing Co.
James Dalziel Dougall & Sons
Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show
Theatrical managers > United States
Wild west shows
United States > 19th century
England > 19th century
Dunraven, Windham Thomas Wyndham-Quin, Earl of, 1841-1926 > Presentation inscription to John Burwell Omohundro
Omohundro, John Burwell, 1846-1880 > Presentation inscription from Windham Thomas Wyndham-Quin
Access And Usage Rights
- Access
- Public
- Rights
- The use of this image may be subject to the copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) or to site license or other rights management terms and conditions. The person using the image is liable for any infringement
- Citation
- Nathan Salsbury, Objects Associated with Buffalo Bill. Yale Collection of Western Americana, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
Identifiers
- Catalog Record
- 12442385
- Object ID (OID)
- 16057777
Manifest Link