Hand-Written and Signed Letter from
William F. Cody, Framed with Cabinet Card.
William F. "Buffalo
Bill" Cody was born just west of the Mississippi River near
LeClaire, Iowa on February 26, 1846. At the age of 12, he worked
for a wagon train going to Fort Laramie; one year later he
participated in the gold rush to Colorado; at age 15, he rode
for the Pony Express. By the end of his life, Buffalo Bill had
come to symbolize the American frontier itself.
Updated:
Thursday May 17, 2012
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Member: National Bit, Spur & Saddle Collector's Association and Texas Longhorn Breeders Association of America
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Pure Cowboy
Member: National Bit, Spur & Saddle Collector's Association and Texas Longhorn Breeders Association of America
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Item #BB320 / $12,000. Letter "To My Boyhood Friend" by William F. Cody
front of letter / reverse of letter: stationery about Cody, WY and the Irma Hotel
This is a once-in-a-lifetime find that is historically relevant in many ways. The stationary on which William Cody wrote this letter is from his Irma Hotel in Cody, Wyoming. The reverse of the stationery is printed as a brochure advertising the small town of Cody as a tourist destination. This letter was handwritten by Mr. Cody on December 9th 1914. The letter is simply addressed to "Henry, my boyhood friend from bleeding Kansas." The text of the letter details many items of personal interest, historical interest and alludes to a speech that he was scheduled to give in Washington DC some months in the future. The letter is framed with a cabinet photograph of the author. William Frederick Cody (1846-1917)
Cody served as a scout for the Union's 7th Kansas Cavalry during the last years of the Civil War. On March 6, 1866, Will married Louisa Frederici (1843-1921) in St. Louis. They had four children: Arta Lucille (1866-1904), Kit Carson (1870-1876), Orra Maude (1872-1883) and Irma Louise (1883-1918). In 1867, Cody began hunting buffalo for Kansas Pacific work crews, earning his moniker "Buffalo Bill" and his reputation as an expert shot. The next year, Cody was employed by the U.S. Army as a civilian scout and guide for the Fifth Cavalry. His experience and skills as a plainsman made him an invaluable tracker and fighter. In 1872, Cody became one of only four civilian scouts to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor during the Indian Wars for valor in action. During the height of the Plains Indians resistance to white settlement, Cody returned to the prairies in the summer to scout for the Fifth Army. On July 17, 1876, just three weeks after Custer and the Seventh Cavalry were defeated at Little Big Horn, Cody's regiment intercepted a band of Cheyenne warriors. When Buffalo Bill, in his stage clothing, killed and scalped a Cheyenne warrior named Yellow Hair (often mis-translated as "Yellow Hand"), he reportedly cried out "First scalp for Custer!" Buffalo Bill the frontiersman had proven that Buffalo Bill the character was no mere actor. In 1883, Cody created what would become Buffalo Bill's Wild West, a vehicle that propelled him to fortune and worldwide fame. The Wild West would run - in one form or another- for 30 years, charming crowds throughout the United States and Europe. In Europe, Cody was called "Nature's Nobleman" because he was someone who had grown up on the frontier yet represented all of those best aspects of civilization. Despite his characterization as a figure from the past, Buffalo Bill always looked to the future. As a businessman, he invested in projects that he hoped might bring economic growth to the West. With his earnings he invested in an Arizona mine, hotels in Sheridan and Cody, Wyoming, stock breeding, ranching, coal and oil development, film making, town building, tourism, and publishing. In 1899, he established his own newspaper, the Cody Enterprise, which is still the main source of information for the town of Cody today. Taking advantage of his celebrity status, Cody was an early advocate of women's suffrage and the just treatment of American Indians. By the turn of the 20th century, William F. Cody was probably the most famous American in the world. No one symbolized the West for Americans and Europeans better than Buffalo Bill. He was consulted on Western matters by every American president from Ulysses S. Grant to Woodrow Wilson. He counted among his friends such artists and writers as Frederic Remington and Mark Twain. He was honored by royalty, praised by military leaders, and feted by business tycoons. Cody was America's ideal man: a courtly, chivalrous, self-made fellow who could shoot a gun and charm a crowd. Yet as Annie Oakley put it - he was the simplest of men, as comfortable with cowboys as with kings. (Biographical information courtesy of the Buffalo Bill Historical Society) Hand-Written, Signed Letter from William F. Cody, Framed with Cabinet Card / Item #BB320 / $12,000. Click Here To E-mail Us About This Buffalo Bill Letter Contact Us To Arrange Your Purchase
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