Buffalo Bill & Pawnee Bill (11) Souvenir Postcards with Envelope

An envelope of eleven souvenir postcards, all measuring 5.5" x 3.5", produced by The G.B. Co., Joliet, USA, dated Ca. 1912. The souvenir postcards were made for the Buffalo Bill and Pawnee Bill Shows and include a variety of illustrated and photographic images of William F. Cody (Buffalo Bill), Gordon William Lillie (Pawnee Bill), and various other members of the Wild West shows. With captions such as: "Sioux Indian Chief with Buffalo Bill's Wild West", "Chief Iron Tal, Indian Squaws and Papooses at Buffalo Bill's Wild West", "A Council of Great Chiefs", "An Attack on the Overland State", and "The Career of a Cowboy." Together with the original souvenir envelope, revealing the cost of such a souvenir to be just 10¢! The postcards are all blank on verso, with corner wear and varying degrees of toning. Light soiling in places. Expected wear to the envelope, with tears, chipping, and toning throughout. Some tears have been repaired with tape. Overall, very good.

William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody opened his Wild West show in Omaha, Nebraska on May 19, 1883. Cody drew upon his real life adventures, turning them into heightened spectacles for the public. The open-air shows depicted cowboys, Native Americans, army scouts, outlaws, and wild beasts, with most sketches being sensationalized. Native Americans were portrayed in a particular exploitative manner, while the rival cowboys and their lives on the American frontier were romanticized. In 1893, Cody changed the show's name to "Buffalo Bill's Wild West and Congress of Rough Riders of the World" and the show performed at the Chicago World's Fair to a crowd of 18,000. Gordon William Lillie, known professionally as "Pawnee Bill", was a stunt performer who joined the Wild West shows in 1883 at the age of 23. He and his wife May would go on to launch their own Wild West show in 1888 called "Pawnee Bill's Historic Wild West."
This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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