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uffalo Bill Cody, Sitting Bull, and gold mining, and then joined an early
Geronimo, Annie Oakley, Rough version of the Pony Express in 1860.
BRiders, Gen. George Custer, Belle After the Civil War, Cody scouted for the
Starr, “Wild Bill” Hickok … Most of Army and gained the nickname “Buffalo Bill” for
what we know about these colorful figures also being a hunter providing meat for the
of our Western American heritage and their railroad workers. While he was known locally for
adventures come straight from the embel- his endeavors it was not until he met Ned
lished and sensationalized stories created for Buntline, a dime novelist who transformed his
the “Buffalo Bill Wild West” show, a new life into a series of larger-than-life stories, that a
genre of outdoor entertainment that swept then 23-year-old Cody became “Buffalo Bill,” a
the country starting in the 1880s. national celebrity. The first installment of
“Buffalo Bill: The King of Border Men”
appeared on the front page of the Chicago
Tribune on December 15, 1869.
Buffalo Bill fiction poured onto newsstands and it is
estimated that some 557 novels chronicled his
“adventures.” Prentiss Ingraham (1843-1904) is known
to have written 121 of these stories and just happened to
be the press agent for the Wild West show. Just before the
opening of the Chicago World’s Fair in 1892, Ingraham
wrote and released nine new Buffalo Bill novels.
Not surprisingly, six had to do with the actual show
itself – all to give a boost to their PR and plenty of
product placement. And, despite its name, the dime
novel generally cost a nickel rather than a dime.
As described in this illustration, “Buffalo Bill,
Hon. Wm. F. Cody, Drawn and Printed
Expressly for the FOLIO, The Great Illustrated
Musical Journal of America, by J.H. Bufford’s
Sons Boston.” The artist was Samuel S. Frizzell.
The portrait was made c. 1873-1890
The Rise of “Buffalo Bill” Cody
William Frederick Cody (February 26,
1846 – January 10, 1917) was an American
soldier, bison hunter, and showman who
claimed to have killed 4,280 buffalo
in an eight-month period, thus earning the
nickname ”Buffalo Bill.”
Born in LeClaire, Iowa, and raised in
Leavenworth, Kansas, Cody left home at the
age of 11 to herd cattle and work as a driver
on a wagon train. He went on to fur trapping Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show, 1883
22 Journal of Antiques and Collectibles
