Wild West Land Blog

It’s almost a year since I wrote about Annie Oakley, “the first American female superstar” and how she’s been portrayed in the media over the last 100 years.

The post remains the most popular on this blog with many people still interested in finding out just how one of the stars of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show looked all those years ago.

So with a bit of digging over at the Library of Congress archives, I’ve tracked down two new Annie Oakley pictures - the first was taken in 1899 by Richard K. Fox and is titled:

ANNIE OAKLEY - Famous Rifle Shot and Holder of the Police Gazette Championship Medal

The black and white photo does bear some resemblance to the Wild West Show promotional poster. The hat, dress, stockings and footwear certainly match, as does the chest full of medals.

But I can’t help but think the artist who drew the poster used a little ‘Photoshop magic’ - normally associated with modern magazine cover celebrities - long before the age of computer trickery.

The face is a little thinner and the nose a little more prominent, perhaps suggesting feminine beauty was a key ingredient of circus show marketing even back in the 1890s.

It’s circus acts that also form the centrepiece of the next picture, an illustration created by artist Peter Newell in 1894 to illustrate a story published in the March 31st issue of Harper’s Weekly:

The amateur circus at Nutley

Newell’s drawing illustrates an article reporting on an amateur circus performed by the residents of Nutley, New Jersey to raise funds for the establishment of a branch of the Red Cross Association. Their star performer was Nutley’s celebrated resident, Annie Oakley.

A gentleman wearing a hat and spectacles stands before a hoop held by two clowns. The scene depicted in the center of the hoop is of Annie Oakley, standing on horseback, giving a demonstration of her shooting ability. Outside the hoop are other scenes of circus acts such as acrobats, fencing, an animal on horseback, and a dancing bear.

Here’s a close-up view of the central part of the illustration showing Oakley shooting at an unseen target whilst standing on a moving horse.

It’s a truly impressive feat and one I can’t think would be allowed under modern entertainment laws given the potential risks to the audience and performer!

In 1901 Edward Sheriff Curtis set himself an ambitious target - to photograph every Native American tribe west of the Mississippi.

Curtis traveled from Alaska to the Southwest, photographing the Piegan, Blackfoot, Sioux, Gros Ventre, and the Cheyenne, the Hopi, Zunis, Acomas, and Pueblos, among many others… he photographed more than 40,000 Native Americans representing more than eighty tribes.

The project would take him almost thirty years to complete and by the time he died in 1952 Curtis was bankrupt, divorced and had suffered a nervous breakdown. His work “had all but faded into obscurity”.

As Curtis embarked on his mission he soon realised that the great changes taking place in the West was destroying ancient cultures. His work proved popular with many but was often dismissed for the style and settings he shot his subjects in (the photo above shows ‘Old White Man’ from the Library of Congress collection).

In trying to celebrate Native American cultures Curtis often brought artistic flair to those he photographed. The dedicated microsite for the 2002 exhibition at the Peabody Essex museum states that his “photographs reflect both his extraordinary talents as a photographer and his dedication to the people whose majesty he wanted to preserve on film.”

Thomas Haukaas, a Sicangu Lakota Artist & Psychiatrist describes Curtis’s photographs in a brief video on the website. He suggests they were shot in the renaissance style and were overwhelmingly positive images - especially when contrasted with the portrayl of American Indians in traditional western movies.

Curtis was later called ‘Shadow Catcher’ by some of the tribes he photographed and “captured the likeness of many important and well-known Indian people of that time, including Geronimo, Chief Joseph, Red Cloud, Medicine Crow and others.”

Read George Horse Capture’s story on the PBS American Master series site for more info on the project and browse the photo archives at the Library of Congress.

Beautiful Flickr group showcasing the work of over 350 photographers who enjoy “capturing the colorful, artistic beauty of the Southwest, influenced particularly by the Arizona, New Mexico, and Southern California regions, as well as Mexico”.

Dive into the Group pool of photos and don’t forget Louis on TV tonight!

Another great find on Flickr - Denise’s short set of photos taken only 10 days ago on the Park Springs Ranch, Anton Chico, New Mexico.

My favourite picture is ‘Heading out across the Chaperito Trap‘ - certainly beats the London commute any day of the week.

Another vintage eBay find, a small 3 by 2 inch black and white photo of what appears to be a a cowboy riding some sort of training horse:

Looking closely, it’s not a real horse captured on film mid-buck so I can only suggest some sort of wooden trainer. Does anyone know of such things?

Although the photo is dated June 1941 (stamped into the white border) it’s in good, as new condition - it’s my artistic sepia filter in Photoshop that has made it look a little too yellow!

I just really like something about this photo from top blogger Reverse Cowgirl’s Flickr photostream of a billboard ad for Wells Fargo shot against a blueish sky.

As the company themselves say: “As symbol of our image, heritage, and values, the legendary stagecoach is priceless”.

Oddly enough, to bring the company bang up to date in the wonderful Web 2.0, social-media-powered 21st century they’ve gone and created ‘the Wells Fargo Stagecoach Island Community‘.

Black Bart must be spinning in his grave!

If you get a chance to ride one of the remaining stages one day be sure not to hog the buffalo robes and if you must drink, share the bottle. We don’t want other passengers thinking you’re “selfish and unneighborly”.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN TO ALL!