Wild West Show rawhide outfit. | ||
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Posted 8 years ago
dustycorner
(2 items)
The photo's are of an ornate rawhide cowboy outfit consisting of a poncho, chaps and pair of gauntlets. It has been passed down the family for many years. It is believed to have originated from a visiting wild west show. Each piece is signed by H Kitto March 1912. It has certainly been well used and generates interest when seen worn. However we now want to protect it from any further damage. Can anyone confirm its origin?
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Amazing piece ! It looks like something made for a show rather than everyday use .
very beautifully made!!
Oh I missed your heading sorry you knew it was for a show oops
A circus act ?
That is particularly awesome! The date would suggest the waning days of the wild west shows and the attention to detail would make me surmise it was for an audience - like a WWS.
Is it adult size or child size? It's FANTASTIC.
The Wild West Show in the UK:
"The impact made by Buffalo Bill was immense, and according to Don Russell "the invasion of England by Buffalo Bill's Wild West in 1887, was, beyond much question, the most successful ever made by an American aggregation." Thousands lined the streets when the exhibition made its way to Earl's Court in London for the American Exhibition and on its opening night 28,000 people were there to see the splendour that was Colonel Cody's Wild West. Cody presented a vision of the American West that the audiences believed was rooted in authenticity and created a form of entertainment which was patronised by all classes of Victorian and Edwardian society including and attracted Queen Victoria and the Royal Family on all of its British tours.
A lasting testament of the success of this form of entertainment could be found on the British fairgrounds sixty or so years after his final visit. Although Wild West shows became a main staple of American popular entertainment what is seldom appreciated is that the myth and legends of the Wild West imported by Cody continued on the fairground long after his final 1902-1904 tour.
One of his most creative and long-standing "impersonators" was Texas Bill Shufflebottom. From the 1880s, William Shufflebottom, a former publican from Sheffield became known as Texas Bill. The exact origins of the show are unknown and in keeping with the Buffalo Bill legend, certain family members claim that William Shufflebottom was indeed a performer with the famous exhibition. Whatever his origins, Texas Bill and his wife, raised ten children to continue the family tradition.
From the 1880s to the 1960s, the various Shufflebottom's Wild West shows were a popular attraction on the travelling fairs with the Colorado's, Texans and the Dakotas just three of the various names employed by the children of Texas Bill. Other showfamilies who travelled with a Wild West theme include the Testo's and the Kayes with William Kayes known simply as the English Buff Bill. Circus acts followed suit with Johnny Swallow presenting Bronco Bill's Circus and Wild West Show from 1912 onwards, based in the Wolverhampton area.
Perhaps the most successful British born "cowboy" was Ralph Norman, son of Tom Norman the Silver Dollar King, who appeared in films and rodeos in America as Hal Denver from the 1930s to the 1950s. It appears ironic that the fortunes of the Wild West shows in American declined considerably in the 1930s but that their popularity was unabated in Britain.
Buffalo Bill's Wild West was a living ethnographic extravaganza combing the educational and exotic with the spectacle of the circus and theatre. The status that he achieved with the show in Europe and the United Kingdom and the enthusiastic reception made him into a worldwide celebrity. Like his countryman P.T Barnum who used the success of Tom Thumb in Europe to create greater revenue and success in America, Cody played on his royal connections. The Crowned Heads of Europe entered the arena in the Deadwood Stage and the Command Performance for Queen Victoria was the first public entertainment that the sovereign had attended since the death of Prince Albert."
http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/nfca/researchandarticles/buffalobill
H. Kitto could have been the owner. Kitto is a popular English name, than a U.S. name.
Fantastic piece to be caretaker of. Love it. I have been fortunate enough to visit The Annie Oakley Museum and grave , this brought back memories of that.
Hi Everyone.
Thank you so much for comments and advice (paricularly Celiene) I will certainly be following up on your information to find the origin. I'm a little over 6ft and it fits me. Kitto must have been in that region also.
WOW! I don't know why I had the impression it was child-sized! I would contact the Annie Oakley Museum or the Buffalo Bill Center of The West. That would be a good place to start. I'm super curious to know what you find. They have a great research library. I think you have something quite special there that they would be interested in.
https://centerofthewest.org/
^^That one is in Wyoming, and has five museums incorporated. THIS one is in Colorado, and has a special permanent exhibit about the Wild West Show. Contact them, too. See what happens!
http://www.buffalobill.org/index.html