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Find out all about what's happening at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center through our news releases—from upcoming events and programs, to field expeditions and special exhibitions, to staff appointments and donor opportunities.
Current News Releases
Buffalo Bill Historical Center and First Bank of Wyoming throw free birthday party for Buffalo Bill February 24
The Buffalo Bill Historical Center invites the community to a birthday party in honor of William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody on Friday, February 24. Sponsored by First Bank of Wyoming, the free evening, 5 – 7 p.m., offers sneak peak tours, lively music, dramatic readings, family activities, and fun for everyone.
The event also highlights the ongoing progress of the much-anticipated reinstallation of the Buffalo Bill gallery space within the Center. The Buffalo Bill wing, currently under renovation, is scheduled to reopen to the public May 19. The guided tours offer visitors a chance to envision the upcoming exhibits, themes, and interactives planned for the new gallery. Tours begin every fifteen minutes beginning at 5 p.m.; the last tour starts at 6 p.m.
The crowd-pleasing Buffalo Bill Band is on tap with rousing music that harkens back to the era of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West and its Cowboy Band. Directed by Dr. Mike Masterson, the band performs 5 – 6:30 p.m.
The evening concludes with the third annual dramatic—and participatory—reading of another exciting excerpt of the first dime novel that starred Buffalo Bill. Written by Ned Buntline, Buffalo Bill, The King of Border Men, was serialized in New York Weekly beginning in 1869. The reading starts at 6:30 p.m. with Master of Ceremonies Mack Frost and members of the community taking their turn reading a page. Those who wish to participate as a reader are encouraged to sign up in advance by contacting Curator John Rumm at johnr@bbhc.org or 307.578.4050. Spectators can also enjoy the drama from the audience.
Light refreshments include birthday cake, and a cash bar is available for those who wish to lift a glass in honor of Buffalo Bill and toast to his 166th birthday.
In this, their 100th anniversary year, First Bank of Wyoming is generously sponsoring the Historical Center’s birthday celebration on February 24, as well as opening events for the renovated Buffalo Bill gallery on May 18 and 19 with “First Look, Sponsored by First Bank of Wyoming.” Further details of that event will be released this spring.
For information on the birthday celebration, contact Charlene Magargal at charlenem@bbhc.org or 307.578.4000. Explore the Historical Center’s Web site for more detail on this and other events as well as general information on the Center.
The Historical Center’s event is just one in the annual celebrations of Buffalo Bill’s birthday in Cody. The Buffalo Bill Birthday Ball, a charity event put on by the Knights of Columbus, takes place February 25, and the Cody High School FFA hosts its annual wreath-laying ceremony at The Scout sculpture at 11 a.m. February 27. For more information on these and other activities going on in Cody, visit www.codychamber.org.
Image: Black and white print, W.F. Cody surrounded by children. Vincent Mercaldo Collection P.71.1459
Buffalo Bill Historical Center acquires enormous 1887 Wild West poster
What does the Buffalo Bill Historical Center do with a 28-foot long, 1888 poster of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show? It puts it on display for visitors to see in the Center’s newly remodeled Buffalo Bill gallery, set to open May 19, 2012.
The Center recently purchased the poster, thought to be the largest surviving poster ever produced for William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody’s Wild West. Printed in 1888 by the Calhoun Printing Company of Hartford, Connecticut, the poster consists of 32 separate sheets, measures roughly 28 feet long by 13 feet wide, and is in pristine condition.
In studying the colorful image on the floor, stretched out the length of the Center’s Plains Indian gallery, the staff at the Historical Center christened this enormous advertising poster “simply extraordinary.” Much like billboards today, posters pasted to the sides of buildings were used to publicize events like William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody’s Wild West that ran 1883 –1913. Generally meant to be scrapped once an event concluded, it’s rare to find posters like this 28-foot example created in 1888 still intact.
There is some mystery surrounding the Center’s acquisition, however. It was owned most recently by a private collector in Colorado who decided to dispose of it at auction. Before that, little is known about the history of this particular poster—where it originated, who owned it, and where it’s been for most of the last hundred years. It’s even possible the poster was never installed.
“My own hunch is that the poster—really a ‘show bill’—was never hung because it had some minor flaws in it, such as where the ink ran slightly,” explains Dr. John Rumm, the Center’s curator of western American history. “They’re barely discernible and require careful inspection to see. But it would be in keeping for the reputation of both the Wild West and the Calhoun Printing Company to not post a ‘factory second,’ no matter how minor the flaws were.” Certainly, more research is in order to answer those questions.
Originally, the Center’s Conservator Beverly Perkins planned an analysis of the poster including cleaning or making needed repairs. However, once unfurled on the floor for review, Perkins pronounced the poster “in remarkably pristine condition,” and Rumm said the colors were so vibrant that “the poster seems as if it were fresh off the press.” Other than some very minor tears along its edges, the poster is completely intact.
With a caption across the lower left corner exclaiming, “Grandstand at London Seating 20,000 People,” the poster was created to commemorate the Wild West’s special London performance in May 1887. Her Majesty Queen Victoria and other members of the Royal Entourage are pictured acknowledging Buffalo Bill’s ceremonial bow from his white horse as show personnel salute the queen from the background.
Staffers Matt Bree and Jeffrey Rudolph have their work cut out for them as Rudolph creates a frame, and Bree builds a special case to both display and house the poster on the back wall of the “Man of the World” alcove in the new Buffalo Bill gallery.
The Historical Center acquired the poster in September 2011 through an auction held in New York City. Monies from the Center’s Mary Jester Acquisition Fund (named for Buffalo Bill’s niece who was also the first curator of the Buffalo Bill Museum)—together with contributions from several of the Center’s trustees—made the acquisition and conservation of this poster possible. Once several months of remodeling are wrapped up this spring, the poster goes on display in the Center’s Buffalo Bill gallery when that area of the museum reopens on May 19, 2012.
(Note: Only the Buffalo Bill gallery of the Center is currently closed to the public; the remaining galleries are open during regular winter hours.)
Image: The 1888 Wild West poster recently acquired by the Buffalo Bill Historical Center commemorates Buffalo Bill’s appearance before Queen Victoria the previous year.
BBHC wins award in National Tour Association’s “Favorite Museum for Groups”
The Buffalo Bill Historical Center has been honored as one of America’s “favorite museums for group travelers” by the National Tour Association (NTA). The Center won the NTA’s Bronze Award in the category, tied with New York’s American Museum of Natural History. Other winners include the Gold Award to the Smithsonian Institution and the Silver Award to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
“We definitely have cause to celebrate at being included in the distinguished company of the Smithsonian, MOMA, and the American Museum of Natural History,” says Bruce Eldredge, the Center’s executive director and CEO. “Our numbers of group tours have increased significantly in the last few years, and we couldn’t be more thrilled with this prestigious award from NTA which acknowledges how engaging our group travelers find our extraordinary galleries. This honor is sure to draw even more attention and visitors to our Center here in Cody, Wyoming.”
Last August, NTA tour operators completed a survey in which they named their favorite NTA supplier partners or destinations in 12 different categories. In the January 2012 edition of Courier, the organization’s member magazine, NTA introduces its “Distinguished Dozen” winners in a feature that celebrates these member favorites. Award winners were officially acknowledged at NTA’s Annual Convention on Thursday, December 8 in Las Vegas.
The National Tour Association is the leading association for professionals serving travelers to, from, and within North America. Founded in 1951, NTA membership represents more than 40 countries, 1,500 tour operators, 600 destinations, and 1,500 tour suppliers.
“We’ve created a number of programs to enhance the group tour experience,” adds Debra Elwood, group sales coordinator. “This award tells us our efforts are paying off!”
Other recent accolades for the Historical Center include a listing in Cowgirl Magazine’s 2012 Ten Favorite Western Art Museums, and a No. 2 ranking by the travel Web site Go Nomad.com in its list of The Ten Best Family Destinations for Learning Vacations. At the top of the Nomad list is the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, with the High Desert Museum in Bend, Oregon, coming in third.
Other entities on the list include International Folk Art Museum, Santa Fe, New Mexico; Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, Halifax, Nova Scotia; Mystic Seaport: Museum of America and the Sea, Mystic, Connecticut; National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, Cincinnati, Ohio; Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland; Ohio; and Royal Canadian Mounted Police Heritage Center, Regina, Saskatchewan.
For more information about group tours, contact Elwood at debrae@bbhc.org, 307.578.4114, or visit explore www.bbhc.org.
Hollywood actor/producer Bill Self's Annie Oakley collection given to Historical Center
“The Gun”—a historic double rifle—makes Buffalo Bill Historical Center the world’s largest collection of Oakley firearms
Hollywood actor/producer William E. “Bill” Self’s lifelong passion for collecting Annie Oakley letters, gear, firearms, clothes—even her wig—has now become one of the largest collections of Annie Oakley memorabilia in existence, thanks to a bequest from Self’s family to the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyoming.
Bill Self (1921 – 2010) appeared in more than 30 films between 1945 and 1952, including “Red River” directed by Howard Hawks. He went on to produce such feature films as “The Shootist” starring John Wayne and the television series “The Twilight Zone.” He later recollected that when he saw Barbara Stanwyck as Annie Oakley in 1935 at the Keith Theatre in Dayton, Ohio, he became an Oakley enthusiast. At age 17, Self started writing an Oakley biography and persuaded his family to travel to Cody, Wyoming, so that he could study the Oakley scrapbooks at the original Buffalo Bill Museum. There he persuaded Curator Mary Jester Allen (W.F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody’s niece) to name him “Assistant Historian.”
On behalf of herself and her brother, Self’s daughter, Barbara Self Malone, along with her husband George Malone, presented the English-made double rifle—thought to be the first customized to Oakley’s measurements with a silver AO on the stock—to U.S. Senator (ret.) Alan K. Simpson, chairman emeritus of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, at a ceremony September 23, 2011, in Cody. Simpson said, “Bill Self’s love for Annie Oakley, 
Buffalo Bill, and the West led to his lifelong friendship and service to the Buffalo Bill Historical Center. We are so deeply appreciative to his family for this amazing and generous bequest. Oakley was a path-breaking performer and woman athlete who was a role model for girls around the world. This exquisite rifle that she used in Wimbledon and Wild West Show arenas around the world brings that history to life.”
Oakley’s rifle was one of numerous items donated by Self’s family to the museum in memory of their father. Over the years, Bill Self had given much of his Annie Oakley collection to the museum including the last letters between Oakley and husband Frank Butler. Oakley and Butler’s romance and 16 years traveling the world with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West is immortalized in Irving Berlin’s musical “Annie Get Your Gun,” re-staged this year at the Glimmerglass Opera in Cooperstown, New York, with opera star Deborah Voigt.
According to historian and former Buffalo Bill Curator at the Historical Center Paul Fees, “This epic rifle makes Buffalo Bill’s Annie Oakley firearms collection the best and most representative in the world.”
In 2012, the Buffalo Bill Historical Center will open a dramatic reinstallation and renovation of its Buffalo Bill Museum focused on the life of W.F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody from his days as a Scout, to impresario of the Wild West, to his later years as an entrepreneur/statesman for western economic development. The new museum in Cody—part of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center’s collections of western art, Plains Indian artifacts, natural history and firearms—will display selected Oakley artifacts and memorabilia from the collection.
Read more about the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Annie Oakley, and the Buffalo Bill Museum reinstallation at www.bbhc.org.
Images:
J. Woods photo of Annie Oakley, 1888. Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Cody, Wyoming. Mary Jester Allen Collection. P.69.1590.
The family of Hollywood actor/producer Bill Self presents a rifle belonging to Annie Oakley to the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyoming. Pictured from left: Geaorge Malone, Curator of Western American History Dr. John Rumm, Barbara Self Malone, Executive Director and CEO Bruce Eldredge, and Chairman of the Board of Trustees the Honorable Alan K. Simpson.
Contact: Bruce Eldredge, or 307.578.4069.
Historical Center fall and winter hours
With yet another tourist season behind it, the Buffalo Bill Historical Center is moving to its fall schedule. For the month of November, the Center is open daily, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
From December 1 – February 28, the winter schedule is in effect, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Thursday – Sunday, closed Monday – Wednesday. The Center is closed Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, but is open the full week between Christmas and New Year’s Day, i.e. daily December 21 – 31, with the exception of Christmas.
The Historical Center’s annual free Holiday Open House takes place December 3, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. With treats, music, dance, and Santa Claus, the Open House is the perfect way to kick off the holiday season. Stay up-to-date with all the Center’s activities at www.bbhc.org.
Contact: Marguerite House, or 307.578.4137.
Historical Center announces one gallery's closure; rest of Center remains open
The Buffalo Bill/western history gallery at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center has officially been closed to the public as its extensive renovation process begins. It will remain closed until late May 2012 when it will reopen with a brand, new interpretation.
All other galleries of the Center remain open as usual, and an exhibit of some of the most popular items from the Buffalo Bill collections will be on display elsewhere in the Historical Center.
The theme of the “new” Buffalo Bill gallery is “William F. ‘Buffalo Bill’ Cody: Man of the West; Man of the World,” and the invitation is to “Encounter a great American icon again…for the very first time.”
“When visitors walk in the front door of the Historical Center, they typically know something about Buffalo Bill—especially since they walk right by his likeness in bronze at the entrance,” says John Rumm, the Center’s Ernest J. Goppert Curator of Western American History. “But, when they leave the new Buffalo Bill gallery, they’ll know William F. Cody, the man.”
On Monday, October 3, the Center’s Museum Services Department began removing some 3,700 objects from the gallery for storage during the remodeling process. Once all objects have been safely stored, demolition will begin, including the removal of asbestos. Through authentic artifacts, state-of-the-art exhibits, engaging inter-actives, and a compelling story about the life and legacy of William F. Cody, the “new” Buffalo Bill gallery promises to be truly a museum of the twenty-first century.
Read more about this exciting project and how you can help celebrate the Spirit of the American West by visiting this page and discover more about Cody’s love for the West at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMclntJ274Y.
Contact: John Rumm, or 307.578.4050.
BBHC on its way to Nashville
Come this fall, visitors to the Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art in Nashville, Tennessee, can hear the sights and sounds of Yellowstone right there in Cheekwood’s galleries.
With 62 crates; 38 platforms, pedestals, and cases; a horse buggy; more than 200 other objects; and that special kiosk featuring film and audio recorded in Yellowstone National Park, the exhibition Visions of the American West: Masterworks of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center is soon to be on its way to Nashville.
William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody made seven trips to Nashville with his Wild West extravaganza during the extrava One hundred years after Buffalo Bill’s Wild West thrilled audiences in Nashville, Tennessee, his show makes an encore appearance of sorts at Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art.
In an exhibition titled, “Visions of the American West: Masterworks from the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, the Center brings the West to the East once again. The exhibition at Nashville is on display October 22, 2011 – March 4, 2012.
“Each person views the West in a different way. While some may think of it as a place, it’s more than that,” explains Acting Curator Christine Brindza. “It’s both real and imagined, part myth and part truth. The Historical Center is telling the many stories of the American West in this exhibition in a way that appeals to all ages and interests.”
From headdresses to pistols, the Historical Center is sending more than 200 of its finest and most popular objects to Cheekwood for the show. The exhibition is organized into seven main areas: fine arts, firearms, horse culture, Plains Indians, women of the West, cowboy culture, and Buffalo Bill and the Wild West.
The Cheek Family, who founded Maxwell House Coffee, built their elegant mansion, Cheekwood, in the late 1920s. The limestone mansion and extensive formal gardens were inspired by the grand English houses of the 18th century. Completed in 1932, the family donated the mansion and the surrounding 65 acres to the City of Nashville, which maintains the estate today.
“The spirit of the West resounds here in Nashville: In our music and myth, in our optimism and resolve, in our sportsmanship and showmanship,” said Jane Offenbach, president and CEO of Cheekwood. “Just as Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show was welcomed by roaring crowds in Nashville more than a century ago, Cheekwood anticipates that Nashville and the entire region will receive this show with great energy and enthusiasm. Cheekwood is honored to host the exhibition, and our doors are wide open to everyone eager to experience the West.”
Nashville Public Television and Wyoming Public Television recently collaborated to film footage at the Center for a documentary on the exhibition to be broadcast this fall on both networks.
“Those who grew up wanting to be a cowboy will have their imaginations sparked again by viewing actual objects in this exhibition that were once owned and used by cowboys,” Brindza adds. “Whatever their passion may be, visitors are sure to be excited and inspired when they see this exhibition.”
Read more about the Historical Center’s exhibitions and the Cheekwood Museum.
News release archive, 2011
Click here for past 2011 news releases