Pawnee Bill Archive of Signed Photos, Telegrams, Autograph Signed Letters and Notes, Check and Envelope 1913-1927

Item Details

Pawnee Bill Archive of Signed Photos, Telegrams, Autograph Signed Letters and Notes, Check and Envelope 1913-1927

All items are sleeved and are in good to fine condition. Light toning mild wear and tear as typical of 100 plus year-old paper. 

Gordon William Lillie (1860 – 1942) was a showman and performer who specialized in Wild West shows including a short partnership with William "Buffalo Bill" Cody, plus his own "Pawnee Bill's Historic Wild West Show".  Lillie acquired the nickname "Pawnee Bill" for his work with the Pawnee Indian agency in Indian Territory in the early 1880's. In 1883 he worked as the Pawnee interpreter with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. 

In 1888, Lillie and his wife May Manning launched "Pawnee Bill’s Historic Wild West" show which ran through 1907. For the 1908 season, Pawnee Bill and Buffalo Bill Cody combined their shows, a move which lost money and led to foreclosure.

Their legacy lives on with the annual Pawnee Bill Memorial Rodeo and a modern version of Pawnee Bill’s Original Wild West Show at the Pawnee Bill Ranch and Museum in Pawnee, Oklahoma.

This archive includes:

--Promotional photo of Pawnee Bill and Buffalo Bill Cody signed but in Lillie's hand only.

--Signed Pawnee Bill Christmas Card 

--Two signed Night Letter Telegrams

--Four Autograph Letters Signed on Pawnee Bill's Buffalo Ranch letterhead, 1925 to 1927

--Two Autograph Notes Signed as Pawnee Bill

--Typed Note Signed on Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show letterhead, January 1909

--Signed 1917 Bank of Coney Island Check

--Self-addressed Pawnee Bill envelope, unused

--1938 Minneapolis Tribune Newspaper Clipping

See scans for further detail.