1909, ORIGINAL BROADSIDE, BUFFALO BILL\'S WILD WEST & PAWNEE BILL\'S FAR EAST SHOW For Sale

An original 1909 broadside advertising Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show combined with Pawnee Bill's Far East Show.

Philadelphia: NP

ND, [1909]

Original Printing

A single piece of paper measuring approx.: 8" x 6 1/8", printed on one side.

Some discoloration, creases from being folded, chip to right edge, else in very good condition.

This original broadside from 1909 is an authentic piece of American entertainment history, advertising the combined spectacle of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West and Pawnee Bill’s Far East show. The show was a dazzling partnership between William “Buffalo Bill” Cody and Gordon W. “Pawnee Bill” Lillie, who merged their separate performances in 1908 to create The Two Bills Show—a grand touring extravaganza that capitalized on Cody’s legendary Western adventures and Lillie’s theatrical portrayals of Eastern cultures. The broadside promotes a week-long engagement starting Monday, May 24 (which only fell on a Monday in 1909 during their collaboration), at the show grounds at 49th Street and Parkside Avenue in West Philadelphia—a popular venue known for hosting traveling circuses and other grand entertainments. Featuring twice-daily performances, rain or shine, the show offered audiences an unforgettable blend of trick riding, marksmanship, cowboy and Native American performers, and dramatic pageantry, capturing the era’s fascination with both the mythic West and the exotic East. Today, such broadsides are highly prized by collectors and historians as vivid reminders of this uniquely American form of entertainment.

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