Buffalo Bill Cody History
A story of the real west from the last best west
Buffalo Bill Cody’s show business career began at the age of 26, on December 17, 1872 in Chicago. Ned Buntline (The man that immortalized Cody, Hickok, and scores of other Wild West personalities in his dime novels) had written a play called “The Scouts of the Prairie“.
Buffalo Bill appeared in it, as did Buntline, and another well-known scout – Texas Jack Omohundro. Reviews of Cody’s acting was mixed but he had a easy-going charm which the audience loved and Buffalo Bill was a natural showman.
“Buffalo Bill’s Wild West and Congress of Roughriders” used real cow-boys and cow-girls, recruited from ranches in the West. When the show first started few people shared Cody’s admiration of the cow-boys. The public regarded them as coarse cattle drivers and used the term “cow-boy” as an insult. Because of Buffalo Bill by the end of the 19th century, the cow-boy became the much more popular “cowboy.”
Buffalo Bill’s Wild West shows demonstrated bronco riding, roping, and other skills that later cowboy’s would compete against each other at rodeos. Today professional cowboys compete all over North America for prize money totalling in excess of a million dollars.
The Real West
The real wild west started in about 1866 after the American Civil War and coincided with the begin of the big Texas cattle drives.
Cattle had been running wild and multiplying all over Texas during the Civil War. So when the soldiers returned to being cowboys they rounded up all they could lasso, and headed north and east to the rail heads. The East was clamouring for fresh beef and the Texas ranches and cowboys were glad to oblige.
The raw western frontier with Cowboys, and Gamblers, Shootist’s and Marshal’s, Buffalo and Indians; barely lasted fifty years.
Yet the legend continues to grow; Cowboy Hats and Boots are part of the World’s wardrobe, and the western mystic is embraced by million’s of enthusiasts around the globe.
All of this could not have happened without Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West Show, and the man who started Cody off on his career as an entertainer – Ned Buntline and his dime novels of the majestic and mysterious west.
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Our take on the Butch Cassidy Cowboy Hat - Paul Newman was one of the great actors of his generation and by the time he made Butch Cassidy...he was a big box office attraction and a darling of the critics. This is our version of the Butch Cassidy cowboy hat Newman wears in many scenes of this classic 1960s western film.
- Crown: 5 inches
- Brim: 3 inches
- Color: Whiskey
- Crown: Telescope
- Brim: Open Gentle hand roll
- Hatband: Custom 1" embossed green suede.
- Personalized with your name inside the crown
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Sundance Kid Cowboy Hat - Our take on a classic western movie hat the hat worn by Robert Redford in 1969s, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. This hat is pretty nondescript and is a good representation of the type of hat that would have been seen in the later half of the 19th century on many of the cowboys riding through the west.
- Crown: 4 1/4" inches Telescope
- Brim: 3 1/4 inches open with a gentle hand-roll
- Color: Chocolate with light trail dust
- Hatband: 1/2" distressed brown leather
- Personalized with your name inside the crown
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Masterson Single Action Holster
Classic Cross Draw Holster - Simple, elegant and functional
Masterson Belt if you order the Rig is 1 1/2" - to accommodate belt loops on today's britches. We made sure it fits Levi's jeans, and when worn with a sport coat or longer coat, is the perfect holster for people with the conceal & carry permit. Holster works equally well as either a cross draw or strong hand draw style. If you'd like the cut out star concho on the holster, please request it in the production notes below.