Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Guide to the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Wild West

Summary

Collection ID:
NMAH.AC.0060.S01.01.Wild
Creators:
Warshaw, Isadore, 1900-1969
Dates:
circa 1888-1940
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
0.23 Cubic feet
consisting of .5 box, plus digital images of some collection material.
Repository:
A New York bookseller, Warshaw assembled this collection over nearly fifty years. The Warshaw Collection of Business Americana: Wild West forms part of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Subseries 1.1: Subject Categories. The Subject Categories subseries is divided into 470 subject categories based on those created by Mr. Warshaw. These subject categories include topical subjects, types or forms of material, people, organizations, historical events, and other categories. An overview to the entire Warshaw collection is available here: Warshaw Collection of Business Americana

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
This subject category- Wildwest consists of materials relating to the portrayal of America's Western frontier. The material focuses on the romantic ideal of the west and the people in it rather than factual information. This includes material from and about Buffalo Bill's Wild West show and other performance events, as well as images and publications base on the romanticized ideal of a Wildwest. The collection spans the dates 1888-1940 and has items from diverse locations. The collection is organized by type of material.
Series 1, Programs, 1889-1938; undated, consists of programs from various live shows that portrayed the lifestyle and events of America's Western Frontier including Buffalo Bill's Wild West, Cheyenne Frontier Days, and The World Series Rodeo. The programs are all illustrated and are arranged by event name.
Series 2, Advertisements, undated, consists of materials advertising events that focus on America's west. This includes Cheyenne Frontier Days and Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show and movies set in the west. The advertisements are mostly broadsides or pamphlets and are all illustrates; none are dated.
Series 3, Correspondence, 1897-1915, consists of correspondence regarding traveling shows such as Buffalo Bill's Wild West, Broncho John Wild West, California All Star Wild West, Carlisle's Historical Wild West Show, and 101 Ranch. The correspondence is primarily between the show manager and a local host or show sponsor. The series is arranged by touring company then chronologically.
Series 4, Publications, 1893-1940, contains books and periodicals about America's Western frontier. One book is on the history of the west and Buffalo Bill, and one is a collection of Rodeo songs. The other published works are fictional stories set in the west.
Series 5, Images,1888;undated, contains images of the American west and people associated with the west. Illustrations are of scenes from the west, the photographs are portraits of William Cody "Buffalo Bill", Annie Oakley, Pawnee Bill, and Henry Brown. The postcards are images of people connected with the west including Calamity Jane, Buckskin Bill, Tex Ritter and others. Other postcards are drawings and staged scenes of cowboys. The image series also contains a piece of leather work showing an image of William Cody.

Administration

Author
Vanessa Broussard-Simmons
Immediate Source of Acquisition note
Wild West is a portion of the Business Ephemera Series of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Accession AC0060 purchased from Isadore Warshaw in 1967. Warshaw continued to accumulate similar material until his death, which was donated in 1971 by his widow, Augusta. For a period after acquisition, related materials from other sources (of mixed provenance) were added to the collection so there may be content produced or published after Warshaw's death in 1969. This practice has since ceased.

Digital Content

More …

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access note
Collection is open for research. Some items may be restricted due to fragile condition.
Conditions Governing Use note
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Preferred Citation note
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Wild West, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution

Materials in the Archives Center

Materials in the Archives Center
Archives Center Collection of Business Americana (AC0404)

Forms Part Of


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Ephemera Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Business ephemera Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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