Page 28 - 4094-BOOK3

The organization this rifle was
charged to was the partnership
between William F. “Buffalo Bill”
Cody, James A. Bailey of Barnum &
Bailey circus fame, and Gordon W.
“Pawnee Bill” Lillie. Bailey had died
in 1906 and his family took over
his stake in the Wild West Show,
however, according to a letter from
Cody to George T. Beck in 1909, it
appears that their stake was bought
out by Cody and Lillie, news that
may not have reached Winchester
by the time this rifle shipped. It
was around 1909 that Buffalo Bill’s
show, which had run since 1883,
combined with Pawnee Bill’s to form
a new and larger show which was
called “Buffalo Bill’s Wild West and
Pawnee Bill’s Far East”, but was more
commonly referred to as “Two Bills
Show”. The new combined show
included all the expected “Wild West”
attractions such as Native Americans,
cowboys, Mexican Vaqueros, and
frontier wildlife, while adding in acts
from all over the world including
India, Australia, Russia, Scotland, and
Japan. A rifle such as this one would
have been ordered by the show for
an exhibition shooter, particularly for “trap shooting” things such as glass
or resin balls thrown into the air. These smoothbore shotguns fooled
the crowds who believed these incredible shooters were hitting their
targets with standard rifle cartridges, making their feats seem much
more impressive. During its existence, the show featured performances
by people who are forever synonymous with the Western frontier and
include such notables as Buck Taylor “King of the Cowboys,” Annie
Oakley, Frank Butler, Sitting Bull, Johnny Baker “The Cowboy Kid,” Rough
Rider Billy McGinty, Pawnee Bill, Dr. William Frank Carver, Montana Frank
and Calamity Jane. Wild West shows such as the “Two Bills Show” were an
extremely popular form of entertainment around the turn of the century
and played a pivotal role in cementing the legacy of America’s Western
Frontier, long after the west itself had been tamed. This rifle would have
been present for the final acts of this legendary show, which continued
until 1913 when financial struggles and some malicious business
dealings brought the show to an end. After a few years of shuffling
around to different circuses and shows, the legendary Buffalo Bill Cody
died in 1917.
The rifle itself, being manufactured in 1908, has the third model receiver
which features the integral dust cover guide and the dust cover with
gripping serrations at the rear. The top of the barrel and receiver have
Winchester factory oval proofs stamped at the breech. The top barrel
flat is marked with the two-line address and King’s patent marking, and
the caliber is marked on the upper left flat at the breech. The bottom of
the cartridge elevator does not appear to have ever been marked with
the caliber. The upper tang is marked with the three-line model and
trademark designation, and the serial number is marked on the lower
tang. The left side of the lower tang is marked “794”, but the number
is not repeated on the buttstock or buttplate. It is fitted with a set of
“sporting sights” featuring a German silver blade front and elevation
adjustable buckhorn rear (elevator a later replacement), and the upper
tang has two factory drilled and tapped holes for a peep sight with filler
screws in place. It is mounted with a smooth forearm and straight grip
stock with a trapdoor crescent buttplate (grip knob for trapdoor absent).
CONDITION: Good, showing mostly a grey patina with some scattered
light surface pitting, typical of a gun that saw the use of the Western
Frontier by portraying it theatrically. The rear sight elevator is a later
replacement. The wood shows all the typical sings of a working gun,
whether in the Wild West or an exhibition shoot, including a few minor
cracks, an absent sliver from the forearm, and scattered minor dings
and scratches that all tell a story. Mechanically excellent. This is an
opportunity to own a documented piece of the most legendary Wild
West show the world has ever seen as well as a tangible piece of the
history of the American frontier and an artifact that will forever be linked
with two icons of the West: Pawnee Bill and Buffalo Bill Cody.
Estimate: 100,000 - 150,000
26