Buffalo Bill," (Hon. W. F. Cody). [Cabinet Card]

A handsome cabinet card portrait of Buffalo Bill by a notable English photographer. Posed in a studio setting against a painted landscape backdrop, the famed wild west showman wears his trademark buckskin jacket, sports an unusually large belt buckle, and holds a riding crop. This is one of at least two different photographs of Buffalo Bill taken by Van der Weyde during Cody's first tour of England in 1887. "When Buffalo Billy Cody came on the first of his three visits to the United Kingdom in April 1887, the furore he created was unprecedented. Thousands lined the streets when the exhibition made its way to Earl's Court and on its opening night 28,000 people were there to see the splendour that was Colonel Cody's Wild West" (National Fairground and Circus Archive).

Henry Van der Weyde (1838-1924) was a Dutch-born English painter, photographer, and founding member of the Linked Ring Brotherhood, whose mission was to elevate the craft of photography to an art. According to the National Portrait Gallery, "In 1877 Van der Weyde became the first photographer to install and take portraits by electric light, allowing him to take a lot of portraits in a short period of time."

REFERENCES: "Buffalo Bill," at National Fairground and Circus Archive online (University of Sheffield).