AN OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL LETTER BY BUFFALO BILL DISCUSSING HIS RELUCTANT INVOLVEMENT IN THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR

Descripción:

Original hard-written letter from William "Buffalo Bill" Cody. A single page, on his letterhead stationary, dated April 1898, to his friend George Everhart, a prominent Chicago businessman who lived in Highland Park. At the time, Cody was one of the most famous men in America. Ever the showman, as the Spanish-American War approached, he had incorporated Cuban rebels into his Wild West Show and publicly stated that he could lead such a force and sweep into Havana in a single cavalry charge. This led Gen. Nelson A. Miles, commanding general of the US Army, to ask Buffalo Bill to raise a cavalry force and lead them to battle in Cuba. Cody reluctantly accepted but as he tells Everhart: "I will have hard time to get away from the show - but if I don't go - I will be forever damned by all - I must go.America is in for it and although my heart is not in this war, I must stand by America". Cody offered to raise a force of 2,000 cowboys with horses from his show. As events would have it, the Spanish-American War ended quickly and Buffalo Bill's men never made it to Cuba. Framed together with a typed transcript of the letter; a vintage stereocard of the USS Maine; and pieces of Buffalo Bill ephemera. Measures 24x18 inches. Fine condition. An excellent and famous letter with excellent provenance. The letter first appeared on the market in the inventory of the famous autograph dealer/historian Ralph Newman, founder of the Abraham Lincoln Book Shop and one of the top autograph dealers of his era. It sold at Christie's in 1997 and was next sold by Profiles in History. It is now offered by Kubik Fine Books Ltd. having been purchased by us from the estate of the previous owner. N° de ref. del artículo 1303137

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