C1910 BUFFALO BILL CODY AT HIS ARIZONA GOLD MINE CAMPO BONITO PHOTO WILD WEST 1
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:112744 | Provenance: Ownership History Available |
Exceptionally Rare and simply fantastic, ca1910 William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody unpublished Snapshot Photograph of Bill Cody at his Arizona “Campo Bonito” Gold Mine with what appear to be a large group of businessmen – likely potential “investors” in Cody’s mining operation. This Photograph was the personal property of Buffalo Bill Cody and descended directly in the Cody family to his great-granddaughter Patricia Ann "Patsy" Garlow - granddaughter of Cody's daughter Irma....
This outstanding and historical, Unmounted Photograph, taken at the Campo Bonito Gold Mine measures approx. 6 3/4" by 4 3/4". This Photograph, from The Cody Family collection, pictures Buffalo Bill standing to the right of a group of well dressed gentlemen all posed in front of some large pieces of mining equipment. At the left there are a number of automobiles and in one of those cars sits Bill’s wife Louisa, his daughter Irma, Irma’s husband Fred Garlow and the Garlow children. The Photo was taken in Arizona at Cody’s Campo Bonito Gold Mine in 1910 or 1911.
Provenance: This fantastic Photograph descended directly in the family of Irma Louise Cody Garlow, Buffalo Bill Cody's last surviving child. Buffalo Bill and his wife Louisa Frederici Cody (1843-1921) had four children but only their two daughters - Arta (1866-1904) and the baby Irma (1883-1918) lived to adulthood. Irma married Frederick Harrison Garlow Sr. (1880-1918) and had 3 children - Frederick Harrison Garlow Jr. (1911-1985); William Joseph Garlow (changed name to Cody) (1913-1992) and Jane Cody Garlow (1909-1987). When Irma and Fred Garlow Sr. died within three days of each other during the influenza pandemic of 1918, the three young children were cared for by their Grandmother Louisa, wife of Buffalo Bill Cody. Fred Garlow Jr. married Margaret Southerland and they had two children Patricia Ann (b.1948) and Mark Frederick (b. 1952).
The Photograph offered here was the property of Patricia Ann "Patsy" Garlow, Buffalo Bill's direct great-granddaughter. It was the property of the Cody-Garlow family and was originally the property of William F. “Buffalo Bill" Cody. While the majority of the Photographs from the Cody-Garlow Collection spent most of the last half of the 20th century on loan to the Buffalo Bill Historical Center of the West, this Image was kept by Patsy and was among her favorites.
In 1905 or 1906, John D. Burgess of Tucson, Arizona paid Cody a visit at his North Platte ranch in Nebraska. Burgess was touting his mine in Oracle, Arizona - the Campo Bonito Mine. Cody jumped at the opportunity to get rich and bought the mine. It wasn't until 1910 that he visited his mine. In October of the same year he indicated in a letter that the mine was beyond his wildest dreams. He had a large team of miners working the property, and he was beside himself, almost giddy, that twelve folks wanted to invest. Burgess was a promoter, and knew his craft. He continued to build a bright painting of the odds of a huge fortune coming from the mine. He seems to have known what Buffalo Bill Cody wanted to hear.
The Campo Bonito mines consisted of six claims (Campo Bonito, High Jinks, Southern Belle, Maudina, and Morning Star). For $600, 000, these claims made up the corporation called the Campo Bonito Mining and Milling Company.
Before buying what Burgess was selling, Buffalo Bill was skeptical enough to seek the advice of a friend in New York, L.W. Getchell, who had an extensive background in mining. In the fall of 1909, L.W. looked over Burgess’s Campo Bonito mining district and vouched for its possibilities. Buffalo Bill bought into the venture in 1910 and hired L.W. to manage it. L.W. brought his civil engineer son, Nobel, to help—a mistake that would haunt everyone.
After the show season ended in 1910, Buffalo Bill moved to Oracle for the winter to be near his mining claims. He was joined by his wife, Louisa, or “Lu Lu”—after they’d dropped plans for a much-discussed divorce. The Codys returned to their Oracle mines in the winter of 1911, as well. By then, Buffalo Bill had encouraged Col. Daniel Burns Dyer, a former Indian agent at Fort Reno, to join in his mining venture. Buffalo Bill reorganized his Campo Bonito company into the Cody-Dyer Arizona Mining & Milling Company. With the corporation’s $5 million capitalization, “every man in the company is already a millionaire in his own right, ” the El Paso Herald reported on November 18.
If anyone was whispering in the Colonel’s ear that these mining claims were a folly, that person would have been his wife. She didn’t keep him from buying more and more, but Wood does credit Lu Lu with “saving more Cody friends from being poured into the losing venture.” But the riches never happened. Not only did the mines not produce, but Buffalo Bill was being robbed blind from officials he trusted. He learned Noble Getchell was skimming off every mine claim and every equipment purchase, and was greatly inflating the payroll with ghost employees. No one knows if the father knew of the son’s thievery, but Buffalo Bill sent both of them packing in March 1912.
Buffalo Bill’s mining experiences in Arizona were summed up in a document seeking designation of his High Jinks mine on the National Register of Historic Places: “High Jinks produced a few thousand dollars in gold. Buffalo Bill realized nothing on his half-million dollar investments at Camp Bonito and adjacent High Jinks.”
The only other examples of this Photograph known were also part of the Cody – Garlow family collection - this was a personal, Snapshot Photo and not an Image that was commercially produced.
This rare and wonderful, ca1910 Western Americana / Buffalo Bill's Wild West Photograph is in very good condition. The Photograph itself is generally crisp and clean and exhibits sharp focus, strong contrast and rich, warm tonality. There is some light wear at the upper corners and two small, white spots in the negative.
An exceptionally rare and original, 1910 William F. Cody / Buffalo Bill's Wild West Photograph of Bill Cody with his family and a group of potential investors at his Arizona Campo Bonito Gold Mine - a family Photograph that was previously the personal property of Bill and Louise Cody - and a fantastic addition to any collection!!
Be sure to check out this seller’s other auctions for a number of other Photographs of Buffalo Bill at his Arizona Gold Mines (all from the Cody-Garlow estate) which are also being offered for sale this week on eBay!! Overseas shipping is extra and cost will be quoted at bidders request. Massachusetts residents must add 6.25% sales tax. Please check out other early and interesting items offered by this seller on ebay. Click Here to See Our Items We Have for Sale in the eBay Gallery and Click Here to Add Us To Your Favorite Sellers List.
Important Notes about Shipping Charges: The amount quoted for Shipping & Handling is calculated by eBay and is equal to the EXACT amount charged by the Post Office plus a $1.00 "packing fee" - the $1.00 fee is our only compensation for the virgin packing materials we use on all of our professionally packaged boxes as well as our cost for the salaried help that does most of our packing - as I am sure you can see, we make NO profit on the Shipping charges and, in fact, our costs are usually greater than the $1.00 fee. Please contact us if there are any issues regarding the cost of shipping.ATTENTION FRIENDS!!!We are pleased to announce the start up of a second weekly auction by WALNUTTS-2.0!!! The next generation of NUTS have decided to take a crack at listing some of the hundreds of items that we have accumulated over the past 38 years.Click Here to See What WALNUTTS-2.0 is Offering in this week’s Ebay Auction!! Rest assured that WALNUTTS2 will be offering the same high standard of customer service and 100% unconditional satisfaction guarantee that you have found here in our weekly auctions. The "young'uns" will be starting off slow as they learn the ropes but we ask that you support them as you have supported us over the past 20+ years!!
Powered by eBay Turbo Lister
The free listing tool. List your items fast and easy and manage your active items.
00186
This outstanding and historical, Unmounted Photograph, taken at the Campo Bonito Gold Mine measures approx. 6 3/4" by 4 3/4". This Photograph, from The Cody Family collection, pictures Buffalo Bill standing to the right of a group of well dressed gentlemen all posed in front of some large pieces of mining equipment. At the left there are a number of automobiles and in one of those cars sits Bill’s wife Louisa, his daughter Irma, Irma’s husband Fred Garlow and the Garlow children. The Photo was taken in Arizona at Cody’s Campo Bonito Gold Mine in 1910 or 1911.
Provenance: This fantastic Photograph descended directly in the family of Irma Louise Cody Garlow, Buffalo Bill Cody's last surviving child. Buffalo Bill and his wife Louisa Frederici Cody (1843-1921) had four children but only their two daughters - Arta (1866-1904) and the baby Irma (1883-1918) lived to adulthood. Irma married Frederick Harrison Garlow Sr. (1880-1918) and had 3 children - Frederick Harrison Garlow Jr. (1911-1985); William Joseph Garlow (changed name to Cody) (1913-1992) and Jane Cody Garlow (1909-1987). When Irma and Fred Garlow Sr. died within three days of each other during the influenza pandemic of 1918, the three young children were cared for by their Grandmother Louisa, wife of Buffalo Bill Cody. Fred Garlow Jr. married Margaret Southerland and they had two children Patricia Ann (b.1948) and Mark Frederick (b. 1952).
The Photograph offered here was the property of Patricia Ann "Patsy" Garlow, Buffalo Bill's direct great-granddaughter. It was the property of the Cody-Garlow family and was originally the property of William F. “Buffalo Bill" Cody. While the majority of the Photographs from the Cody-Garlow Collection spent most of the last half of the 20th century on loan to the Buffalo Bill Historical Center of the West, this Image was kept by Patsy and was among her favorites.
In 1905 or 1906, John D. Burgess of Tucson, Arizona paid Cody a visit at his North Platte ranch in Nebraska. Burgess was touting his mine in Oracle, Arizona - the Campo Bonito Mine. Cody jumped at the opportunity to get rich and bought the mine. It wasn't until 1910 that he visited his mine. In October of the same year he indicated in a letter that the mine was beyond his wildest dreams. He had a large team of miners working the property, and he was beside himself, almost giddy, that twelve folks wanted to invest. Burgess was a promoter, and knew his craft. He continued to build a bright painting of the odds of a huge fortune coming from the mine. He seems to have known what Buffalo Bill Cody wanted to hear.
The Campo Bonito mines consisted of six claims (Campo Bonito, High Jinks, Southern Belle, Maudina, and Morning Star). For $600, 000, these claims made up the corporation called the Campo Bonito Mining and Milling Company.
Before buying what Burgess was selling, Buffalo Bill was skeptical enough to seek the advice of a friend in New York, L.W. Getchell, who had an extensive background in mining. In the fall of 1909, L.W. looked over Burgess’s Campo Bonito mining district and vouched for its possibilities. Buffalo Bill bought into the venture in 1910 and hired L.W. to manage it. L.W. brought his civil engineer son, Nobel, to help—a mistake that would haunt everyone.
After the show season ended in 1910, Buffalo Bill moved to Oracle for the winter to be near his mining claims. He was joined by his wife, Louisa, or “Lu Lu”—after they’d dropped plans for a much-discussed divorce. The Codys returned to their Oracle mines in the winter of 1911, as well. By then, Buffalo Bill had encouraged Col. Daniel Burns Dyer, a former Indian agent at Fort Reno, to join in his mining venture. Buffalo Bill reorganized his Campo Bonito company into the Cody-Dyer Arizona Mining & Milling Company. With the corporation’s $5 million capitalization, “every man in the company is already a millionaire in his own right, ” the El Paso Herald reported on November 18.
If anyone was whispering in the Colonel’s ear that these mining claims were a folly, that person would have been his wife. She didn’t keep him from buying more and more, but Wood does credit Lu Lu with “saving more Cody friends from being poured into the losing venture.” But the riches never happened. Not only did the mines not produce, but Buffalo Bill was being robbed blind from officials he trusted. He learned Noble Getchell was skimming off every mine claim and every equipment purchase, and was greatly inflating the payroll with ghost employees. No one knows if the father knew of the son’s thievery, but Buffalo Bill sent both of them packing in March 1912.
Buffalo Bill’s mining experiences in Arizona were summed up in a document seeking designation of his High Jinks mine on the National Register of Historic Places: “High Jinks produced a few thousand dollars in gold. Buffalo Bill realized nothing on his half-million dollar investments at Camp Bonito and adjacent High Jinks.”
The only other examples of this Photograph known were also part of the Cody – Garlow family collection - this was a personal, Snapshot Photo and not an Image that was commercially produced.
This rare and wonderful, ca1910 Western Americana / Buffalo Bill's Wild West Photograph is in very good condition. The Photograph itself is generally crisp and clean and exhibits sharp focus, strong contrast and rich, warm tonality. There is some light wear at the upper corners and two small, white spots in the negative.
An exceptionally rare and original, 1910 William F. Cody / Buffalo Bill's Wild West Photograph of Bill Cody with his family and a group of potential investors at his Arizona Campo Bonito Gold Mine - a family Photograph that was previously the personal property of Bill and Louise Cody - and a fantastic addition to any collection!!
Be sure to check out this seller’s other auctions for a number of other Photographs of Buffalo Bill at his Arizona Gold Mines (all from the Cody-Garlow estate) which are also being offered for sale this week on eBay!! Overseas shipping is extra and cost will be quoted at bidders request. Massachusetts residents must add 6.25% sales tax. Please check out other early and interesting items offered by this seller on ebay. Click Here to See Our Items We Have for Sale in the eBay Gallery and Click Here to Add Us To Your Favorite Sellers List.
Important Notes about Shipping Charges: The amount quoted for Shipping & Handling is calculated by eBay and is equal to the EXACT amount charged by the Post Office plus a $1.00 "packing fee" - the $1.00 fee is our only compensation for the virgin packing materials we use on all of our professionally packaged boxes as well as our cost for the salaried help that does most of our packing - as I am sure you can see, we make NO profit on the Shipping charges and, in fact, our costs are usually greater than the $1.00 fee. Please contact us if there are any issues regarding the cost of shipping.ATTENTION FRIENDS!!!We are pleased to announce the start up of a second weekly auction by WALNUTTS-2.0!!! The next generation of NUTS have decided to take a crack at listing some of the hundreds of items that we have accumulated over the past 38 years.Click Here to See What WALNUTTS-2.0 is Offering in this week’s Ebay Auction!! Rest assured that WALNUTTS2 will be offering the same high standard of customer service and 100% unconditional satisfaction guarantee that you have found here in our weekly auctions. The "young'uns" will be starting off slow as they learn the ropes but we ask that you support them as you have supported us over the past 20+ years!!
Powered by eBay Turbo Lister
The free listing tool. List your items fast and easy and manage your active items.
00186
