By LARRY LEMASTERS
Auction Exchange Correspondent

Whenever Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show came to town, thousands of posters were printed and posted around town. Today, these posters are highly sought after by Western collectors for their beauty, sense of romance, and spiraling values.

One hundred years ago, people could literally get posters for free simply by tearing them down from billboards and store walls after Buffalo Bill and his Wild West Show left town. Stored for decades, these throw-away posters now sell for in excess of $2,500.

One of the most popular Buffalo Bill posters is of Buffalo Bill himself. One such poster shows Bill in a new set of buckskin clothing, leaning on a Winchester Model 1873 rifle (the gun that won the West). An early color lithograph from the 1880s, this poster is valued at $2,750.

And no collector would consider his Buffalo Bill poster collection complete without a nice poster of Annie Oakley (she was referred to as “The Rifle Queen” by dime novelists), who starred in the Wild West Show for more than 17 years.
Other posters featured warring Indians, such as Sitting Bull and highly romanticized characters such as Russian Cossacks. Posters such as these attracted men, women, and children to Bill’s big top tents to see the greatest western show ever assembled – a  taste of the Old West before it was lost forever.

Be careful of reproductions since many exist. A reproduction Buffalo Bill poster is only worth about $10.

As with all posters, condition is important when considering bidding on a Buffalo Bill poster. Most collectors want a poster that is at least in “good” condition if not “mint.” However, as a beginning collector of western lore, one might be willing to sacrifice quality in order to simply have an authentic Buffalo Bill poster, advertising America’s last look at the wild, wild west.