ANNIE "LITTLE SURE SHOT" OAKLEY - AUTOGRAPHED SIGNED PHOTOGRAPH - HFSID 300023
Price: $9,250.00
ANNIE OAKLEY
Carte de visite signed by Oakley for friend Ed Goodman, Buffalo
Bill's nephew, who was part of the Wild West show
Photograph signed: "Annie Oakley". Sepia, 4½x6½ carte de
visite. Annie Oakley (1860-1926, born Phoebe Anne Moses in Darke
County, Ohio), was born to a Quaker family and began to shoot rabbits and quail
at age nine. Within five years, she was a breadwinner for her family as a
markswoman, and, at age 15, she saved her family's farm with income she had
earned from shooting game. On August 23, 1876, at age 16, Annie married
Frank Butler, a vaudeville performer who became her partner. Annie's
self-effacing personality (on and off stage) made her a popular performer. In
1885, the Butlers joined Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show, where Annie was a
star for 17 years. The five-foot-tall Oakley got her name "Little Sure Shot"
from Sitting Bull and used it in her promotional materials. In 1901, she and
her husband decided to retire from public life. However, shooting was in her
blood, and the Butlers continued to make appearances around the country. Age did
not appear to diminish her skills, but Oakley was seriously injured in an
automobile accident in 1921. Although she did not think she had long to live at
that time, by 1924 she was again performing. This photograph, taken about
1894, was signed for a special friend, Edward Robert Goodman (1868-1949),
the son of Buffalo Bill's older sister Julia Cody Goodman. In 1886, Uncle
Will invited 18-year old Goodman to join the Wild West Show, which he did for a
summer season in New York and for the Show's 1887 trip to London for Queen
Victoria's Golden Jubilee. Oakley was on these trips, although she left the
Show temporarily in 1888. Though entrusted with a managerial role by 1888,
Goodman also left the show that year to strike out on his own, carrying a
glowing letter of recommendation. He maintained a lifelong friendship with
Buffalo Bill and other members of the Show, and was present at Cody's death in
Denver in 1917. Goodman spent a lifetime collecting photos and other mementos
of Cody's show and the American West. This meticulously preserved and documented
collection remained in the family until now, never before offered for sale.
Light surface scratches. Otherwise, fine condition.
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