[Wild West Show Poster]:

$2,000 · Offered by William Reese Company

W.I. SWAIN'S WESTERN SPECTACULAR PRODUCTION JESSE JAMES. "HANDS UP SHERIFF?" "THE PRISON IS NOT BUILT THAT WILL HOLD JESSE JAMES." An attractive poster advertising one of W.I. Swain's popular touring western shows, this one featuring Jesse James, who in this portrayal has an African-American as a member of his gang. The illustration shows three men on the right edge with their hands held high, while a fourth man next to them weakly drops his gun. On the left side a cocky man in a white shirt (presumably James) points a six shooter at the men across the room, while a blonde woman in a red dress stands with one foot on a chair and the other on a desk, also pointing guns at the men. Anomalously, in the center of the image, through a window, a Black man in a red shirt also points two guns at the men on the right, while inside the room a Black woman kneels and pleads with the man in the window. Colonel W.I. Swain was one of the most successful tent showmen in the South. He often toured a minstrel show, putting on a different performance every night for a week. The shows were continued by Swain's son, Kennedy, well into the 1940s.

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