[Tompkins' Real Wild West]:

$2,250 · Offered by William Reese Company · No longer available

[CHROMOLITHOGRAPHIC TOMPKINS' REAL WILD WEST POSTER FEATURING WOMEN LASSOING CATTLE AND SHOOTING PISTOLS]. A rare, colorful, and action-packed chromolithographic poster promoting Tompkins' Real Wild West Show featuring women riding, roping and shooting. The primary attractions of this colorful poster are a woman riding in the foreground roping a steer, and another woman riding bareback who has turned and is firing a revolver behind her. A single man in the far distance is seen on horseback roping a steer. Both women are pictured riding astride in divided skirts, which was considered quite risqué for the time as women normally rode sidesaddle with long skirts to cover their legs. The use of American cowgirls in live Wild West shows followed a trend established by Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show at the turn of the century. These eye-catching images of women doing a man's job were designed to persuade both sexes to part with their money to see a live Wild West show instead of staying home to read a western novel or go out to the movies to see a western film, two increasingly popular mediums of the time that were beginning to supplant live performances. Tompkins' Real Wild West Show was founded by Charles H. Tompkins (1873-1957), a ranch hand since the age of twelve who broke into show business in 1895 and eventually joined Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, where he met Miss Mabel Hackney, a featured equestrienne there. Considered the greatest rider on two continents, Miss Hackney mar

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