Buffalo Bill Cody Vintage Poster
Historic Wild West Show

Rare Vintage One Sheet Poster Lithograph (28x41"), 1912

Early 20th Century Western Art Masteriece 

Striking RARE 1912 lithograph one sheet poster for The Life of Buffalo Bill, designed to promote his Wild West Show.
By 1912, Buffalo Bill was already a living legend, having toured for decades with his Wild West show, presenting a romanticized version of the American frontier. As his show's popularity declined, Cody turned to film as a new way to preserve his image and reach wider audiences.   

The artwork is a highly dramatized battle scene, filled with chaotic action between white frontiersmen and Native Americans, framed by stylized western violence and theatrical fire.     
**And if you look closely you'll see Buffalo Bill himself in the battle scene with gun drawn and boldly defiant!

NOTE:  This is the only copy of this spectacular  jaw-dropping Buffalo Bill Lithograph we've ever seen.    And while there are other Buffalo Bill posters that have appeared on the market several times, this Gem is one of the most elusive as, based on auction records, only Two have surfaced over the past 20 years. 

Size: 28x41"

The centerpiece of the image shows a violent confrontation outside a stone fort: frontiersmen in buckskin fire rifles at charging Native warriors, some of whom are on horseback while others fall wounded or retreat. Flames pour from a burning structure on the right, intensifying the sense of danger. The bright, exaggerated palette—with vivid reds, oranges, and yellows—was typical of early 20th-century lithography and was designed to catch the eye from a distance in rural towns. The Native Americans are depicted in stereotypical fashion, wearing feathered warbonnets and wielding tomahawks or bows—imagery drawn from Wild West show mythologies rather than historical accuracy.

Title: The Life of Buffalo Bill – Original One-Sheet Poster (1912)
Dimensions:  28" x 41"
Lithographer: Likely Riverside Litho Co., Milwaukee
Distributor: Barnsdale’s Moving Pictures
Medium: Stone lithograph on paper with snipe

Note:  Seeing an image of this 115 year old relic is impressive.  But often with these decades or century old vintage posters, it can't compare to the in person experience.   When I finally had this in my hands and unrolled the linen, I was   taken aback by the beauty of the artwork.   Hence I took an additional photo of it rolled out on my table  (see images).

 In addition, that someone had the intuition to preserve the original Barnsdale banner on linen just below the original poster was brilliant!    An incredible historical art masterpiece!  

Condition:  Backed without restoration, the poster is in wonderful condition. There is a snipe measuring 7" X 28" backed to the linen below the one sheet.


Description:
Vivid and action-packed original 1912 one-sheet poster for The Life of Buffalo Bill, produced for Barnsdale’s touring motion picture exhibition. The artwork depicts a dramatic frontier battle scene with armed frontiersmen engaging a large group of Native Americans outside a stone fort, while a structure burns intensely in the background. Richly printed in bold reds, greens, and oranges, the poster exemplifies the high-energy aesthetic of early Wild West promotional art and silent-era film advertising. Includes original snipe reading: “Barnsdale Will Show Here – The Life of Buffalo Bill in Moving Pictures… All New Again.” This piece served as an advertisement for a traveling film exhibition, part of a mobile circuit showcasing Western-themed silent films and spectacles. A rare and visually striking survivor from the early era of American cinema and touring entertainment.

The Life of Buffalo Bill (Pawnee Bill Film Co., 1912). Very Fine+ on Linen. Horizontal One Sheet (28" X 42").
The Life of Buffalo Bill is a silent Western film notable for starring the real-life William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody in a dramatized account of his own frontier adventures. Produced by the Buffalo Bill-Pawnee Bill Film Company, it was part of a trend of early films blending fact and legend, often with the subjects themselves participating. By 1912, Buffalo Bill was already a living legend, having toured for decades with his Wild West show, presenting a romanticized version of the American frontier. As his show's popularity declined, Cody turned to film as a new way to preserve his image and reach wider audiences. Backed without restoration, the poster is in wonderful condition. There is a snipe measuring 7" X 28" backed to the linen below the one sheet.

At the bottom is a snipe (add-on banner) that reads:

"BARNSDALE WILL SHOW HERE
THE LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL
IN MOVING PICTURES… ALL NEW AGAIN."

This identifies the poster’s use in a traveling film exhibition, part of Walter Barnsdale’s circuit of mobile motion picture carnivals, which toured small towns with early electric film projection. These roadshows were among the first to combine Wild West spectacle with cinema, offering re-creations of frontier heroism and violence in both live action and silent film.