ca1883 PAWNEE BILL / GORDON LILLIE PHOTOGRAPH - EARLIEST PHOTO OF WILD WEST STAR For Sale

Wonderful and very rare, original ca1883 Portrait Photograph of Wild West Show Star Performer Gordon William “Pawnee Bill\" Lillie – believed to be the earliest known portrait of Pawnee Bill. This outstanding, Photograph comes from the collection of Dot Vernon Bolton - “The Queen of the Cowboys” who performed with the Miller 101 Ranch, Buffalo Bill’s Wild West and who began her career at the age of 12 with Pawnee Bill’s Wild West. The Photograph comes with its original 1920’s transmittal envelope from Pawnee Bill’s Buffalo Ranch which Bill has signed above the return address “From Pawnee Bill”. The Envelope is addressed to Dot Vernon and is contained in a folder identifying the contents as the property of Dot Vernon.

This unmounted Photograph measures approx. 6 3/4\" by 9 1/4\" and appears to be a ca1920’s print taken from the original ca1883 portrait of the young and handsome Gordon W. Lillie taken around the time he first appeared with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West as the Pawnee Interpreter. Bill wears his signature wide brimmed hat, moustache and knee high leather boots. He also wears a beautiful, bead decorated Native American Indian vest and holds a leather quirt in his left hand.

The Photo pictures a VERY young Pawnee Bill – he is thin and “baby faced”. Pawnee Bill was born on February 14, 1860, in Bloomington, Illinois. His father Newton operated a flour mill in Bloomington; the mill burned to the ground in 1876. The family then moved to Wellington, Kansas, where Gordon developed a love for the West. By the age of 19, he was working on the Pawnee Indian agency in Indian Territory. In 1883, he was given the chance to work as the Pawnee interpreter with Buffalo Bill\'s Wild West Show. His work with the show was the origin of his nickname as \"Pawnee Bill.\"

The Photograph and the Transmittal Envelope are contained in an early 20th century folder with period, manuscript text on the cover that reads “Dot Vernon was born in Colorado in 1895 was with Pawnee Bill in 1908. Said she was 12 yrs old then so birthday must have been in the late Fall.”

Provenance: The piece comes from the personal collection of Dot Vernon. Dot Vernon performed with the Miller’s 101 Ranch Wild West Show, Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, Pawnee Bill’s Wild West Show and more. Dot Vernon Bolton, once called “Queen of the Cowgirls” got her start in the Western Show world when she was 12 years old when her family sent her with Pawnee Bill with his Wild West Show, as the Vernon and Lillie families were friends. She later went to England with the 101 Ranch Wild West Show and gave a command performance for the English Royal Family presumably including King George V. She then later toured the US with Barnum & Bailey’s Circus and also with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. This is truly a historic and rare original photograph and is believed to be the earliest known portrait of Pawnee Bill ever to be brought to public sale. It pictures a VERY young Pawnee Bill, likely at the time of his earliest performances.

This rare and wonderful, Pawnee Bill Portrait Photograph is in very good condition. The Photo itself is clean and crisp with no physical damage of any kind. There are a few spots and one small scuff mark but these are remnants from the original image that this Photograph was taken from. The Photo exhibits strong contrast and rich tonality but the focus is somewhat soft as one would expect from an early copy Image.

An exceptionally rare and likely one-of-a-kind ca1920’s Pawnee Bill Portrait Photographs taken from a ca1883 original believed to be the very earliest Portrait of Gordon William “Pawnee Bill” Lillie and worthy of a place at the heart of even the most advanced, museum quality Pawnee Bill or Wild West Show Collection!!

This historically important Photograph is offered here without reserve and with the confidence that it will attract the serious attention that it justly deserves!!!

Be sure to check out this seller’s other sales for a number of other, 19th and early 20th century, Original, Western Americana, Buffalo Bill’s Wild West and Native American Indian Photographs fwhich are also being offered for sale this week on !!!

A Bit About the Life of Pawnee Bill:

Gordon William “Pawnee Bill” Lillie was born February 14, 1860 in Bloomington, Illinois. His parents, Susan and Newton Lillie, owned a flour mill. Gordon was the oldest of the Lillie’s four children. His younger siblings were Lena, Effie, and Albert. As was typical of agricultural families all of the Lillie children worked alongside their parents at the mill. Gordon attended regular grammar school and according to his memoirs supplemented his reading assignments with dime novels, many of which described life in the Old West and Buffalo Bill. The Lillie’s mill was destroyed in a fire during the 1870s and the family relocated to Wellington Kansas. At this time the United States government was in the process of relocating a Pawnee Indian tribe from Nebraska to Indian Territory. That winter the Pawnees camped near Wellington and became temporary neighbors of the Lillie family. Gordon and his siblings spent a great deal of time with the Pawnees. Gordon developed a special friendship with Blue Hawk, a Pawnee scout.

After the Pawnee moved to Indian Territory Gordon decided to follow. He lived near the newly founded reservation with Blue Hawk, near present day Pawnee, Oklahoma. He worked in a local quarry and as a construction worker helping to build the house for the Indian agent. During this time Gordon hunted buffalo and fur trapped with the Pawnee. He acted as an interpreter for the local Indian agent and eventually he was hired as the agency secretary. When the reservation began a school, Gordon worked there as a teacher. In 1883, Bill took his first job with a Wild West Show – in fact he was hired as the Pawnee Interpreter for the very first traveling Wild West Show ever organized – Buffalo Bill and Doc Carver’s Rocky Mountain and Prairie Exhibition”.

Gordon married young and petite May Manning in 1886; May (aka \"Mae\"; born \"Mary\") was seventeen years old. In 1888 Gordon and May Lillie launched their own Wild West show: “Pawnee Bill’s Historic Wild West”. Mae starred in the show as the “Champion Girl Horseback Shot of the West.” Their first season was a financial disaster and they re-organized as a smaller operation called “Pawnee Bill’s Historical Wild West Indian Museum and Encampment Show.” The show traveled to Europe, performing in France and Belgium. The show was popular but not lucrative. They returned to the United States and added Jose Barrera to the cast; he was widely popular performing as Mexican Joe. In 1907 Gordon hired performers from a variety of backgrounds. He organized Mexican cowboys, Pawnee and Sioux scouts, Chinese and Japanese performers, and Arab jugglers. The ensemble debuted as the “Pawnee Bill’s Wild West and Great Far East Show.

In 1908 rival showman \'Buffalo Bill\' Cody’s managing partner, Bailey, died. Cody contacted Gordon and encouraged him to buy Bailey’s share of the show. The \"Two Bills\" merged shows and became \"Buffalo Bill’s Wild West and Pawnee Bill’s Far East\" with Gordon as the managing partner. The show was a great financial success. However, in 1913 Cody signed a short-term loan agreement with a Denver businessman. He foreclosed on the show while it was playing in Denver Colorado. After the show closed Gordon returned to live at the ranch full time.

Previously, Blue Hawk had sold Gordon and some of his land in Pawnee, and the couple built a cabin and established a buffalo herd there. Gordon objected strenuously and frequently to the sportsmanship hunting of buffalo. He approached Congress several times with proposals that the sport be outlawed. While Gordon toured May supervised the buffalo ranch. The Lillies completed work on their Arts and Crafts style home on Blue Hawk Peak in 1910. Gordon invested in banking, real estate, and oil. In 1916 he and May adopted a baby boy whom they named Billy. Tragically, Billy died in an accident when he was eight years old. Gordon operated various business interests and dabbled in film at his ranch. In 1930 May and Gordon opened “Pawnee Bill’s Old Town” near the ranch. They sold Indian and Mexican crafts, and featured yearly rodeos.

In 1936 Gordon and May celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary in Taos, New Mexico. In September of that year they attended a local celebration in Tulsa, Oklahoma. While driving back to their ranch that night Gordon lost control of their vehicle. May died as a result of her injuries and Gordon never fully recovered. He died in his sleep in 1942.

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ATTENTION FRIENDS!!!

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