Poihi'fgeev|Veg'f a QUARTERLY JOURNAL of the BUFFALO BILL HISTORICAL CENTER T WINTER 1998 F FUND for the BBHC VITAT to OPERATIONS Ccxrelrrs
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POIhI'fgEeV|VEg'f A QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF THE BUFFALO BILL HISTORICAL CENTER T WINTER 1998 f FUND FOR THE BBHC VITAT TO OPERATIONS ccxrElrrs Fund for the Bullalo Bill Historical Center Th" t HUFFMAN: DocuMENTTNG THE oLD wEST- I lpreviously named The Annual Fund) is a 3 Frontier^ photographer chronicles last days oi the vital component of the Center's public support Old West. budget. This year The Fund, chaired by Trustee Charles G. Kepler, has a goal to raise $425,000 f cHnrsrrr,tAs GREETTNGS FRoM DAVE- The story or approximately 8 percent ol the Center's ol Annie Oakley's extraordinary dog Dave. operating budget. What does The Fund support? It supports f coov, RoosEVELr AND THE RouGH RTDERS- specilic programs as well as the general enhance- Bishop Film Seminar keys on historical event. ment of the Center. You can choose. It can support the Center's educational programs that 8 WINCHESTER'S ENGLISH SHOTGUNS: A MARKETING reach into remote Wyoming communities as well PLOY WITH LASTING INFLUENCE as Cody. Or the Center's internship program that MUSEUM DISCOVERY TEAM LAUNCHES trains the luture museum leaders ol America. It to NEW WAY OF LEARNING can support the acquisition of books, rare works ol art and western Americana, award-winning nnwsPorNrs publications, the preservation of the Center's | ! vast permanent collections and popular events I f rHev TuRNED our FoR rHE sHoorour-Buffato scheduled through the year. It also supports the Bill Shootout enjoys most successful year ever. daily expenses of security. maintenance and stalf salaries that make up a large percentage | $ eaHasKA TEpEE: THE GEM oF THE RocKrES oi the annual budger. Contributions to The Fund for the Buffalo Bill ! | wrr-coMrNc THE HoLrDAys wrrH zEACEFUL & Historical Center touch every aspect ol the S?"/LI-INSIGHTS Center's work and are critical to its success, The Center's Board of Trustees and staff are //wonDFrND committed, now more than ever, to its mission of calrNDAR oF EVENTs advancing knowledge about the American West. 2 3 Your contribution, no matter its size, is deeply appreciated. Please send contributions to the READER'S FORUM Development Ollice, Buflalo Bill Historical Center, PLANNED TN I999 720 Sheridan Avenue, Cody, WY 82414. Got a question? Would you like to comment on any ol the articles in Polnrs west? Beginning with the Spring 1 999 issue (and depending on the level ol read- PO/NIS WESI is published quarterly as a benefit of membership in the er interest) Points West will begin carrying a Reader's Buffalo Bill Historical Center. For membership information contact: Forum. To be successful, the Reader's Forum will Jane Sanders require the committed involvement of readers. Director of Membership Buffalo Bill Historical Center Letters should be brief, approximately 150 words 720 Sheridan Avenue. Cody. wy 82414 or less, and must be signed. Please include a legibly (307\ or call 587-4771, ext. 4032. printed name, return address and daytime telephone Request permission to copy. reprint or distribute afticles in any medium number. Letters may be submitted by e-mail to or format. Address edirorial correspondence to the Editot PO/NIS [email protected] or by conventional mail to the WESI Buftalo Bill Historical Center. 720 Sheridan Avenue. Cody.wY 82414 Editot Poinfs Wesr, Bulfalo Bill Historical Center, 72O Sheridan Avenue, Cody, WY 82414. Editor: Scorr Hagel Letters selected for publication will be chosen at the Designer: Jan Woods Krier Coordinator: Renee Tatoya editor's discretion. Questions raised in letters may be Photography: Devendra Shrikhande Chris Cink, Nichole Knapp, Interns answered in the pages of Poinfs we$ for the benelit ol all readers. The Buffalo Bill Historical Center is a private. non-profit educational institution dedicated to preserving and interprering the cultural history of the American West. Founded in 1917. the Historical Center is home ro Cove( Red Armed Panther. sometimes called Red Sleeve. the Buffalo Bill Museum, Cody Firearms Museum, Plains Indian Museum, whitney Gallery ol Western Art and Mccracken Research Cheyenne. Photograph taken by L.A. Huflman, at Fort Keogh Library. Mont., 1879. Water colored with oil highlights. L. A. Huffman D{)CUMENTINO THE ()LII WNST By Nathan Bender Housel Curator, Mccracken Research Library "Sr# il ,llil !ff i*, i.:$ t *e,j CLttting Out a Steer. L.A. Hutlman. not dated ocumenting the spirit and culture oi the frontier in Miles City. It was purchased by antiquarian dealer West was the passion oi L.A. Huiiman. With his Thomas Minckler ol Billings, Montana. In his care SO-pound homemade camera and a horse, he traveled the original photographic prints were cataloged and the western range lrom his base in Miles City, manuscript correspondence carefully transcribed. Montana. His ability to capture the cowboy's daily Minckler also added original Hullman photographs experience, the dignity of the Plains Indian peoples, to the collection lrom other sources when possible. and the sheer vastness of the unlenced range have The high artistic quality of Huffman's pictures is been equaled by lew other photographers oi any evident even to persons who know little about era. As such he is now commonly viewed as the photography. His images can reach out and grab the Charlie Russell ol western photography. interest of a viewer. The particular ima$es within Through a recent purchase-donation agreement, our collection contain a high percentage of ori$inal the McCracken Research Library is proud to add the prints made by Huffman himself directly lrom his L.A. Hulfman Studio Collection to our holdings. This original glass plates. These are quite valuable and is a research collection ol incredible signilicance that rare. The artifacts irom the Hullman studio include consists ol over 2,200 letters, 1,075 photographs pens and inks used to title and hand color his prints, and a variety oi artilacts from the studio ol frontier a Plains tndian buckskin doll used as a studio prop, photographer L.A. Hullman. Until recently, this col- his glasses, a studio chait and two trunks, among lection had remained in the original Hullman house other items. Laton Alton Huffman (1854-1931) American Indians went beyond was born in lowa and learned the portraiture to include scenes of craft of photography from his father. lamily life and traditional activities. In the summer of 1878 he appren- In 1882 he traveled to ticed at Moorhead, Minnesota with Yellowstone National Park and the later lamous Yellowstone Park with a stereoscopic camera took photographer F. Jay Haynes. By a series of images ol geological December 1878 Huffman obtained wonders. Appreciative ol his his first prolessional appointment as environment, he included land- a civilian post photographer at Fort scapes and wild animals among Keogh, Montana Territory, near Miles his specialties. His pictures of the City. This position gave him his start last of the buflalo in Montana on what turned out to be a liletime Territory, both alive and as being project, that of photographing eastern shot and skinned by proiessional Montana and northern Wyoming hunters, are the only ones oi their during the last two decades ol the kind, as later photographers simply western frontier. Most of Huffman's were not able to recreate pictures pictures were taken out on the range, of the bullalo hide hunting business. where he carried his cameras on Watching the destruction ol the horseback, along with the chemicals herds may have also kindled in and glass plates needed to create him an interest in wildlife conser- permanent images. This mobility vation, as he later become good distinguished him irom a mere studio lriends with William T Hornaday, photographer and enabled him to curator ol the New York capture authentic action photographs. Zoological Park and founder ol His studies of ranch life, cattle drives, the American Bison Society. wild horse roundups, herds ol sheep, Within the Huiiman collection. and other facets oi western ranching much correspondence exists came to influence other photographers between these two men. who lollowed in his footsteps. In the early 1880s Hullman left Hullman became well acquainted Fort Keogh and established his with the Northern Plains lndians, own business in Miles City in a and in particular with the Northern studio he built irom lumber sal- Cheyenne. Sometimes he managed vaged lrom a steamboat. By 1885 to obtain portraits of Native he was using a single-lens glass- Americans visiting at Fort Keogh plate camera that he constructed and sometimes he traveled out irom parts ordered from a catalog to meet them at their villages. and built himself. He operated Prominent among his Cheyenne this first Miles City studio until lriends and acquaintances were Two 1 890. For the next few years he Moons, American Horse, and Young traveled within the United States. Plenty Bird. As lor his pictures ol then returned to Montana and the ranchmen, his photographs of was elected to the Montana 4 House oi Representatives lor Custer County in 1891. In 1896 he opened a studio in Billings, ran it there for a lew years, then closed it to reoPen a new studio in Miles City. Hulfman shifted his emphasis lrom new photograPhy and largely concentrated on selling prints made lrom his stockpile ol glass plate negatives alter about 1905. An important aspect of Hullman's lile is that he was accepted and well liked by lrontier leaders and other men ol influence. His list of associates reads like a Who's Who of the region. Names of people he knew and olten corresponded with include Geor$e Shields (editor of The American Field I magazine), Yellowstone Kelly (YNP's lirst park ranger), anthropologist Ceorge Bird Crinnell, poet Badger Clark, # Montana's political iather Cranville Stuart.