Objeto

Albumen photograph of Wild West Performers

Unidentified; Unidentified Man or Men; Unidentified Woman or Women

This picture of American western entertainers, particularly notable for its display of ethnic and gender diversity, is an example of the uniqueness that also characterized the internationally popular Buffalo Bill’s performing Congress of Rough Riders of the World. The Riders consisted largely of former U. S. and foreign military veterans, recruited to re-enact a highly sensationalized, literal “theater” of wars, skirmishes, weapons and equestrian skill. Traveling troupes like the one pictured, created profound impressions of race relations in and beyond the Americas that last to this day. An albumen print depicting Wild West Performers. Captured outdoors, the image shows a large crowd of diverse individuals, both men and women, arranged sitting and standing in groups along riser seating, a long curtain strung behind them. Prominently featured in the back center is a teepee structure with several individuals in indigenous American style dress, some with feather headdress. In the center middle, below the teepee structure, is a group of white men in dark suits, and below them is a group of men in military style dress with tall hats, some holding musical instruments. Sitting on the ground at bottom center is a group of white women, some dressed as cowgirls. Among the crowd on the left side are more individuals in varied Native American dress, men in white turbans, a group of men in Prussian military style uniforms with eagle insignias on their hats, a group of men in sombreros, and a group of men dressed as cowboys and vaqueros, two holding lasso ropes. Among the crowd on the right side are more individuals in a variety of styles of American Indian dress, a black man holding a tuba, individuals in draped keffiyeh-style headscarves, and, along the bottom, a group of young men in light colored jackets, pants, tall spats, and hats reading [OZ], holding rifles. On the reverse of the photograph are various numerical inscriptions made in graphite.

Fecha

1905

Lugar

South America, Middle East, Argentina

Institución

National Museum of African American History and Culture (Smithsonian)

Colección

Objetos y fotos de Argentina (Smithsonian)

Derechos

CC0 (dominio público)

Temas

PhotographyU.S. History, 1865-1921AmusementsActors and actressesAmerican WestBuffalo SoldiersEntertainersInternational affairsRace relationsMilitary

Ver el original en National Museum of African American History and Culture (Smithsonian) ↗