Description:

Buffalo Bill Cody Signed Presentation of an Extraordinary Gift

An intriguing collection of items relating to "Buffalo Bill" Cody and his close personal friends, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Trego. The collection includes a series of accessories in addition to a turn-of-the century lady's vanity cabinet, approximately 12" wide x 13.5" long x 7.5" deep with two saloon-style doors featuring portraits of young women, a top compartment covered by lid with applied decorative paper, and a bottom drawer with applied floral decorative paper and ornate metal handle. Inside, cabinet is lined with pink fabric having mirrors on the inside of left and right doors and top lid. Accessories include brush, hand-held mirror, shoe horn, nail buffer, and other loose items. This item is very fragile and will require 3rd party shipping.

In addition, these lovely pieces are accompanied by an important signed and autographed personalized card, approximately 3" x 2" in the hand of William Cody, which reads, "W. F. Cody" in center, with "Judge Advocate General" at bottom left and "Cody Wyoming U.S.A." at bottom right. Inscription handwritten in pencil reads, "Merry Christmas To Carrie Trego from W. F. Cody." Date inscribed, "1916." The lot also includes a group of celluloid negatives of another personalized card signed by Cody, which reads, "To Charlie & Carrie Trego. This old Remington revolver I carried and used for many years in Indian wars and Buffalo killing and it never failed me." Card signed, "W. F. Cody," and dated, "Dec 13th 1906." A 6" x 7.75" mounted silver gelatin photograph of a few young girls including Carrie (Hayes) Trego, according to a handwritten inscription on the back, and documentation from Norm Flayderman and Leona Hayes (granddaughter of Carrie Trego), mentioning the vanity cabinet and personalized cards also accompanying the lot.

One cannot overstate the nature of the relationship between Buffalo Bill and the Tregos. Letters extant demonstrate a long standing association between them, spanning two decades beginning in 1896. His letters to them demonstrate his affection with such salutations as "You know I love you both." Cody wrote to them on June 5, 1914, while appearing with the Sells-Floto Circus, his unhappiest season in show business. He may also have been feeling his mortality in a way that he hadn't before, yet even the salutation is effusive: "My Dear Friends Charlie & Carrie." "...I have a lot of friends and will say sincere ones. But they don't seem to touch the my the [sic] heart like the Tregos. Nothing has ever come into our friendship to give it the least bit of a jar. And I hope it will continue on that beautiful shore beyond the divide..."

But perhaps the most poignant demonstration of affection and high esteem was in 1906, when he offered his infamous gun, the old Remington revolver. Accompanying this lot is a negative of the original card he wrote to Charlie and Carrie Trego when he gifted them his prized gun in 1906: "To Charlie & Carrie Trego. This old Remington revolver. I carried and used for many years in Indian Wars and Buffalo killing. And it never failed me. WF Cody Dec 13th 1906" This spectacular saloon style vanity cabinet excels as a remarkable showpiece with the most long standing and personal of associations of this remarkable colorful figure of the American Old West

Provenance: Ex-Property of N. Flayderman & Co. Accompanied by a copy of the original letter of provenance which accompanied the Remington gun. Condition: Vanity cabinet has quite a bit of wear, with decorative paper and veneer peeling off in multiple places, exposed wood in multiple spots, interior fabric with fading and discoloration. Mounted photograph very worn, with heavy peeling and discoloration throughout. Card with some discoloration and peeling. Photo negatives in fine condition.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

* THIS ITEM WILL REQUIRE  3RD PARTY SHIPPING!

Accepted Forms of Payment:

American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Money Order / Cashiers Check, Paypal, Personal Check, Visa, Wire Transfer

Shipping

We do our own in-house worldwide shipping!

Applicable shipping and handling charges will be added to the invoice. We offer several shipping options, and remain one of the few auction houses who proudly provides professional in-house shipping as an option to our clients. All items will ship with signature required, and full insurance. Most items are sent via Federal Express, with P. O. Box addresses being sent through USPS. We insure through Berkley Asset Protection with rates of $.70 per $100 of value, among the lowest insurance rates in the industry. Our shipping department cameras document every package, both outgoing and incoming, for maximum security. In addition, we compare our shipping and handling rates against those of other auction houses, to ensure that our charges are among the lowest in the trade.

Upon winning your item(s), you will receive an invoice with our in-house shipping and handling fees included. ***We will ship to the address as it appears on your invoice, unless you inform us otherwise, immediately upon your receipt of invoice***

International shipments: In order to comply with our insurance provider, all international shipments will be sent via Fed Ex and customs paperwork will show a value of $1.00. International buyers should contact our office directly with any questions regarding this policy.

Third Party Shipping Option: If a third party shipper is preferred, the buyer is responsible for contacting them directly to make shipping arrangements. For your convenience, we have provided some recommended shippers. For your protection, we will require a signed release from you, confirming your authorization for us to release your lots to your specified third party Please copy and paste this following link into your browser: http://universityarchives.com/UserFiles/ShippingInfo.pdf. At that point, our responsibility and insurance coverage for your item(s) ceases. Items picked up by third party shippers are required to pay Connecticut sales tax. Items requiring third party shipping due to being oversized, fragile or bulky will be denoted in the item description.

Please see our full terms and conditions for names of suggested third party shippers.


After payment has been made in full, University Archives will ship your purchase within 5 business days following receipt of full payment for item.


Please remember that the buyer is responsible for all shipping costs from University Archives' offices in Wilton, CT to the buyer's door. Please see full Terms and Conditions of Sale.

March 3, 2021 10:30 AM EST
Wilton, CT, US

University Archives

You agree to pay a buyer's premium of up to 25% and any applicable taxes and shipping.

View full terms and conditions

Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $299 $20
$300 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $2,999 $200
$3,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 + $5,000