This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 3/27/2014
“A plethora of famous celebrities, and dignitaries made their mark – literally – on this highly coveted autograph album”.
J. B.Hickok/Wild Bill, J.B.Omohundro/Texas Jack, W.F.Cody/Buffalo Bill, each has signed and inscribed with their stage names as the three principals of Ned Buntlines 1873-74 production "Scouts of the Plains".
This autograph album is truly a unique one-of-a-kind find! It is highlighted by the extremely rare autographs and inscriptions of J.B.Hickok/Wild Bill, Texas Jack Omohundro, W.F. Cody/ Buffalo Bill, each has signed and inscribed with their stage names as the three principals of Ned Buntlines 1873-74 production "Scouts of the Plains." To find Hickok with his double signature of Wild Bill is almost unobtainable. We have only found one other to have come up for auction in the last 20 years and can not find any single pieces signed by all 3 to have ever come to market.
There are only a handful of the Hickok autographs known, and since he was only part of the play for less than 5 months, it is extremely rare to find any items signed in this period by this western legend. The signed page even has some other performers of the period, some who might have appeared in the same performance or theater. The album was created by a wealthy and successful architect named W. H. Culshaw, who used his skills as a draftsman to carefully create a unique and beautiful autograph album. He created calling cards with ink on the pages, using a different pattern on every page. The signers were then asked to write in specific areas, with specifically designated theme pages.
This unique album boasts one-of-a-kind combinations of signatures on its single pages. For example, one page has Civil War generals and future President: U.S. Grant, P.H. Sheridan, John Pope, W.T. Sherman, G.A. Custer, John A. Logan, and S.A. Hurlbut. Or how about the page with writers including an early Mark Twain/Samuel L. Clemens, Henry W. Longfellow, Oliver Wendell Holmes. Some other examples of unusual autographs held within its covers are that of Captain Mathew Webb, the first recorder person to swim the english Channel, who later died trying a feat at Niagara. Or signed by the Tichborne "The Claimant" which was a Legal case that captivated Victorian Enland in the 1860's-70"s, it was a claim by a butcher as being the missing heir to the Tichborne Earldom. The book contains celebrities and important personages of England and the United States in the early 1870s.
W.H. Culshaw, was a wealthy architect from Liverpool who traveled between Great Britain and the United States. Other pages show the autographs of composers and musicians, sideshow acts, actors, politicians, royalty and much more. Culshaw and Sumners firm was made up of English architects and surveyors who practiced in Liverpool in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The firm was established by 1839 by William Culshaw, who was joined by Henry Sumners in 1861. At the time of his death in 1874, he lived in Rodney Street, one of the most prestigious streets in the city, and owned property worth nearly £140,000 (£11,010,000 as of 2014). After Culshaw’s death, his practice was continued succeeded by his son, Alfred, through 1916. William Culshaw died in 1874. His son most likely carried on the tradition of collecting rare signatures to account for the later autographs.
William Culshaw died in 1874. His son most likely carried on the tradition of collecting rare signatures to account for the later autographs
J.B. Hickcok/Wild Bill
W.F.Cody/Buffalo Bill
J.B.Omohundro/Texas Jack
G.A. Custer
U.S.Grant
W.T.Sherman
P.H. Sheridan
John Pope
John A. Logan
Samuel Clemens/Mark Twain
Henry Longfellow
Oliver Wendell Holmes
P.T. Barnum
Anna Shaw Bates, the "Nova Scotia giantess;"
Camille Saint-Saens,
Joseph Joachim,
C.H. Spurgeon,
Alfred William Hunt
Lillie Langtry
Joseph Mayer
Christine Nilsson
Charles Sumner
Morrison Waite
Henry Thompson
D.L. Moody
Bret Harte
Walter Crane
R.G. Ingersoll
Barghash bin Said (Sultan of Zanzibar)
Matthew Webb
Christine and Millie McCoy, conjoined twins who sang as "The Two-Headed Nightingale."
Prince Arthur,
Duke of Connaught ,seventh child of Queen Victoria,
"The Claimant" - a butcher from Australia who pursued a drawn-out court case
(described in the newspapers as "the trial of the century") to be recognized as the heir to an earldom.