467.     [PHOTOGRAPHY]. [OAKLEY, ANNIE (sitter)]. STACY, Charles E. (photographer). Three-quarter standing portrait of Annie Oakley cradling a rifle, wearing pearl earrings, wide-brimmed hat with star pin, mid-calf dress with three bands of light-colored ribbon above fringed hem, matching bands of ribbon and fringe at top of dress, wide belt, white collar with broach or medal, and extended-cuff leather gloves. Gelatin silver print mounted on card with photographer’s embossed copyright: Stacy CES Ivory Finish corner 9^th St. & 5^th Ave. Brooklyn. Image: 16 x 11 cm; card: 22.8 x 17 cm. Later ink inscription on verso: “Annie Oakley crack shot with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West 1894 From the collection of Nate Salsbury, owner & manager of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West–given by his family in 1938.” Brooklyn, [1894; from inscription on verso]. A little light scuffing of image, a few tiny spots near lower edge of card mount recto, otherwise fine.

     Here markswoman extraordinaire Annie Oakley is particularly elegantly attired to emphasize her perfect melding of modesty and femininity. “The incredible woman who called herself Annie Oakley overcame poverty, prejudice, physical setbacks, and her own inner shyness to become a star shooter and a durable legend. Beginning in 1885, her shooting and riding skills helped draw standing-room-only crowds to open-air arenas, to Madison Square Garden, and to sites throughout Europe. Billed as ‘The Rifle Queen,’ ‘The Peerless Lady Wing-Shot,’ ‘Little Sure Shot,’ and ‘The Western Girl,’ she thrilled audiences at home and abroad. She also burned into the public mind a vision of the archetypal western woman—daring, beautiful, and skilled”—Glenda Riley, The Life and Legacy of Annie Oakley (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1994), p. xv. This image has been published, including in Isabelle S. Sayers, Annie Oakley and Buffalo Bill’s Wild West (New York: Dover, 1981), p. 56.

($2,000-4,000)

Auction 22 Abstracts