[Photographs and Promotional Ephemera for Trick Ropers and Rodeo Stars]

Edité par [Various places including Florida, California and New York], 1985

A propos de cet article

75 B&W and 5 color photographs ranging from 4" x 6" to 8" x 10" (all captioned, two signed) plus 15 pieces of ephemera ranging from 9½" x 6¼" to 16½" x 10½". Generally very good or better: some light edge wear, spotting and toning. This is a great group of press, professional and vernacular photographs, clippings and ephemera showing a slew of superstars of western entertainment, many of whom were women. The lively collection chronicles decades of rodeo and roping, and is rich with original photos as well as heavily illustrated promotion. Photographic flyers introduce and celebrate "The Tops in Team Roping Acts" including "Champion Roper Bobby Gordon and LaVenia" and Mary and Ed Rosco, experts in "Rope Spinning," "Fancy Whip Tricks" and "Gun Twirling." There is illustrated stationery for "The Roscos" and for "Bobby G. and Caroline Hodgson," "suitable for every occasion" such as theater and club shows, banquets and "Frontier Days." We meet "World Record Holder" in "Marathon Rope Spinning" Alex Laredo (the "Western Wonder") as well as "Amazing Danny Coflin and His Flying Ropes" and Rex Rossi, named "World Champion Trick Rider" in 1961 and "Trick Roper" ten years later. There's also a fabulous brochure for the "U.S. All Star Rodeo," held during the "1984 Olympic Games Wild West Show" in Los Angeles, and a mailer for the "Montie Montana Rodeo Ranch" offering trail rides, picnics, shows and a "rip-snortin' western time for you and your group." Fantastic original photographs range from homemade snapshots showing Shirley and Barney Flanigan of Davie, Florida, decked out and posing with their horses in the 1980s, to professional views of cowboys and -girls in action as early as 1925. We see Tom and Alice Privett mid-rope twirl, Wanda Rossi jumping her horse as she stands on its back, and several shots of Frank and Bernice Dean. Frank's obituary is also present, as a mailer from the International Trick and Fancy Ropers Association, which he founded in 1980. It tells us that "Bernice Hoppe and Frank Dean were married while employed with a Wild West Show at the Yokohama Exposition in 1935. It was the start of a long and successful career for this team . . ." They worked around the world together until Bernice died in 1980, and Frank performed alone until his death in 1985. Other photos in the group show Jack and Jewell Rinehart, Jack and Bobbie Knapp, Chet and Juanita Howell, Cy Compton in a "9 Horse Catch" in 1938 and three shots of Shirley Biron swinging her rope in 1955. We think the compiler was Gordie Peer of Okeechobee, Florida as the mailer was addressed to him; one of the photos was signed to him as well, and a few image versos show his ownership stamp. Peer's obituary deemed him "a true cowboy in every sense," who "lived a life that many would call an epic adventure . . . from cowboying and circus clowning to serving as a daredevil and stuntman." He was also a "beloved figure in Okeechobee, dedicating much of his time to educating children at the local library and hosting cowboy-themed events across the nation." A terrific collection of photos and promotion of celebrated western showmen and -women. An inventory is available. The Smithsonian holds the Chet and Juanita Howell Rodeo Collection (per the finding aid, "Mostly newspaper publicity and rodeo programs"), as well as a whip used by Frank Dean.

N° de réf. du vendeur 9133

Détails bibliographiques

• Titre: [Photographs and Promotional Ephemera for Trick Ropers and Rodeo Stars]
• Éditeur: [Various places including Florida, California and New York]
• Date de parution: 1985
• Reliure: Couverture souple
• Catalogues du vendeur:
  • Women
  • Rodeo