Passed
Click image to enlarge
Description
28" (71 cm.) Standing upon a velvet-covered wooden platform is a tall and slender gentleman,posed pretentiously,one leg angled to the side. He has a paper-mache head with elongated slender shape,aquiline nose,brown glass eyes,articulated eyelids,hinged jaw,double row of painted teeth,brunette human hair in flowing style,long curled moustache and goatee,elongated carton torso,slender legs,paper-mache hands sculpted as wearing gloves. He is wearing his original kidskin costume with theatrical-like beaded trim,fleecy collar,wide belt over velvet sash,paper-mache knee-high boots with straps,and signature horseshoe fob. He holds a cigarette holder in his right hand,and a rifle in his left hand.Movements. He opens and closes his eyelids as though anticipating the pleasure of smoking,turns his head side-to-side,leans his head down,lifts the cigarette holder to his mouth and inhales. He then lowers the cigarette,tilts his head back in satisfaction and exhales. Although it appears that he actually inhales and exhales,actually the smoke moves through a series of hidden internal rubber tubes. Gustave Vichy,circa 1890,the model was deposed by Vichy as "Buffalo Bill" and appears in a classic costume worn by the celebrity for his Wild West Show that toured Europe at this time to grand success. It is the only model on which Vichy actually bestowed the celebrity's name in his catalog description. An original brass Vichy plaque appears on the velvet base. Ex-collection Samuel F. Pryor,Jr. from which it was acquired by Jerry Steinbaum.