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Very Rare and original, 1932 Autographed Letter Signed by the \"baby brother\" of the famous African American Wild West Show Performer and Rodeo Star Bill Pickett written to Colonel Zack Miller - owner and manager of the Miller Brothers 101 Ranch Wild West Show - inquiring about the circumstances of the death of Bill Pickett.
This fascinating letter is dated May 3rd, 1932 and is written to Colonel Zack T. Miller the manager of the Miller Bros. 101 Ranch Wild West Show. It is fully manuscript and is written by Ben F. Pickett the youngest brother of Wild West and Rodeo Star Bill Picket.
The Letter measures 7 7/8\" by 9 3/8\" and is written in pencil in a somewhat juvenile style.
The Letter reads as follows:
Houston, Texas. 5-3-32
Col. Zack Miller; -
c/o 101 Ranch Wild West Show
Arkansas City, Kansas
Co. Zack I am writing for information on my Brothers Death. Bill Pickett. As I am his baby brother and I would like very much to learn By return mail and thanking you many times in return.
Your humble servant
Ben F. Pickett
708 West Dallas,
Houston, Texas\"
At the time this Letter was written Colonel Zack Miller was the sole \"Miller Brother\" managing and trying to salvage the 101 Ranch Wild West Show. In April of 1932, after having retired from the Wild West Shows, Bill Pickett was killed when he was kicked in the head by a wild bronco at the 1010 Ranch in Oklahoma.
Willie M. \"Bill\" Pickett (December 5, 1870 - April 2, 1932) was a cowboy, rodeo, and Wild West show performer. Bill Pickett was born in the Jenks-Branch community of Travis County, Texas near Taylor, Texas in 1870. He was the second of 13 children born to Thomas Jefferson Pickett, a former slave, and Mary \"Janie\" Gilbert. Pickett had four brothers and eight sisters. The family\'s ancestry was African-American and Cherokee. Pickett left school in the 5th grade to become a ranch hand; he soon began to ride horses and watch the longhorn steers of his native Texas.He invented the technique of bulldogging, the skill of grabbing cattle by the horns and wrestling them to the ground. It was known among cattlemen that, with the help of a trained bulldog, a stray steer could be caught. Bill Pickett had seen this happen on many occasions. He also thought that if a bulldog could do this feat, so could he. Pickett practiced his stunt by riding hard, springing from his horse, and wrestling the steer to the ground. Pickett\'s method for bulldogging was biting a cow on the lip and then falling backwards. This method eventually lost popularity as the sport morphed into the steer wrestling that is practiced in rodeos today. Pickett soon became known for his tricks and stunts at local country fairs. With his four brothers, he established The Pickett Brothers Bronco Busters and Rough Riders Association. The name Bill Pickett soon became synonymous with successful rodeos. He did his bulldogging act, traveling about in Texas, Arizona, Wyoming, and Oklahoma. In 1905, Pickett joined the 101 Ranch Wild West Show that featured the likes of Buffalo Bill, Cowboy Bill Watts, Will Rogers, Tom Mix, Bee Ho Gray, and Zach and Lucille Mulhall. Pickett was soon a popular performer who toured around the world and appeared in early motion pictures, such as a movie created by Richard E. Norman. Pickett\'s ethnicity resulted in his not being able to appear at many rodeos, so he often was forced to claim that he was of Comanche heritage in order to perform. In 1921, he appeared in the films “The Bull-Dogger” and “The Crimson Skull”. In 1932, after having retired from the Wild West Shows, Bill Pickett was killed when he was kicked in the head by a wild bronco at the Miller Brothers 101 Ranch in Oklahoma.
This wonderful and poignant, original Autograph Letter Signed from the brother of Bill Pickett to Colonel Zack T. Miller is in very good condition. The sheet has some light and uniform age toning and two light horizontal creases as sent through the mail. There is some edge wear and some chipping at the corners as can be seen in the scans below. The letter is matted for display but not framed.
The signature and handwriting of Ben Pickett are unconditionally guaranteed authentic and original and the Signature and text are unconditionally guaranteed to be in the hand of the brother of Bill Pickett. The Letter and the Signature are backed by our “no questions asked” return policy and lifetime guarantee of authenticity. The Signature and Letter are unconditionally guaranteed to be deemed authentic by any third party authentication service and the Letter will be accompanied by our own Letter of Authenticity with a statement of our unconditional return policy and guarantee of authenticity.
A very rare and fascinating, 1932 Autographed Letter Signed by the \"baby brother\" of the famous African American Wild West Show Performer and Rodeo Star Bill Pickett written to Colonel Zack Miller - owner and manager of the Miller Brothers 101 Ranch Wild West Show - inquiring about the circumstances of the death of Bill Pickett and a fantastic addition to any collection!!
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Important Notes about Shipping Charges:
The amount quoted for Shipping & Handling is calculated by and is equal to the EXACT amount charged by the Post Office plus a $1.00 \"packing fee\" - the $1.00 fee is our only compensation for the virgin packing materials we use on all of our professionally packaged boxes as well as our cost for the salaried help that does most of our packing - as I am sure you can see, we make NO profit on the Shipping charges and, in fact, our costs are usually greater than the $1.00 fee. Please contact us if there are any issues regarding the cost of shipping.
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On Jul-26-14 at 20:49:44 PDT, seller added the following information:
IT SHOULD BE NOTED: In 1993 the United states Postal Service issued a stamp honoring African American Wild West Show and Rodeo Hall of Famer Bill Pickett. That Stamp was recalled because the portrait used on the Stamp was NOT that of Bill Pickett but rather of his youngest brother Ben F. Pickett!!!
