Title: Letter from William F. Cody to Clarence W. Rowley
Date: November 4, 1913
Author: Cody, William Frederick, 1846-1917
More metadata
S. F. Dutton, President
The Albany
Denver, Colo.
The Albany Fireproof Annex
Every Room with Bath
November 4, 1913.
Mr. Clarence W. Rowley, Atty. At law,
638 Old South Bldg.,
Boston, Mass.
Dear Clarence:—
Your favor of October 28th came to hand. I have just returned from the taking of over four miles of the greatest motion pictures ever taken. It was a remarkable, exciting hard working trip, but a success from start to finish. [1] The reels have been sent to the Essenay factory of Chicago, and the producer is leaving here today, who will connect up the pictures taken; then we are ready for business. [2] Just how they will be handled for money we have not full decided as yet. We are getting offers not only from all over America, but from Great Britain and Europe for these pictures. It may be that we will first produce them in Washington, D.C., then Madison Square Garden, N.Y., Boston and all the large cities before putting them on the market. If this plan is carried out, I will lecture on these pictures in all the large cities. [3]
I am going to run up to Cody and go to my ranch for a few days rest before going East. I have not done anything positive with the mines yet, as I have been so busy I just could not give it a thought. If you can think out any plan by which those mines could be handled and could get anyone to take them over, say, someone like Mr. Jordan, or any of your Boston friends, I will make the most liberal terms with them possible. [4] Now I am in a great hurry and I wish you would write me at Cody, Wyo.
Your friend,
W. F. Cody
The Albany Hotel Denver
and New Fire Proof Annex
Opens July 1st, 1912
Total Capacity 360 Rooms
300 Rooms with Bath
100 Display Rooms with Bath
Denver, Colo 1913 Nov 4 130 PM
[stamp]Postage stamp, redU. S. Postage 2 Cents 2
Mr. Clarence W. Rowley, Atty.at Law,
638 Old South Bldg.,
Boston,
Mass.
Note 1: Cody refers to the filming of his motion picture entitled The Indian Wars. Much of the photography for this project was done on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota in October 1913. Unfortunately, Cody's motion picture (as did almost all motion pictures of the time) used nitrate film stock, which disintegrates over time and is highly flammable. Only small fragments of Cody's film are reported to still be in existence. [back]
Note 2: The Essanay Film Manufacturing Company (which was actually a motion picture studio) was based in Chicago for most of its existence from 1907 to 1918. The company's name stood for "S and A," the initials of its two founders, George K. Spoor and Gilbert M. "Broncho Billy" Anderson (1880-1971). Essanay's Western films starring Anderson did much to establish the genre as a staple of American cinema. [back]
Note 3: Cody did eventually go on a short lecture tour with his motion pictures, in February and March of 1916. The tour began at New Rochelle, New York, and ended in New York City. [back]
Note 4: Cody refers to mining ventures near Tucson, Arizona, co-owned with Daniel Burns Dyer. In 1912 the partners realized that the earnings from their mines were unlikely to recoup their initial investments. Dyer died soon thereafter. While Clarence Rowley's "Boston friends" remain unidentified, Cody never found a buyer for the mines during his lifetime. [back]
Title: Letter from William F. Cody to Clarence W. Rowley
Source: McCracken Research Library (MRL), MS6.0291
Date: November 4, 1913
Author: Cody, William Frederick, 1846-1917
Topic: Buffalo Bill's Wyoming
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