1873 ROCKWOOD WILD BILL HICKOK PORTRAIT POSTER

This historic portrait was taken in 1873 by George Gardner Rockwood at his New York studio three years before Hickok's death in Deadwood. He was an imposing man at 6ft height ... and a dapper dresser. Well dressed and clean, which was not common during that era, endeared him to the lady folk. James Butler Hickok was born in May 1837 and died in August 1876 at the age of 39 at a gambling table in Deadwood, South Dakota. He was a lawman, gambler, and expert marksman. He epitomized the old west shoot out and came out with the upper hand in many, to the detriment of those who faced him. Hickok visited New York attending to theatrical business and perhaps meeting with Buffalo Bill Cody and his Wild West Show. He did not fit in. One night while wandering around New York City he came into a pool room. Inside were several local thugs playing pool, and when they saw the long haired frontiersman come in they thought they would have some sport with him. One thing led to another and soon five or six of them lay unconscious on the pool room floor. When asked about the incident by Buffalo Bill, Hickok said "I got lost among the hostiles", drawing a parallel between the pool room thugs and being caught by Indians on the plains. Eventually, Hickok tired of all the show business stuff and left for the West he so loved.