It's one of several films released of Buffalo Bill Cody, famed hero of the Wild West...Or was he? His celebrity, which still survives to this day, isn't based on his being a buffalo hunter in the 1860s. There were many of those, and Cody is about the only one we know of. His continued celebrity rests on his having been a canny showman and publicist, portrayed in Dime Novels, Wild West Shows bearing his name, movies like this and ANNIE OAKLEY, Broadway shows like ANNIE GET YOUR GUN, television (go check the IMDb listing for "Buffalo Bill Cody" and you'll find over fifty listings for the character), a screen actor who went under the name of "Buffalo Bill Jr."...You name it, it's there. Because there is a persistence of celebrity, just like there is a persistence of momentum. Sometimes celebrity continues, even when the reasons for it have vanished. There seem to be people famous just for being famous. You hear someone say "Look! It's Buffalo Bill Cody!" and point and that's how you know him. Later, you point and say it too.Anyway, this is one from a paper print at the Library of Congress. It's impossible to make out any details. Perhaps one day they'll use the new transfer machines to make a better print and we will be able to see William F. Cody in sharp detail. It makes little difference either way.

Buffalo Bill's Wild West Parade (1902) Biograph film showing a parade down Fifth Avenue with cowboys, indians and more.Brook Trout Fishing (1902) Biograph film showing a man catching a fish and netting it.Automobile Race for the Vanderbilt Cup (1904) Biograph shorts is a pretty interesting one if you enjoy car races or just watching very old cars work. Once again, due the technology of the time we get the race from various cameras, which is a bit uneven.Assembling a Generator, Westinghouse Works (1904) Biograph short shows some men putting a generator together. Not very safe equipment if I may say so. G.W. Bitzer on camera.Assembling and Testing Turbines (1904) Biograph short shot at the same time as the above film but this time we see (shock) just what the title says. Bitzer on camera again.