[American Tobacco Premium Toy] Honest Long Cut “Buffalo Bill Wild West Show” Mechanical Game (Movable Toy Set, ca. 1890s). Complete Set with Program, Board, and All Figures.
New York: American Tobacco Company, ca. 1890s.
Movable toy set. Original complete set comprising 38 chromolithographed die-cut cards (figures), 6 Act cards, program booklet, and original slotted cardboard play board. Each figure with blank tab bearing alphanumeric placement designator corresponding to a stage position, as per the program.
Designated "N143" in The American Card Catalog (Jefferson Burdick, 1960). Issued as a premium by the American Tobacco Company to promote its Honest Long Cut tobacco. The program and baseboard were available upon request by mail or through a local tobacconist. Individual die-cut figures were distributed one per 2 oz. tobacco package.
This nineteenth-century premium toy recreates a six-act “Buffalo Bill Wild West Show” and is rarely found in complete form. Figures were designed to slot into the accompanying board to form staged tableaux per the supplied program. Known pieces were not consecutively numbered; see checklist at Vintage Cards Tobacco Premiums for verification of component list.
Condition:
All elements are original to this set. Three figures are lacking original alphanumeric tabs; two others have reattached tabs secured with archival removable tape. All other figures are intact with original unbroken tabs. Program and play board are complete and clean with expected age toning and minimal edgewear. Overall in very good condition, Set includes:
38 die-cuts + 6 “Act” tabs:
Mountain landscape (“1”)
Mountain landscape 2 (“1a”)
Mountain landscape 3 (“1b”)
Small teepee (“2”) (missing number at the bottom)
Indians walking through mountain pass (“3”)
Teepee (“4”)
Teepee – animal paintings (“5”) (number has been reattached)
Indian shooting bow while mounted (“6”)
Large teepee (“7”)
Indian riding brown horse, holding rope (“8”)
Large teepee with sun signs (“9”) (missing number at the bottom)
Buffalo herd (“10”)
Indian riding black horse, holding rope (“11”)
Indian on horse holding rifle (“15”)
Stagecoach, cowboys shooting out of it (“17”)
Horses from stagecoach (two tabs on this card: “18” and “19”) (Tiny repaired tear)
Indian shot, falling from horse (“21”)
Indian shooting bow while mounted, pointing away from the viewer (“23 1st”)
Cowboy shooting rifle while mounted – pointed towards the viewer (“23 2d”)
Indian holding onto the side of a running horse (“25”)
Cowboy riding a white horse, shooting pistol (“27”) (the number has been reattached)
Indian riding running a Pinto (“28”) (missing number at the bottom)
Cowboy shooting rifle while mounted – running to the left (“31”)
Indian falling off an injured horse (“32”)
ALL Lettered tabs:
Indian sitting, beating drum (“A”)
Indian dancing, holding shield and spear (“B”)
Cowboy to left of covered wagon (“C”)
Cowboy with covered wagon – side view (“F”)
Cowboy shooting pistol behind horse (“G”)
Indian squatting with shield (“H”)
Indian running with shield (“I”)
Indian with raised shield (“J”)
Indian running with shield – seen from behind (“K”)
Indian holding shield – bent over (“M”)
Indian kneeling – seen from behind (“N”)
Cowboy riding bucking horse (“R”)
Cowboy riding buffalo (“V”)
Cowboy shooting rifle while mounted – pointed behind horse (“X”)
ALL Act Tabs:
Act 1st: Attack On Deadwood Coach
Act 2nd: The Rescue
Act 3rd: Buffalo Riders Bucking Bronchos
Act 4th: Surrounding A Wagon Train
Act 5th: Scalp Dance
Act 6th: The Last Shot