Four Years in Europe with Buffalo Bill

William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody was the entertainment industry’s first international celebrity, achieving worldwide stardom with his traveling Wild West show. For three decades he operated and appeared in various incarnations of “the western world’s greatest traveling attraction,” enthralling audiences around the globe. When the show reached Europe it was a sensation, igniting “Wild West fever” by offering what purported to be a genuine experience of the American frontier. By any standard Charles Eldridge Griffin (1859–1914), manager of the Wild West’s European tour, was a remarkable man. Known by the stage names of Monsieur F. Le Costro, Professor Griffin, and the Yankee Yogi, he was an author, comedian, conjurer, contortionist, dancer, fire-eater, hypnotist, illusionist, lecturer, magician, newspaper owner, publisher, sword swallower, and yogi. His account of life on the road with the Wild West show, published here for the first time since its release in 1908, opens a window on a vanished world. In addition to line drawings and photographs from the original book, Chris Dixon provides an introduction and annotations for historical context. Griffin’s story of traveling with Buffalo Bill in Europe from 1903 to 1906 presents a fascinating picture of a quintessentially American character. At the same time it offers a vision of the nation on the verge of nationalism, imperialism, and an emerging global mass culture.

http://abcofreading.blogspot.com/2010/09/perfect-book-review-and-lunch.html, “This edition of Charles Griffin’s memoir offers a singular perspective on the international mass entertainment spectacle that was Buffalo Bill’s Wild West. Griffin’s travel narrative helps account for the extraordinary appeal of the Wild West mythology among European audiences, offering details about “Buffalo Bill” Cody, his business operation, and its cultural context unavailable anywhere else. As an authentic reproduction, with the benefit of Dixon’s extensive research, this edition will be a key resource for scholars while also appealing to a more general audience.”—Frank Christianson, editor of the forthcoming edition, The Life of Hon. William F. Cody, Known as Buffalo Bill, "Although Griffin was an amazing man in his own right, his book is most important because he explores the European culture that eagerly sought Buffalo Bill's presentation of the story of America's Wild West and he lets the reader experience the European setting in which the performances played out."—Loren Pospisil, Nebraska History

Chris Dixon is a senior research fellow in the Department of Modern Languages at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland.