My return to college after a very long break has brought me invaluable rewards, thanks to the Autry National Center. As part of my graduate degree program at California State University, Northridge, I have had the pleasure of working with Erik Greenberg, the Autry’s Director of Education, and Liza Posas, Archivist and Head Librarian at the Braun Research Library, recording and archiving oral history interviews for the Autry National Center’s Western Oral History Program. The Western Oral History Program was created to help recover little-known stories and histories in Los Angeles from the post–WWII era (1945–present), as related by Autry docents.

Photograph of Nancy Maclean as a child in Croatia. Photo courtesy of Nancy Maclean.

The histories of the Autry docents encompass some amazing journeys that began, for some, in far-away places. There isn’t enough room here to share all of the interesting facts I learned during my internship—about not only Los Angeles but also distant lands such as the former Yugoslavia, Russia, and Germany. But for example, in listening to the oral history of Nancy Maclean we can experience the joy that she felt at being able to buy more than one egg at a time in a local supermarket—something that was unheard of in her native Yugoslavia in the 1960s; hear her unique interpretation of the Civil Rights movement based on her experiences growing up in Yugoslavia; and find out how she overcame a language barrier to become a pioneer in the field of quality control.

Listen to clips from the Nancy Maclean oral history interview:

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Nudie and his famous silver dollar-studded car. Photograph by Petrine Day Mitchum. Autry National Center; 97.148.24

Nudie Cohn (December 15, 1902–May 9, 1984) was a poor Russian immigrant who became one of the most famous and successful American Western wear designers of the twentieth century. Born Nuta (pronounced Noot-yah) Kotlyrenko to a Jewish boot maker and his wife in Kiev, Nuta was a tailor’s apprentice by age eight. At age eleven he was sent to America with his older brother to take up residence with relatives in Brooklyn, New York. At Ellis Island, his first name was misunderstood by immigration officers as “Nudie,” and the two brothers gave Cohn as their surname, to match their relatives in Brooklyn; thus Nudie Cohn was born.

Nudie tried his hand at many vocations, but the majority of his successful ventures were in tailoring. As a young man, he bounced between Los Angeles and New York City, and on one of these trips met his wife, Helen Barbara Kruger, in Minnesota. He nicknamed her “Bobbie,” and they married on September 4, 1933.

In New York City they opened Nudie’s for the Ladies, a boutique near Times Square that catered to burlesque dancers. It was here that Nudie started exploring the use of rhinestones and fanciful costumes. The couple returned to Minnesota in 1936, then moved with their two-year-old daughter Barbara to Los Angeles in 1940.

After a few false starts, Nudie and Bobbie eventually opened their own custom boot and Western wear shop in North Hollywood in 1963. Nudie’s Rodeo Tailors and Western Equipment on Lankershim Boulevard—complete with a horse statue out front—became a landmark in the San Fernando Valley. The workshop employed Manuel Cuevas, a top name in today’s Western couture world, shirt and pants maker Jaime Castaneda, who is still in the tailoring business in North Hollywood, and master embroiderers Viola Grae and Rose Clements.

Nudie is famous for outfitting Roy Rogers in rhinestone-studded fringe, creating the gold lamé suit Elvis wore in 1957, and the light-up suit donned by Robert Redford in The Electric Horseman. Nudie’s Rodeo Tailors’ clientele list is impressive, boasting such stars as Rex Allen, Gene Autry, Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, Pee Wee King, Dolly Parton, John Lennon, Mick Jagger, Janis Joplin, Gram Parsons and the Flying Burrito Brothers, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, and John Wayne. Nudie was also known for his cars, including a 1950 Hudson, which were embellished with steer horns and silver dollars, and for wearing mismatched boots—a nod, he says, to his impoverished childhood, when the only pair of shoes he had was mismatched hand-me-downs. Although Nudie never met with success as a musician, he also recorded and released his own album, Nudie and His Mandolin, in 1975.

Sketch of jacket design. Nudie’s Rodeo Tailors Archives, 1950-1994, Autry National Center, Los Angeles; MSA.30; Box 35, Pee Wee King folder, undated.

Sketches and swatches for Pee Wee King. Nudie’s Rodeo Tailors Archives, 1950-1994, Autry National Center, Los Angeles; MSA.30; Box 35, Pee Wee King folder, undated.

Nudie retired from Nudie’s Rodeo Tailors in the early 1980s, but his wife Bobbie and their granddaughter Jamie kept the business running until 1995. Nudie’s creations are celebrated today by museums, collectors, and fans of his clothing. Permanent exhibitions at institutions such as the Autry National Center, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, the Opryland Museum, and the Smithsonian Institution include pieces by Nudie’s Rodeo Tailors. Nudie’s designs are sought after as collector’s items and are still worn on stage by such performers as Beck and Emmylou Harris.

The Nudie’s Rodeo Tailors and Western Equipment Archives were donated to the Autry National Center in 1994. These records document the business’s activities from 1950 through the early 1990s. Documents include boot patterns and boot records and extensive customer clothing files. Many of Nudie’s custom clothes and boots have also been added to the Autry National Center’s collection.

Johnny Cash order. Nudie’s Rodeo Tailors Archives, 1950-1994, Autry National Center, Los Angeles; MSA.30; Box 26, Johnny Cash folder 1, 1977.

Sketches for Johnny Cash. Nudie’s Rodeo Tailors Archives, 1950-1994, Autry National Center, Los Angeles; MSA.30; Box 26, Johnny Cash folder 1, 1977.

Note from the Johnny Cash file. Nudie’s Rodeo Tailors Archives, 1950-1994, Autry National Center, Los Angeles; MSA.30; Box 26, Johnny Cash folder 1, 1977.

Black shirt design. Nudie’s Rodeo Tailors Archives, 1950-1994, Autry National Center, Los Angeles; MSA.30; Box 26, Johnny Cash folder 1, 1977.

Black pants design. Nudie’s Rodeo Tailors Archives, 1950-1994, Autry National Center, Los Angeles; MSA.30; Box 26, Johnny Cash folder 1, 1977.

Johnny Cash shirt design with tailoring notes. Nudie’s Rodeo Tailors Archives, 1950-1994, Autry National Center, Los Angeles; MSA.30; Box 26, Johnny Cash folder 1, 1977.

The Customer Clothing Files for Individuals section, which represents the bulk of the collection, often contains actual fabric swatches as well as drawings of individual items of clothing that Nudie was asked to design. Customers on file in the Autry’s Nudie’s Archives include Gene Autry, Cher and Sonny Bono, David Byrne, James Caan, Johnny Cash, Dick Clark, James Coburn, Tony Curtis, Cutter Bill, John Denver, Bob Dylan, Clint Eastwood, Chris Ethridge, Jerry Garcia, Elliot Gould, Merv Griffin, Gene Hackman, George Harrison, Chris Hillman, David Hockney, Mick Jagger, Janis Joplin, Pee Wee King, Louis L’Amour, k. d. lang, Lash LaRue, Cloris Leachman, John Lennon, Gordon Lightfoot, Audie Murphy, Mike Nesmith, Harry Nilsson, Nick Nolte, Phil Ochs, Graham Parsons, Dolly Parton, Bill Paxton, Slim Pickens, Elvis Presley, Robert Redford, and Porter Wagoner. Studio accounts include CBS, Columbia Pictures Corporation, Disneyland/Walt Disney Prod., KTLA TV, MGM, NBC, Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Universal Studios, Viacom, Warner Brothers, and Western Costume.

Keith Richards intake order form for bellbottoms. Nudie’s Rodeo Tailors Archives, 1950-1994, Autry National Center, Los Angeles; MSA.30; Box 42, Keith Richards, undated.

Sketches for designs for Keith Richards. Nudie’s Rodeo Tailors Archives, 1950-1994, Autry National Center, Los Angeles; MSA.30; Box 42, Keith Richards, undated.

Sometime this summer, the museum will unveil a case in the Imagination Gallery that explores the legacy of Nudie the Rodeo Tailor and the Nudie Archive housed at the Autry. The case will feature artifacts related to country-western singer Porter Wagoner, one of Nudie’s best and most visible clients.  The research and production of this exhibit is helped by the finding aid created for this collection under the NHPRC grant.

Nudie’s Rodeo Tailors was also frequented by every day folks, as I learned from co-workers as I processed this collection.  Our Exhibitions Project Manager Andi Alameda shared her story with me of visiting Nudie’s shop—where everyone in the county went for the best moccasins in the late 1960s.  If you have memories of Nudie, please share them in the comments section below!

The Golden Stallion (1949)

Roy Rogers and Quentin Tarantino:  how could these two possibly be connected?

In Tarantino’s film Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004), there is a clip of a Roy Rogers film playing on a television set in the background of a scene between the Bride and Bill. What on earth are Roy “King of the Cowboys” Rogers and Trigger “The Smartest Horse in the Movies” doing in a Tarantino film?

The answer is actually very straightforward: Tarantino is a fan of William Witney, who directed the featured Roy Rogers film The Golden Stallion (1949). In a September 2000 New York Times article, Tarantino discusses the director William Witney, and his admiration for Roy and Trigger’s friendship.  Witney directed many Western serials and Western feature films, and in the 1960s moved on to television programs. Among his credits are episodes of Sky King, Tales of Wells Fargo, Wagon Train, Bonanza, High Chaparral, The Virginian, and many other iconic series.

The Golden Stallion falls right in the middle of Witney’s career, and many view it as one of Trigger’s best films (if not Roy and Dale’s). It features diamond-smuggling horses, Trigger framed for murder, prison time for Roy (to save his best friend Trigger), and the birth of Trigger Jr., — all in 67 minutes.

Trigger Remembered (1989)

Witney grew so fond of Trigger that he wrote Trigger Remembered: An Affectionate Tribute to the Smartest Horse in the Movies (1989).   He also wrote In a Door, Into a Fight, Out a Door, and Into a Chase: Moviemaking Remembered by the Guy at the Door (1996), a book about his own early career as a director of Republic Pictures serials. The Autry Library is pleased to have a copy his memoir in the collection, and a copy of The Golden Stallion on VHS. If anyone is interested in donating a copy of Trigger Remembered, please leave a note in the comment section.

If you have seen the film The Golden Stallion, we would love to hear your thoughts about it in the comments section. Is it Trigger’s best film? Or would you like to argue for My Pal Trigger (1946)?

Cover of Evanstar, January 1948. Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Archive, Autry Library, Autry National Center; T2010-28.

Long before the Internet offered message boards, e-mail lists, and web pages dedicated to favorite stars, fans met in a different kind of virtual community.

Motion Picture Story Magazine and Photoplay pioneered the film fan magazine when they both debuted in 1911. Originally, film magazines focused on the technical side of the industry, but audiences began to clamor for more information about their favorite actors. This eager reading audience of fans supported a growing number of fan-targeted magazines created by both professional writers and fellow fans. An actor was not simply an actor now but also a personality performing a role in his or her real life, too. Roy Rogers and Dale Evans fully embraced the idea of star actor as personality, and they garnered many fans through their respect and reverence for their audiences.

Rogers and Evans were frequently featured along with other popular contemporary actors in nationally distributed film fan magazines, but they were the star attraction in their very own fan magazines. Early magazines from the 1940s were primarily text, but later issues—from the 1950s on—often featured images of Rogers and Evans and their growing family.

Cover from an early issue of Evanstar, circa 1944. Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Archive, Autry Library, Autry National Center; T2010-28.

Dale Evans’s fan magazine, Evanstar, stood on its own from its creation in 1944 until it merged in the early 1950s with Rogers’s fan magazine, The Double R-Bar Ranch News. Evanstar featured news updates along with several regular sections on personal appearances, new films, recordings, and newly published photos and articles in other magazines.

For dues of a dollar per year, an individual could become a member of the Dale Evans Fan Club (DEFC) and receive a subscription to Evanstar. In 1944 the club held a membership contest. For every ten new members a current member sent in, he or she would win a dollar in war stamps. By 1948, the DEFC claimed to have 300 members.

Like other fan magazines, Evanstar allowed fans to feel connected to one another through pen pal sections featuring addresses for club members looking to correspond with like-minded friends. Later issues frequently featured photographs of fans, giving them their own fifteen minutes of fame. Issues even included wedding and birth announcements sent in by fans, celebrating the life milestones of members of the fan community.

Lois, DEFC President, explained how Sherry the cat became the mascot of the DEFC: "Sherry was Dale's cat for more than a year, having been given to her by Roy as a Christmas gift in 1946. Last January Dale sent Sherry to me via Airway Express, and she has made herself right at home as a member of our family...Sherry extends greetings to you all and says she loved being a member of the official 'D.E.F.C.' family." Evanstar, May 1948, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Archive, Autry Library, Autry National Center; T2010-28.

One of the issues of Evanstar from 1944 featured a fan profile that told readers about the fan’s favorites in the same way that the magazine talked about the favorites of famous stars. This issue’s fan named green as her favorite color and Bob Hope as her favorite comedian. The fan, of course, admired Dale Evans, but she also had other interests, and the magazine was a place to share that with other Evans fans.

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Later issues of Evanstar featured photographs pasted into the magazine. This image was paired with a letter from Dale to the DEFC members in the January-April 1950 issue. Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Archive, Autry Library, Autry National Center; T2010-28.

In addition to the usual features, the January–April 1950 issue featured an article by the DEFC president’s mother, Charlotte Johnson. “What It’s Like to Be a Fan Club Prexy’s [President’s] Mother” detailed the inception of the Dale Evans fan club led by her daughter. At age fifteen, Lois told her mother that she was going to start a fan club for Dale. Her mother, responded, “A f-f-f-fan club? What’s that?”  She would soon find out what it meant. As she explained,

Once Evans and Rogers married, Rogers became a regular feature in Evanstar. Earlier photographs in the magazine featured images of the real Rogers, but the January-April 1950 issue featured him as a cardboard cutout. Rogers and Dale Evans Archive, Autry Library, Autry National Center; T2010-28.

Though the DEFC centered on Evanstar and Evans’s professional personality, it forged friendships between like-minded individuals—long before the concept of Facebook “friending”—and celebrated their lives nearly as much as it celebrated the life and personality of those fans’ beloved star, Dale Evans.

"I Love a Western," sponsored by Post Cereals and General Foods, from Tournament of Roses Giant Post Card booklet 1956. Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Archive, Autry Library, Autry National Center; T2010-28.

The Tournament of Roses Parade has delighted onlookers with its colorful floral floats since 1890. The 123rd Rose Parade on January 2, 2012, closed with a float with unusual riders. The original Trigger and Bullet, stuffed and mounted, rode on the RFD TV float with Roy Rogers Jr. and Dustin Rogers in honor of the 100th anniversary of Roy Rogers’s birth in 1911.

Image of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans used for the 1977 Official Parade Souvenir Program. Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Archive, Autry Library, Autry National Center; T2010-28.

The float tribute was fitting, as Roy Rogers and Dale Evans were frequent participants in the parade. In the 1950s the duo joined the festivities as float riders, appearing on floats for their sponsors Post Cereals and Chevrolet and as parade Grand Marshals in 1977. The Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Archive documents their Rose Parade adventures through official programs and commemorative pictorials that showcase the floats and capture the spirit of each year’s parade.

"The Covered Wagon," sponsored by Post Cereals and General Foods, from the 1954 Tournament of Roses Pictorial. Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Archive, Autry Library, Autry National Center; T2010-28.

Rogers and Evans’s first appearance on a Rose Parade float was on the 1954 Grand Prize–winning “The Covered Wagon,” sponsored by Post Cereals and General Foods. Since Post Cereals sponsored their television series, the float partnership was natural. This first float was covered in hybrid orchids, Hawaiian torch ginger, anthurium, roses, and carnations. The program called it “one of the most vivid entries” in the parade’s history.

"Go West Young Man," sponsored by Post Cereal and General Foods from the Tournament of Roses Review 1955. Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Archive, Autry Library, Autry National Center; T2010-28.

Rogers and Evans continued to work with Post Cereals on floats with such themes as “Go West, Young Man” and “I Love a Western.” “Go West, Young Man” won the Governor’s Trophy for “best characterization of romance of California” in 1955.  The float featured Rogers and Evans atop a mountain, with a moving waterfall made of sweet peas and Vanda orchids. At the opposite end of the float, two children reading a book were circled by imagery drawn from the popular Western imagination, described in the program as “an Indian on the warpath, a stage coach, and a train.”

"Adventures in Spotsmanship," sponsored by Chevrolet and General Motors from the Tournament of Roses Pictorial 1959. Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Archive, Autry Library, Autry National Center; T2010-28.

After a brief float hiatus, Rogers and Evans returned as float riders from 1959 to 1961, debuting Chevrolet’s new sponsorship with “Adventures in Sportsmanship” for that year’s theme, Adventures in Flowers. The 1959 float featured more than 12,000 Vanda orchids and 8,000 American Beauty roses, not to mention the rainbow of carnations, chrysanthemums, anthuriums, bachelor’s buttons, croton leaves, poinsettias, and gladioli utilized to bring to life a scene from an “All-American Soap Box Derby.”

Roy Rogers and Dale Evans as Grand Marshals of the Rose Parade, from the Tournament of Roses Pictorial 1977. Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Archive, Autry Library, Autry National Center; T2010-28.

In 1977 Rogers and Evans were honored as parade Grand Marshals. As of that year they were the first parade participants to be both veteran float riders and Grand Marshals, and also the first husband and wife team. Rogers and Evans’s marriage had occurred on New Year’s Eve 1947, making this Rose Parade a wedding anniversary of sorts and the honor of being first married couple Grand Marshals even more meaningful.

The 1977 parade program stated that Rogers and Evans completely represented the theme of “The Good Life.” It is not hard to imagine that many fans agreed with this statement. The King of the Cowboys and Queen of the West represented a nostalgic American ideal, making them fitting leaders for something as nostalgic and American as the annual Rose Parade.

Instead it came from a hardworking team.
Read beyond the slideshow to see what I mean…

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MARVA, her vision and guidance keeps us on track
and with the most unique name, she leads this pack.

MALLORY, a friend to Dortort, Roy & Dale.
A wizard with WordPress, she works it without fail

HOLLY, crafts finding aids with focus and speed.
She’s all about the archives thanks to N.H.P.R.C.

CHARLIE, “the Brit” and expert of everything Theo.
Her worldliness in photography makes an impressive portfolio

CHERYL, treasures can’t be found without this Cataloging Queen.
Just a mere offering of bubble wrap and books will be seen

MANOLA, as a keen tracker, she’s the best researchers’ tool.
If you think she can’t find something, then you’re a fool.

LIZA, archivist, librarian, and Excel spreadsheet geek;
she and the rest will be gone this particular week.

It is not a tale, it is true,
the Libraries will be closed from December twenty-six to January two.

Until then, enjoy this gathering of collection images
capturing the spirit of past seasonal scenes and visages.

Picked with care for your entertainment
and even to go with this sing-a-long statement.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And days o’ lang syne!

From the Library Ladies of the Autry National Center
we wish you a Happy New Year and a Oh-so Jolly Winter!

Marva Felchlin, Directory of Autry Library and Research Services
Mallory Furnier, Processing Archivist for the Roy Rogers and Dale Even Archives
Holly Rose Larson, NHPRC Processing Archivist
Charlie Holland, Archivist Assistant for the Theo Westenberger Archives
Cheryl Miller, Senior Cataloging and Metadata Librarian
Manola Madrid, Research Services Assistant
Liza Posas, Head Librarian of the Braun Research Library and Autry Archivist

Click here to see more information about the slideshow images and other research collections from the Autry National Center.

Through a grant-funded project awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), the Autry sets out to process approximately 2,000 linear feet of archival material over the next two years.  Every third week of the month, the Autry Libraries blog will feature collection gems brought to light by NHPRC Processing Archivist Holly Rose Larson.

Image made by Eunice Alter. Courtesy of Gene Autry Entertainment.

You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen…and whether you celebrate Christmas or not, you have definitely heard of the most famous reindeer of all: Rudolph!

Gene Autry made Rudoph a household name when he recorded the cross-over hit song in 1949.  It sold 10 million copies by 1977.  What’s funny is that the song itself was passed over quite a bit, just as its namesake was, before it was given an opportunity to shine for all to see.

Caption: A 1946 edition of the Montgomery Ward booklet. 2009.1.1.1, Autry National Center.

Robert May wrote the story of Rudolph for a Montgomery Ward promotional booklet in 1939.  His brother-in-law, Johnny Marks, turned the story into a song, recorded a demo, and sent it out to numerous popular recording artists, including Dinah Shore and Bing Crosby, before sending it to Gene Autry.   Gene gave it a listen, but was not impressed.  He played it for his wife, Ina, who loved it and suggested that it would be a big hit.  Carl Cotner, Gene’s long-time arranger, also encouraged the Singing Cowboy to do it. On June 27, 1949 Gene went in the studio and laid down the track.  And, if you can believe this, Autry writes in his autobiography Back in the Saddle Again, that it was done in one take!

From the little reindeer who was never invited to play in his mates’ games sprung a hit song that has been recorded by scores of artists, a beloved stop-motion animated movie, and even a children’s book about a dog who misheard the lyrics…

Caption: Olive, the Other Reindeer by Vivian Walsh and J.otto Seibold, Chronicle Books, 1997.

http://www.chroniclebooks.com/titles/olive-the-other-reindeer.html

To learn more about Rudolph’s story, Gene Autry, and to hear a live radio performance of the song, visit http://www.autry.com/clubhouse/christmas/geneautry_rudolph.html

Thank you to Maxine Hansen of Gene Autry Entertainment for the fact-checking and extra details!

As we delve deeper into the extensive Theo Westenberger Archive at the Autry, we wanted to share one aspect of her work that truly reflects Westenberger’s joyful personality: her approach to self-promotion. When she wanted to draw attention to her work during the Christmas season, she asked her friends and clients—quite literally—to “look at me!”

As a professional photographer in the 1980s and 1990s, Westenberger, who was based in New York, worked in the highly competitive field of commercial and editorial photography. In that world, photographers had to be their own relentless self-promoters. Like other photographers, she went to considerable expense to take out advertisements in the leading industry publications such as Black Book and Workbook. These glossy directories were circulated to leaders in the creative and advertising industry and used as a resource to find an appropriate photographer for an assignment.

Every photographer also produced small printed pieces that were mailed out to clients, potential clients, and industry contacts. These were tailored to show off the photographer’s recent work, stimulate interest in their style, keep their name in mind, and ultimately win a project assignment. These “mailers” represented a considerable investment. At their own expense, photographers produced images, hired the best designers and printers, and bought extensive industry mailing lists to extend their contact databases.

Theo Westenberger, however, started a tradition that set her apart from other photographers. She designed, photographed, and starred in her own Christmas cards, which she had printed and sent out to all her friends and industry contacts. These were always inspired, silly, humorous—and creative. Sometimes she inserted herself into a set that she had specially built for an assignment, but in the examples shown here she executed an original idea starring herself!

The Autry is lucky to have copies of twelve different “season’s greetings” made by Westenberger during her career. Sparing no expense, and giving free rein to her own sense of humor, she made cards that people would keep well beyond the New Year. Here is just one example:

The cards also illuminate another side of Westenberger: she always surrounded herself with a good team and was happy to credit her colleagues for their work. In this card she credits Rob Capozzoli as the model maker who created her Christmas tree out of hair, her makeup artist Adiah, and stylist Linda Sampson.

For this card, sent in the early 1990s (a parody of the poster for the movie The Birds), she credits twelve people, including herself and her husband Jay Colton, for the production!

The greeting for her 2003 card showing the bears in conference is, “Hope the New Year brings you a market share of good times anyway. Cheers, Theo.”

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The last card in the collection is one she sent in 2006 as a New Year’s greeting. She photographed herself in a Japanese “photo booth,” which automatically formatted the images. Westenberger had visitedJapanin the winter of 2003 and may have had the pictures taken then. The inside reads, “This Holiday have a groovy time! Theo W.”

Another key method Westenberger used for self-promotion was the photographer’s portfolio and Theo created some unique portfolios. We will share some of her portfolios  with you in the New Year.

For now, Happy Holidays from the Theo Westenberger Archive!

Roy Rogers' Christmas Campaign booklet cover excerpt. Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Archive, Autry Library, Autry National Center; T2010-28.

In addition to running promotional contests and charity campaigns, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans had a merchandising empire to advertise. Throughout the 1950s Roy Rogers Enterprises created advertising campaigns tied in with major magazine publications and timed them to coincide with the Christmas holiday. The items sold in these ads were not Christmas themed, but they positioned Rogers merchandise as an essential element of happy children during the holidays and assured retailers that stocking these branded items guaranteed them good sales at the close of the year.

Roy Rogers Enterprises appeals to retailers with their LIFE magazine advertisement campaign. Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Archive, Autry Library, Autry National Center; T2010-28.

Roy Rogers Enterprises promoted a retail merchandising event for the 1953 Christmas season through Life magazine. A booklet intended for retailers showcased a preprint of the multipage pictorial advertisement depicting Rogers and small-fry fans having fun with a variety of branded products. Retail owners were told that Rogers was not only “King of the Cowboys” but also “Monarch of Merchandising.”

An image and caption from Rogers' LIFE magazine advertisement campaign. Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Archive, Autry Library, Autry National Center; T2010-28.

In the ad campaign, Rogers guaranteed parents he would not charge a premium for placing his name on products, and that all merchandise received rigorous testing “in one of the nation’s largest testing bureaus” to assure that his product “equals in quality any merchandise selling in the same price range.” His name, rather than adding an extra dollar value, was intended to give “assurance that this item is an authentic value.” Such statements let retailers and buyers know that Rogers’s products would live up to his reputation as a trusted and reliable household name.

Two of many toy guns to choose from in the 1955 advertisement booklet sent to retailers. Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Archive, Autry Library, Autry National Center; T2010-28.

Guns weren't the only toys on offer in 1955. This inflatable Trigger is ready to ride the range. Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Archive, Autry Library, Autry National Center; T2010-28.

Though Rogers and Evans were serious about their religion, the focus in these Christmas advertisements left out religious references in favor of Santa. A 1955 advertisement campaign for Life and Look magazines declared, “YIP-E-E! Roy Rogers again rides high on Santa’s gift list” with a “2-gun, 6 round” campaign. Materials featured in the promotional campaign included toy guns of every shape and size, clothing, watches, belts, gloves, and bedspreads. The ad, with its appealing array of toys and apparel, positioned drawings of Santa and Rogers at the top, as if the two were working in cahoots to make children’s dreams come true.

Cover announcing the 1958 Christmas promotion. Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Archive, Autry Library, Autry National Center; T2010-28.

By 1958 it appears that the seasonal ad campaign was expected, as a preview of the ad to appear in Ladies’ Home Journal declared it presented “the Roy Rogers 1958 Christmas Promotion” and reminded readers that “no other western brand supports you year-after-year [sic] like Roy Rogers.” The ad showcased the usual suspects, including toy guns, clothing, and Western-themed playsets.

Reverse of the 1958 Christmas promotion ad, intended to run in Ladies' Home Journal. Part of the illustration's caption reads, "All the things you see here...except the beds, boys and dog...are real Roy Rogers togs and toys." Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Archive, Autry Library, Autry National Center; T2010-28.

By timing a massive ad campaign to coincide with an increasingly consumer-centric holiday, Rogers’s marketing team promised a boost in sales for both retailers and Roy Rogers Enterprises. The longevity of the campaigns through the 1950s suggests that shoppers responded to the ads just as expected, by purchasing Roy Rogers and Dale Evans items from their children’s wish lists.

Photogravure, 1880. Autry National Center; 91.39.19

I discovered that a Western book and artifact dealer donated this and 24 other similarly formatted images of male and female criminals in 1991. Neither the catalog record nor the information files kept for each acquisition revealed anything more about these photographs, so I turned to Google. Kid Glove Rosey, it turns out, was arrested in New York in 1880 with “Black Lena,” one of the other shoplifters in this collection. Both were in possession of stolen fabric and served time for shoplifting in the penitentiary on Blackwell’s Island. Now, this was getting interesting!

Since there were more hits for Black Lena than for Kid Glove Rosey, I followed the links to Lena’s story. Finally, I found what I think is the source of these images and a most interesting book—Professional Criminals in America by Thomas F. Byrnes (1842–1910), Inspector of Police and Chief of Detectives, New York City, copyrighted in 1886. (Thank you, Google Books for providing access to the contents!)

Photogravure, 1880. Autry National Center; 91.39.19

When I took the first image out of its acid-free envelope, it was clear that it was not an original photograph. Furthermore, it appeared to be taken right out of the book. I asked the Autry’s chief conservator for help. Using a stereomicroscope, he determined that the Autry’s images are indeed photogravures and likely did come from the book.

Although we may never know why these images were taken out of the book or whether they were they used in police work, we now have a probable source, accurate dates, information about the criminals, and a better description of the process that was used to produce the images. Hopefully, a researcher or blog reader will come forward with more information. (Sorry, no reward.)

Below are the lady shoplifters, pickpockets, and sneaks of the group with brief excerpts from their descriptions in Professional Criminals of America. For more detailed information, go to the page number in the book found under each photograph below.

Click here to see all 25 images in the Autry’s collection.

Page 197

Shoplifter

Thirty-nine years old in 1886. Born in Germany. Married. Housekeeper.

  Page 198

Shoplifter

Fifty-one years old in 1886. Born in Germany. Married. Housekeeper. Stout build. Height about 5 feet, 5 inches. Weight about 150 pounds. Wrinkled face.

Photogravure, 1875. Autry National Center; 91.39.25

Page 199

Pickpocket, shoplifter, and bludgeon worker

Fifty years old in 1886. Born in Ireland. Single. Very fleshy, coarse woman. Talks with somewhat of an Irish brogue. A well-known New York pickpocket, shoplifter, and prostitute, and a coarse, vulgar woman who would stop at nothing to carry her point.

Photogravure, 1879. Autry National Center; 91.39.3

Page 202

Pickpocket

Forty-two years old in 1886. Born in Ireland. Married. Housekeeper. A remarkably tall, thin woman; big lips. She is very quick in her actions and difficult to follow.

Photogravure, 1882. Autry National Center; 91.39.23

Page 203

Tillie Pheiffer, alias Martin, also alias Kate Collins

Hotel and house sneak

Thirty-six years old in 1886. Born in France. Servant. Her specialty is to enter a hotel or flat and wander up through the house until she finds a room door open, when she enters and secures whatever is handy and decamps.

Photogravure, 1882. Autry National Center; 91.39.23

Page 204

Mary Busby, alias Johnson, alias Mitchell

Pickpocket and shoplifterForty-eight years old in 1886. Born in England. Married. Stout build. . . . a clever pickpocket and shoplifter, and is well known in all the large cities. Harry Busby, alias Broken-nose Busby (135), her husband, is an old New York pickpocket and “stall.”