1898 Buffalo Bill Wild West Poster Found Behind Wall in Manistee

This is an incredible surprise.

A true blast from the past, someone in Manistee was removing paneling off the side of a building when they discovered what looks to be an original promotional poster from Buffalo Bill's Wild West traveling show.

The man, named Jesse Vanderbie, shared the post in the Facebook Group Michigan History: 

The caption read,

Found a blast from the past in Manistee today while stripping siding of this 1880's building. We are trying to come up with a plan to preserve it, it seems to be glued to the building. I'm sure we will uncover more as work progresses. Google says they visited Manistee in 1898.

I also decided to do a quick Google search and, sure enough, according to manisteenews.com, the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show passed through town in the summer of 1898.

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The Buffalo Bill Wild West Show, for those who don't know, is described by The History Channel as,

 a circus-like pageant celebrating life in the West.

Started by a man named William F. Cody, who was a scout for the army, Cody took the show across the nation over the course of four years often attracting crowds in the thousands. You can read more here.

As far as how to preserve the newly discovered piece of history people in the comment section of the Facebook post recommended everything from removing the entire section of the wall (which may be the best option) to painting it with a clear coat to protect it from the elements.

Whatever is decided I hope to one day see this in a local museum. What an fantastic and surprising find.