Skip to main content
Rock Island Auction Company
AuctionsConsignmentLatestFAQAbout us
Log InCreate Account
Rock Island Auction CompanyRock Island Auction Company
Contact us
1-309-797-15001-800-238-8022[email protected]
Locations
Bedford, TX
3600 Harwood RoadBedford, Texas 76021, USA
Rock Island, IL
7819 42nd Street WestRock Island, Illinois 61201, USA
Hours
Monday - Friday8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Navigation
AuctionsConsignmentLatestFAQAbout usAccount
More Info
Terms & ConditionsPrivacy PolicyJob postings & CareersOrder a catalogContact
Social media
© 2025 Rock Island Auction Company. RIAC believes that this website is accessible to the widest possible audience pursuant to the guidelines of the Americans with Disability Act. Click here for more information.
Healthcare Transparency in Coverage.
Disconnected
Unable to connect to live update server, attempting reconnection. If this persists, please try refreshing your browser.
Disconnected state indicated by at top of page. If you cannot see this icon, you are connected.
Rock Island Auction Company
Hello.
Please Log In, or .

Home
Auctions
Consignment
Latest
FAQ
About us

  • /Auctions...
  • /Catalog...
  • /Lot 42

Lot 42:"Pawnee Bill's Frontier Exhibition" Custom Etched Winchester Model 1873 Lever Action Rifle with "Pawnee Bill" Custom Etched Bowie Knife, Banners, and Books

October 4th, 2023|Rock Island, IL
  • /Auctions...
  • /Catalog...
  • /Lot 42

Lot 42:"Pawnee Bill's Frontier Exhibition" Custom Etched Winchester Model 1873 Lever Action Rifle with "Pawnee Bill" Custom Etched Bowie Knife, Banners, and Books

October 4th, 2023|Rock Island, IL
Price Realized:
Login to viewLogin to view
Price obfuscated
Estimated Price$6,000 - $9,000
Log In to use Wishlists
Share

"Pawnee Bill's Frontier Exhibition" Custom Etched Winchester Model 1873 Lever Action Rifle with "Pawnee Bill" Custom Etched Bowie Knife, Banners, and Books

The rifle was manufactured in 1891 and has an etched panel on the right side plate reading "PAWNEE BILL's/FRONTIER/EXHIBITION." Includes a Bowie knife with a 13 5/8" blade with "PAWNEE BILL" on the right and "MAJ. G.W. LILLIE 1893" on the left, brass hilt, and horn grips (good with mottled gray and brown patina on the blade, aged patina on the brass, and general mild wear); a framed print of the "Two Bill's Show" group portrait, "PAWNEE BILLS 1911 TOUR" banner, "PAWNEE BILLS FAR EAST" banner, and "PAWNEE BILLS/HISTORICAL/WILD WEST/& FAR EAST" banner, "The Blazing Horizon" by Ernest Lynn, "Thrilling Lives of Buffalo Bill and Pawnee Bill" by Frank Winch, "Pawnee Bill: A Biography of Major Gordon W. Lillie" by Glenn Shirley, "Pawnee Bill" by Herman Edwin Mootz, 2011 souvenir program, "The Buffalo Bill Stories Devoted to the Far West: Buffalo Bill's Witchcraft or Pawnee Bill and the Snake Aztecs" Feb. 4, 1911, comic book; "The Buffalo Bill Stories Devoted to the Far West: Buffalo at Lone Tree Gap or Pawnee Bill in the Bear Pit" July 1, 1911, comic; "New Buffalo Bill Weekly Devoted to Far West Life: Buffalo Bill's Witchcraft" Sept. 8, 1917, comic; three additional comic issues printed, "Pawnee Bill's Original Wild West Show: Recollections of the 2010 Reenactment" DVD, and "In the Days of the Thundering Herd" with Tom Mix DVD. Gordon William Lillie (1860-1942) was better known as Pawnee Bill and was a Wild West showman. He was originally the Pawnee interpreter for Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show and later had his own "Pawnee Bill's Frontier Exhibition" in the late 1880s which included Annie Oakley in 1888 and "Pawnee Bill's Historical Wild West" ran with his wife May. They rejoined Buffalo Bill for the "Two Bills Show" in 1908. He and his wife also ran the Pawnee Bill Ranch in Pawnee, Oklahoma, where they had a bison herd and was an advocate for the preservation of the species.

Details
ManufacturerWinchester
Model1873
TypeRifle
Serial number
ClassAntique
Caliber / Gauge38 WCF
Barrel24 3/8 inch round
Finishblue
Stockwalnut
Bore conditionGood - Some light pitting or frosted appearance

Item LocationRock Island, IL
Views2773
Find MoreRelated Items
Lot 124R. Smith of York Exhibition Bowie Knife
View Lot
Lot 378Winchester Model 1873 Lever Action Rifle in .22 Short
View Lot
Lot 3000Antique Winchester Model 1873 Lever Action Rifle
View Lot
Lot 1026Antique Winchester Model 1873 Lever Action Rifle in .38 W.C.F.
View Lot
Show More