Archival Research Catalog (ARC)
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Historical Documents Online: Search Hints for Selected Topics

Buffalo Bill

Selected Documents Related to Buffalo Bill (William F. Cody)

"The Life of Buffalo Bill in 3 Reels", an advertisement for a film produced by Cody Historical Films, 1922. ARC Identifier: 292754

113 historical documents related to Buffalo Bill have been digitized. The documents include an enlistment paper of William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody from his compiled military service record, inventory of property and accoutrement of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, items related to Buffalo Bill's bankruptcy case, and a letter from William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs asking permission for Sitting Bull to travel with his show.

Search Hint: To retrieve the 113 digitized documents:

  1. Go to http://www.archives.gov/research/arc/.
  2. Press the Yellow search button to go to the Basic search screen.
  3. Enter Buffalo Bill in the Keywords box.
  4. Select the limit results radio button for 2000.
  5. Select the box marked Descriptions of Archival Materials linked to digital copies.
  6. Press the Go button.
  7. When hits are returned for your search, view the full result of your hit by selecting the Title link.

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Illustrated Search Steps and Hints: Viewing Digital Copies of Buffalo Bill Materials

The illustrated search steps suggest additional options for viewing the digital copies in ARC.

1. Click Descriptions of Archival Materials linked to digital copies for search results with thumbnail images.

Keyword Search in ARC for Buffalo Bill with Digital Copies Filter Highlighted

2. Click Printer-Friendly Version button on the first Digital Copies Search Results page to see all of the hits on one screen for browsing. Note the ARC IDs for the images you want to research further, since you cannot link directly to the descriptions from the printer-friendly version.

ARC Search Results with thumbnail images


Printer Friendly Version of Search Results with Digital Copies Thumbnails

3. Use the browser's back arrow to return to the linked search results. Selecting the Title link provides specific details about the document, for example the ARC Identifier, full Title, Creator, Type of Archival Materials, and Location.

ARC Search Results with an arrow pointing to a title link


4. From the full ARC description for this item, click the Printer-Friendly Version button to put the document in a format ready for printing.

Full ARC description with arrow pointing to Printer-Friendly Version button

Printer-Friendly Version

Printer-Friendly version of description

5. Use the browser's back arrow to return to the full ARC description. Click on the All Images link to see digital copies of the item's multiple pages.

Full ARC description with arrow to All Images Link


6. From the All Images View, click on any of the Large Image links to view a larger version of the digital copy. Scroll down the screen to see the other images.

All Images View of the Digital Copy


7. To save a copy of the digital image file on your computer or disc, right-click on the image and select "Save Picture As...".

View of the Righ-Click options for the larger image view with the Save Picture As option highlighted

8. Click on the Printer-Friendly Version button to view all of the large images for the document on one, printable screen.

Large View of image with arrow pointing to the Printer Friendly Version button.


Top of Printer Friendly Version of all four images


View of the other images after you scroll down the screen in the Printer Friendly Version

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