The haunting beauty of the ladies of the Old West

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

Last edited Fri Mar 8, 2013, 12:03 AM - Edit history (4)

I'm fascinated by the simple natural beauty in some of these old photographs of famous ladies in the old west:


Considered a very beautiful woman of the era, Lottie Deno was also one of the most famous wild west saloon gamblers:


https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR25TZT44i8zoqhA_gPjXZvzHMnd0-Nf4lhn02lKRrYwjFUNPpr




Nellie Cashman, a native of Ireland became one of the most successful female entrepreneurs and philanthropists in the old west, in the California and Arizona mining camps and was a friend of Doc Holiday in Tombstone. It was said of her that she was "pretty as a Victorian cameo and, when necessary, tougher than two-penny nails."

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Considered a great beauty, lady outlaw and stagecoach robber Pearl Hart was sentenced to five years in Yuma territorial prison but got out in only two because of her “feminine wiles”.








Josephine “Josie” Earp, the stage actress and noted beauty that Wyatt Earp first met in Dodge City and who later became his lover and his wife when they met again in Tombstone.




Lilly Langtry, British born stage actress and music hall performer extensively toured the west and settled in California, becoming a U.S. citizen. She was considered a major sex symbol in her day.







Annie Oakley, one of the most amazing crack shots in history and the star performer in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show and at the height of her popularity, one of the highest paid women in the world.








Laura Elizabeth Ingalls Wilder, author of Little House On The Prairie.

[midnight]

1. This article states Lottie's father grew hemp....

"She was born on April 21, 1844, to upper-class Warsaw Kentucky farm owners. Warsaw, in the area of Lexington and Louisville, traded with both northern and southern states (her father served in the Kentucky General Assembly), though the region was southern in flavor, and slavery was prevalent. As did many a young lady of the same exalted station in life, Lottie had her own nanny, Mary Poindexter, a seven-foot-tall slave who exhibited devotion and loyalty to Lottie as both protector and companion, even after the Civil War and for many years to come.

The main crops of the Warsaw region were tobacco and hemp, which were shipped north to Detroit and south to New Orleans. Other interests of the area, then as now, were horse breeding, horse racing and horse trading. Lottie's father engaged in these lucrative pursuits as well as selling crops.

After completing her education at an Episcopalian convent with her younger sister, Lottie usually accompanied her father on his many business trips to Detroit, New Orleans, and even Europe."

"Epilogue: The character immortalized as the beautiful, redheaded Miss Kitty who ran the Longbranch Saloon in the famous "Gunsmoke" radio and television series, was based on Lottie Deno."

http://www.texasescapes.com/MaggieVanOstrand/Lottie-Deno-Queen-of-Paste-Board-Flippers.htm

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

3. Lottie Deno was also the inspiration for the flamboyant saloon gambler Laura Denbow

in the 1957 film Gunfight At The OK Corral (Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas) and was portrayed on the screen by Rhonda Fleming.

[Flaxbee]

2. bookmarkedthis; Interesting thread, thanks!

[mainer]

4. Whoa. Josephine Earp -- that's a pretty racy photo!

Hardly believe it was taken way back then.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

5. In both Tombstone and Wyatt Earp movies I believe they discussed the sexy photos

In both movies (or at least in the Kevin Kostner version) I recall that her then boyfriend in Tombstone Sheriff Johnny Behan was circulating naked photos of her to his friends in the saloon that were supposed to be private. This supposedly caused a rift in their relationship and Wyatt Earp then came along and swept her off her feet.

[Hayabusa]

6. And some people think that's a recent problem...

[Aristus]

8. The authenticity of the photo of Josephine Marcus is in dispute.

There's no direct evidence that the subject of the pic is actually Josephine. The appellation is a tradition.

Still, great pic...

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

9. It was the photo (touched up to hide her breasts) used on the cover of the book of Josie's life

Although a later date appears on the photo, I've read accounts of the fact the photo is older than this handwritten copyright protection date.





Whether it's truly her or not, the legend of the sexy photo of her is real. Here's the clip from the Kevin Kostner film discussing it.

[Aristus]

10. Tho photo is believed to date from 1914, when Marcus whould have been in her 50's.

Both the re-touched and un-retouched photos are available at Josephine Marcus's wikipedia entry.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josephine_Marcus

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

11. The date is handwritten and not part of the original photo

The only surviving copy of the photo has that date but it was obviously handwritten some time after it was taken, for copyright purposes. Typical photos of the era did not bear handwritten dates on them with copyright notices.

[Aristus]

12. I'm actually with you on this one.

I want it to be Josephine Marcus. There's just no hard-and-fast proof that it is.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

13. Yup, I agree

There's an undisputed photo of Josie Earp taken later than the time she would have first met Wyatt Earp, one in which she's cut her hair. We see her in profile, with a level gaze taken at eye level and not with an upturned face taken from below as in the disputed pic. Could it be the same woman? She doesn't look dissimilar but who can say? She still was a "handsome" woman, as they would say back in those times.

[mainer]

14. Hey, women in their 50's can look JUST as hot

and 50-year-old women can have breasts just as lovely.

[Aristus]

15. No need to tell me. I'm rarely attracted to any woman under 40.

I'm just saying the subject of the photo is not in her 50's.

[Hayabusa]

7. Laura looks like

she's going to kill someone off camera with that gaze.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

16. DU Rec, thanks for posting.