Treasures from Our West: cowboys in Paris

Originally published in Points West magazine in Summer 2007

Charles Belden photo of cowboys in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

According to Charles Belden, a photographer and rancher from Meeteetse, Wyoming, whose wonderful photos make up one of our most popular and requested image collections at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, this was “the end of a perfect day on the Seine for these part-time Paris cowboys silhouetted against the Eiffel Tower.” Quite the moment in the history of cowboys—several moments in fact.

There are a few photographs in the series and it looks like these cowboys had just a little bit of fun posing for the camera, especially the smiling trick roper/rider. He’s twirling his rope in a perfect “O” while standing on horseback.

Take a look at two more images from the Paris series by Belden. In one, a group of cowboys on horseback gather around a car. Notice the 1951 Wyoming license plate on the vehicle.

And the same seven cowboys appear in our final photograph—raising their ropes in the air in a cowboy salute.

Three black and white photographs of a series: Charles Belden (1887 – 1966). Gifts of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Belden. P.67.1590, P.67.1588, P.67.1580

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