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McCracken Research Library

Find out what goes on in the Center of the West’s McCracken Research Library and get an insider’s look at the incredible photographs, archives, and manuscripts housed and processed by the library’s staff—who are still making some amazing finds within the collections.

Crow Fair bulldogger 1, Crow Fair, Crow Agency, Montana, 2009. Photo by Ken Blackbird. Gift of Ken Blackbird, P.426.05389
January 7, 2026

Buffalo Bill Center of the West Mourns the Death of Photographer and Storyteller Ken Blackbird

He had a talent for narration, showering his audience with big laughs and putting his whole body into his storytelling…” — Hunter…

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McCracken Research Library Vault
January 5, 2026

Behind the Boxes: What an Archivist Really Does 

When I tell people I’m an archivist, there are usually two reactions I get. The first, and by far my favorite, is…

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Charles Belden (1887-1966), Munich Cowboys, UNKNOWN. Black-and-White Photograph. MS 003 Charles Belden Collection, McCracken Research Library, Buffalo Bill Center of the West. Donation of Mr. Charles J. Belden and Mrs. Verna Belden. P.67.1669.1
October 27, 2025

The Fabric of the West: How Fashion Tells a Western Story

I was born and raised in the West, but until I moved to Cody, Western fashion was something I observed rather than…

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October 22, 2025

Buckle Up, Cowboy: How the Western Belt Buckle Became an Icon

Buckle-Obsessed When we were thinking of thematic sections for our upcoming Spur of the Moment western fashion exhibition, one thing kept coming…

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September 15, 2025

Museum Minute: The Illustrator for “The Call of the Wild” Showed Empathy for Animals

A dog-fighting scene is one of the illustrations Phillip R. Goodwin did for the novel, “The Call of the Wild.” This first edition print of the book is part of the library’s collections at the Center of the West…

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August 13, 2025

A Broadway Guy: the Second Life of Bat Masterson

When Bat Masterson and his brother Ed heard of a job building a railroad grade in the summer of 1872, they took…

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