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Charles M. Russell’s favorite place in the world was Bull Head Lodge, a log structure built in 1906 along the shoreline of Lake McDonald that became part of Glacier National Park in 1910. There, the Russells hosted friends, fellow artists, family, and some of the most influential people in America. Nancy Russell encouraged visitors to sign their Bull Head Lodge guest book, providing both documentation on who visited, and a list of prospective patrons. Famed Montana author Frank Bird Linderman (1869-1938)—Charlie’s closest friend—often came, and Charlie returned the favor by visiting him at his Goose Bay home on Flathead Lake south of Glacier National Park.

The cover of the Russell’s Bull Head Lodge Guest Book (1909-1930) is fine leather with ‘Bull Head Lodge’ in gold lettering on the front. There are a total of 321 guest signatures including Percy Raban, Frank B. Hoffman, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Irvin S. Cobb, George Bird Grinnell, Malcom Mackay, Paris Gibson, C.S. Russell, Howard Eaton and Dane Coolidge. Accompanying the book is an unsigned poem in the pen hand of close friend and neighbor, Josephine Trigg. There are several original 6” x 7” pencil portraits signed by Emil Pollak Ottendorf and a typed sheet entitled “Promise Yourself.”

Charles M. Russell signed the Goose Bay Guest Book (1918-1941) a total of three times, including the very first entry dated March 15, 1918. A beautiful Russell watercolor of two deer deep in a forest, is laid down next to his November 23, 1918 signature. Nancy and Jack Russell and approximately 200 other visitors also signed the book

PROVENANCE (Bull Head Lodge Guest Book):
Charles M. and Nancy C. Russell
Nancy Russell
Dawson Bookstore, Los Angeles, catalogue no. 152, February, 1941
Private Collection
Big Sky Collection, Larry and LeAnne Peterson

PROVENANCE (Goose Bay Guest Book):
Frank and Minnie Linderman
Linderman family, by descent
Big Sky Collection, Larry and LeAnne Peterson

LITERATURE (Bull Head Lodge Guest Book):
Larry Len Peterson, Charles M. Russell: Legacy (Helena, MT: Falcon Publishing/C. M. Russell Museum, 1999), page 196, 2 pages illustrated.
Larry Len Peterson, Charles M. Russell: Printed Rarities from Private Collections (Missoula, MT.: Mountain Press Publishing Company, 2008), page 90, two pages illustrated.
Larry Len Peterson, Charles M. Russell: Photographing the Legend, A Biography in Words and Pictures (Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 2014), page 88

Condition ReportBook appears to be in good condition. Binding is stable. Bull Head Lodge - Cover is slightly worn. Pages appear to be in good condition. Binding is stable.

Important Notice: Statements of condition are provided as a service to potential bidders; such statements are educated opinions and should not be regarded as facts. The Coeur d’Alene Art Auction has no responsibility for any errors or omissions.