Process Making the Display

My goal was to create a two sided - free standing display that would enhance the Ashland Historical Museum circus collection while relating the circus to Ashland, Wisconsin. First came research. I knew a photo of the meeting between Buffalo Bill and the Sioux and Chippewa tribes at the Wild West Show in Ashland existed. My first thought was to have the image printed on a large canvas wall hanging. There are many shops which can do this economically. But, as my research continued I found a log entry about that day in the Wild West Show's 1896 printed tour diary. This book noted that Col. Cody had made a speech on that day and gave background to the gathering. As I continued to research I found multiple images of the same photo which were sharper and one was a colorized at the time period post card. The minute I saw that I knew that colorized image would be on the display. Another black and white image with hand written entries was also found and was better quality than the original photo I started with. Then I discovered the public remarks Buffalo Bill had made on that date. With all this information in hand I double checked to insure there were no copy right issues and set myself to work designing the free standing display. I determined one side would have the colorized post card image and the tour book description of the event. The second side would have the better original black and white photo and the words Cody spoke on that day at the Wild West Show in Ashland. It was easy enough to copy the images and type the text. But, I had never worked with anyone to put together a two sided display. I laid out the display on line and using Paint then went looking for a company online which could produce the final image. The one I settled on had a solid looking stand which would let you slide a created vinyl image over it. After debating whether to choose a three foot wide or a four foot wide display by six feet tall, I went with the three foot display thinking that it displayed the information I had to work with in the best way. They were so helpful with converting my design ideas into reality! The finished product was ordered and placed at the museum. The final product is below.