reprinted from Architectural Digest June 2002

Established in the 1890's by the intrepid "Buffalo Bill," Cody, Wyoming, like its founding father, is an American original. The perfect portrait of a Rocky Mountain town, Cody outcrops at the edge of Yellowstone National Park on the arid plains of northwest Wyoming. The town's storied history boasts prospectors and cowboys, outlaws and cattle kings. "To understand Cody," says designer Hilary Heminway, "one must recognize the allure of the American West." Streets and hat brims are wide, boots de rigueur. Cattlemen ranch against odds and old enemies: time and weather. Hospitality is as certain as snow in September....

... Brian Lebel is an exacting collector. "He always has wonderful, surprising items," notes Heminway. "He specializes in the rare and singular." At Old West Antiques & Cowboy Collectibles, a second-story showroom above Sheridan Avenue, Lebel displays offerings that include a 17th-century conquistador's spur, Jesse James's own Smith & Wesson Model 3 "Russian" revolver (with a bill of sale from his mother, Zerelda Samuels) and Navajo rugs. A formal seating arrangement from Buffalo Bill's Cody house is showcased in the shop along with nickel-inlaid bone-handle chuck wagon cutlery. Lebel also carries vintage spurs, cowboy hats and boots, as well as angora chaps, or "woollies," beaded Sioux moccasins and a rack of antique saddles. ...

...Walking back along Cody's main street, Hilary Heminway reflects on her love of western design: "The best western furniture is both functional and comfortable. Western style is not high heels and divans; it's boots and sturdy, comfortable chairs. Despite movie theaters and neon," she continues, "Cody still exudes a feeling of the frontier. This town can be rough-and-tumble, but it's the heart and soul of both the old and the new West."