It was indeed something quintessentially American in Rebecca James' character, a link with the American frontier myth, that attracted people to her. She wore trousers, cursed like a mountain man, loved all-night poker games and community dances, and could drink men under the table. James' father was none other than showman Nate Salsbury, creator of the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show that disseminated the myth of the American West throughout the world.

Rebecca was in fact born in London, England, during one of the Wild West Show's appearances there, and as a child she spent much of her time with characters like sharpshooter Annie Oakley. James married photographer Paul Strand in 1922, and he brought her into the heady atmosphere ...