The show was enormously successful in Europe, making Cody an international celebrity and an American icon. Mark Twain commented, "It is often said on the other side of the water that none of the exhibitions which we send to England are purely and distinctly American. If you will take the "Wild West" show over there you can remove that reproach." The "Wild West" brought an exotic foreign world to life for its European audiences, allowing a last glimpse at the fading American frontier.