Rare Tintype of Billy The Kid To Go Up For Sale

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Feb 17th 2011 at 8:01PM

The image above depicts one of the Old West's most infamous bad guys. This rare tintype of Billy the Kid is believed to be the only survivor of four that were created when he posed for the picture in a Fort Sumner, New Mexico, gambling hall in late 1879 or early 1880. This shot often accompanies stories about Billy the Kid and is believed to be one of the only authenticated images of the young outlaw. It will be auctioned on June 25 at Brian Lebel's Old West Show and Auction at the Denver Merchandise Mart where it could bring between $300,000 and $400,000. The tintype passed through the family of one of Billy's rustler partners, Dan Dedrick and is sometimes called the Upham tintype after the Dedrick's grand-nephew, Frank Upham and his descendants.

It has only been publicly displayed once, during the mid-1980s, at the Lincoln County Heritage Trust Museum in Lincoln, New Mexico for about three years. At that time rumors surfaced that the exposure had darkened the image but Lebel says that is not true. The Santa Fe New Mexican reported that Lebel asserts that the tintype has been stored in a a nitrogen-filled envelope and kept in a safe-deposit box.

Billy the Kid, who was also known as William H. Bonney, Henry Antrim and Henry McCarty, is a paradoxical figure in American culture, an outlaw and killer who is also seen as a folk hero. This image, showing a young, pale-eyed man with a soft face but wearing a gun and bullets around his waist is part of that mythology. It could end up in a museum but there are also likely plenty of single collectors eager to get their hands on a piece of American history.

At the tail end of 2010, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson said he would not pardon Billy the Kid because the historical record about another governor's promise to do so is ambiguous. Descendants of Sheriff Pat Garrett, the lawman who killed Billy the Kid in 1881 had lobbied against the pardon. Our sister site Politics Daily reported that New Mexico Governor Lew Wallace may have reneged on a promise in 1879 to pardon the Kid in exchange for testimony he gave about a killing he'd witnessed. Richardson had considered pardoning Billy the Kid for the murder of Sheriff Bill Brady and was convinced that Wallace had in fact offered the pardon back then. But he later decided not to because it wasn't clear why Governor Wallace had backed off the original deal.

Tags: American History, Billy The Kid, Old West, Photography, Tintype

Filed under: Auctions

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Reader Comments (Page 2 of 4)

Kelly Feb 19th 2011 10:13PM

Must be talking about the former NM Gov. Richardson. LOL

aaldrew Feb 19th 2011 9:02AM

Someone had pointed out that the image is backwards.. The Winchesters loading gate is on the wrong side.

Jimmy Feb 19th 2011 1:31PM

Rifle was made for a left handed person. Mine is on that side.

jkelnjshor Feb 19th 2011 6:42PM

The belt buckle is also reversed, tintypes are direct image so it is reversed.

clainaz Feb 19th 2011 9:13AM

The picture is backwards because tintypes are a reversed (or mirror) image. The rifles' loading port is actually on the right side. This is why, untill someone pointed out this fact about tintypes a few years ago, it had always been assumed Billy was left handed. In fact, Paul Newmans' portrayal of Billy in the movie, The Left Handed Gun, was based on this false assumption.

Richard & Cindy Feb 19th 2011 9:57PM

the rifle is left handed a mirror image is not going to spin the rifle around it will change the side that the lever is on not the loading port

bushwhacker42 Feb 19th 2011 9:37AM

History often portrays people in different light than they really were. Lew Wallace wasn't even a good general in the civil war, and cost many union lives at Shiloh by his stupidity.

I think the Kid was on the wrong side in a range war, and paid dearly for it. I refuse to judge him, and I think Henry Tunstall was a fine gentleman and a good judge of character.

vickie Feb 19th 2011 9:54AM

I agree with you....

motorprops Feb 19th 2011 10:10AM

Murder is murder

ejayeff Feb 19th 2011 1:38PM

Lew Wallice may not have been a good General but he sure was a good writer
after penning the famous book which later became a blockbuster movie, Ben Hur,
the Story of the Christ.

vickie Feb 19th 2011 9:58AM

I think he looks like a redneck....but a skinny one

vickie Feb 19th 2011 10:01AM

I don't think so ...he looks rednecky...to me

Michael Feb 19th 2011 10:03AM

Yes, it is a mirror image, see the buttons are on the left too, they would
in a proper look be on the right, the same as his holster and sidearm.

alantalek Feb 19th 2011 10:09AM

Oh geez... this happened back in the 1800's for god's sake. get off the high horse and remember how corrupt gov't was then and now. also it was called the wild wild west! Anyody who read the letters of billy the kid will clearly see the gov. did promise him a pardon as presidents do to this day! the gov. reniged on his promise once he got what he wanted. Pat garrett was no peach either and wrote a book filled with lies to puff his image up. All this is is a piece of history.

pawpaw Feb 19th 2011 10:20AM

at age 56...i used to play outlaws as a kid...jesse james..billy the kid..etc...now...as i look at this pic i reaslize thast there are countless numbers of young men today that you could dress up and they would fit the part...a mpunk is a punk...hed get his ass handed to him nowadays...without the comfort of his firearms...story here?..yes maybe...but in reality he was just another punk of the day.

alantalek Feb 19th 2011 10:23AM

oh geez.. this happened back in the 1800's get off the high horse..murderers are murderers crap. Presidents pardon people every year. Gov't was corrupt then as it is now and billy the Kids letters are available to read so he was offered a pardon by the gov. clearly the gov reniged once he got what he wanted. as for Pat Garrett not so sure he was a peach himself. Look at our own law enforcement and the corruption. Want interesting reading go read about Brushy Bill Roberts who claimed to be Billy the Kid. Give you chills how much the two were alike and had the same traits. Both double jointed, both knew fluent spanish, same bullet holes....

sis Feb 19th 2011 10:31AM

american hero to me , when you look at the trash that he shot...

roadthundr2 Feb 19th 2011 10:38AM

Human-Nights:
Look at the facts. Big money and political corruption, including the military caused the range war. Has that change in america, NOT!! The culture in washington is corruption/fraud for personal wealth.. Grant did the same with cook/custer who both lost there heads.. Thank You Crazy Horse!!! Billy at the time did what he felt was right. Look who he nailed!!! Political corruption SCUM. I rode my iron pony harley six year ago to pay my respects to Billy's grave with flowers.

John F.C. Taylor Feb 19th 2011 11:03AM

With today's computer technology, the spots in this photo could be cleaned up with ease. As for the original yintype, I bet it sells for half a million instead of the projected price mentioned in the article.

caver6274 Feb 19th 2011 11:41AM

This peice of history should be preserved and donated to the Lincoln County Historical Society and displayed so all can view it.
No matter if he is viewed as a criminal/killer. It's part of our nation's history.

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