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 3 of 4)

lev3161 Feb 19th 2011 11:58AM

All I am saying is, what a funny hat.

lev3161 Feb 19th 2011 12:08PM

You can't really judge history based on today's standards. Was The Kid a murderer? He killed people, yes. As far as I know, the few people he did officially kill weren't exactly model citizens or innocent bystanders. Those people were certainly going to try and kill him as well. And the reality is, New Mexico back then was a territory, not a state. That means not much law. Of course, he had choices, and he didn't have to live the life he chose. So in that respect, he was an outlaw, and not a hero. All I am saying is, what a funny hat.

notanaxkiller Feb 19th 2011 12:18PM

why are his hips wider than his shoulders? did he have some kind of deformity?

Your Highness Feb 19th 2011 1:10PM

Those trousers were probably not his, they look baggy because they're too big for him see how low the crotch hangs? The legs were probably too long too so it's possible thats the reason he tucked them into his boots. Infact all of his clothes look too big for him.That big shirt hangs down from his narrow shoulders is tucked into the huge trousers giving him a puffy looking mid section. A skinny kid wearing clothes way too large for him. Since he was always on the run he didn't have time to pack luggage on his gettaways so i'm almost certain that he would swipe a few duds here and there either from random clothes lines or people he shot. As for the hat? It's just a little smooshed at the top. Hats were not only a statement but they kept the sun off the face while riding(no sunglassesback then).

chessail Feb 19th 2011 12:18PM

Richardson is a jerk!

Your Highness Feb 19th 2011 1:14PM

Richardson has always been a jerk and has been way before this, Most back stabbers usually are.

Spinnaker Feb 19th 2011 12:53PM

HEY, NICE VEST..................................LOOKS GOOD ON HIM THOUGH !

I HOPE HE GOT A BOWL OF SOUP WITH THAT HAT !!

fowlerno1ins Feb 19th 2011 1:20PM

That's why rednecks can kick all of your punk asses in everything.

selene0522 Feb 19th 2011 1:32PM

Billy was not stupid. He spoke more than one language fluently and was an ace in military strategy. He was also well spoken enough to make a deal with the governor. Being a killer was the least of his problems at the time. He was political incorrect and any allegiance to him was best kept secret. Probably today he would be like an incredibly popular celebrity personality.

bohol2528 Feb 19th 2011 1:52PM

It would seem that most of the people that have posted replies here don't really know much of history. The Kid only ever killed 3 people that can be proven. One was Sheriff Brady, and the other two were deputies. The reason he killed Brady was because Brady was involved in his employer, John Tunstal, murder. And the deputies were killed during his escape from the Lincoln County jail.

And as for Pat Garret being the one who killed the Kid, there is no proof that the man he killed was Billy. Garret by the way was murdered himself in 1913 as a result of a love triangle.

rintin117 Feb 19th 2011 2:25PM

To Jimmy,

You are to funny, you really think they made special rifles for left handed people in the 1890's.

rayperry4 Feb 19th 2011 2:37PM

If you go down to Lincoln NM, Lincoln County, which I have, you may hear the story I heard there. That Billy the Kid had never committed a noteworthy act of violence until one day, the corrupt Sheriff in the pocket of a corrupt area rancher sought to wrongfully and unlawfully arrest Billy's friend and boss, another area rancher. But instead of arresting or even trying to arrest him they just killed him. Billy was understandably unhappy with this corruption and set out to rectify it and the first people he killed were involved in the murder of his friend. What are you going to do when law enforcement is corrupt? Just put up with it? Billy didn't think so and I don't either.

Subsequent killings occurred during jail breaks when he was being held, while promises to him about real justice were broken by the territorial governor and other officials. He had actually turned himself in at least once based on those false promises. (LIES)

So what should he have done? Just sat it out in jail until he was unjustly hanged?

Many think that BIlly went around randomly robbing and killing but that's not the story told in Lincoln NM where the story began.

Jack Feb 19th 2011 3:19PM

The Picture needs to be flipped horizontally. That way, his pistol is on the right side and the buttons on his vest are in the proper position. Billy was not the Left Handed Gun as portrayed by Paul Newman. Also, the notch on his belt buckle should point to his right hand. It will when the pic is flipped.

jimjmcd Feb 19th 2011 3:21PM

Was left-handed or was the pic developed backwards?

Tyrone550 Feb 19th 2011 4:07PM

I would recommend to anyone who has not been to Linconl, NM to visit and relive the American past. The town has been left in the original shape as it was during Billy's day. No gas stations, banks,or grocery stores, nothing but a ghost town in a beautiful and picturesque setting of NM. and close to the Mountains. My wife was born close to there and I still love to visit and step back in time to the old west. Nearby is the town of Ruidosa, a ski town done up in a western theme and a town frequented by Billy. Lots of fun for the kids. Elevation is 7500 ft. I know this sounds like a travel pitch but its not. I love the old west and my wife is part of it and I really enjoy it. Great western history museums to visit.

sniff my ass Feb 19th 2011 4:08PM

He looks half retarded........

mick9z Feb 19th 2011 6:27PM

I've always thought Billy looked too stupid to be such a badass gunman. Not to mention that his body appears pear-shaped, i.e. narrow shoulders but a wide belly-hip area. And, he certainly had no sense of style in the way he dressed.....LOL. Honestly I think I could have "whupped" his ass in a fair bare knuckle fight.