photos of Billy the Kid

[dave spooner]

Do you believe that photos of Billy the Kid exist other than the Dedrick tintype which is the only authenticated image of BTK we know of??

[Marcus Huff]

Yes, I do.

Imagine, for a moment, all of the pocketknives you have owned in your lifetime (or, in this case, until you were say...20, 21 years old). Now, imagine 128 years later, if "authenticating" those knives became of some importance. The task would be near impossible, based solely on a combination of knowledge and intuition available at the time of discovery, dating, verifying, etc. And yet, does that mean that every knife you owned was not authentic? They'll still cut.

Billy is out there...but whether he will surface again to appease us all, depends on our idea of who he really was. Vagabond Irish orphan? Robin Hood of New Mexico? The Deadliest Pistoleer Since Wild Bill? Only the dead will ever truly know. For the rest of us, theres just a chin and a sly grin to go on.

[dave spooner]

good point, Marcus. Fred Nolan once said the most difficult thing for him as a researcher and writer were the last 72 days of the Kid's life..."I don't knows" that will remain "I don't knows"....maybe that's what fascinates us the most

[Bob Boze Bell]

Marcus, you sly dog: "theres just a chin and a sly grin to go on." Love that line. I think part of the Kid's power over us is that he is so elusive. Imagine if there were ten photos of him. First, we would be ecstatic, but I believe each one would drain power from his legend.

[dave spooner]

Bob...what's your take on the 1x1 photo found byPaulita Maxwell's gg grandaughter Luz Jaramillo? As stated in the Fred Nolan article in TW July 2000..."if anyone would have a photo of Billy, it would be Paulita."

[Bob Boze Bell]

Really, really tempting to believe. He certainly is cocky enough, isn't he.

[Marcus Huff]

To believe all thse photos, there must have been an overwhelming amount of jug ears and bad dental running around territorial New Mexico.

[Gary Sheaf]

I couldn't resist 'fussing' around with these images. give them each others hair and mouth and...possibly create more questions than provide answers, but As an artist I notice; the same eyes, the same nostrils and the chin which curves to their left in the same way...if I was a betting man!

[Polly Gulley]

That's pretty neat.

[Gary Sheaf]

Cheers Polly

[anthony martin]

  Gary,

    Up to the usual orneryness I see.To quote Colin Clive from the 1931 Frankenstein"IT'S ALIVE!IT'S ALIVE!AH HA,HA,HA!"

[Gary Sheaf]

A classic film. The ornery-er the better I say

[Chris Lampe]

Now here's a True West thread I can really sink my teeth into! For those who are interested in alleged photos of Billy the Kid, I have a small website devoted to some of the most recent possibilities.

www.findbillythekid.net