I made some comments and posted some images recently on a thread about an alleged image of Billy the Kid and there were a couple of requests for a dedicated thread about other images, so here it is.

I don’t know when I first became interested in Billy the Kid (BTK for brevity’s sake) but  a friend remembers me reading a biography about him in the early 1990’s.  It wasn’t until 2002 when I had my first extended break from working full time that I really got into it.  I spent a lot of time that summer on the internet and I stumbled on an article about an alleged image of BTK.  At the time, I had no idea there was only one authenticated image of him so the article fascinated me and I began researching other images.  I found several purported images online and then found the appropriate forums and websites for old west enthusiasts and over the years additional images have popped up.  There’s been a small group of us who has followed these images over the years and participated in endless debate.  I’ll start from the beginning and go in a more or less chronological order.

Information about these images and the research done on them is very hard to find.  In the 1980’s The Lincoln County Heritage Trust was formed for the specific purpose of finding additional images of Billy the Kid.  Accurate information on this project is notoriously hard to find and much of what is known is heresay and of questionable reliability.  I have communicated quite a bit with one of the primary researchers from this project and he has written a book about the whole thing but so far, it hasn’t been published.   The LCHT submitted something like 12 images to the FBI for forensic analysis using the most up-to-date facial recognition technology and none of the images were found to match BTK.  At this point, most people don’t even know which images were submitted.

This is the image that started it all for me.  I don’t remember any particularly compelling provenance but the image is accompanied by a signature that to a layperson, bears a strong similarity to BTK’s signature.  This image never really got much traction in the BTK world and in fact, some of them had never seen it until I introduced it.  






One of the major images in the field was introduced by a man named Ray John DeAragon.  He claims an impressive provenance from his grandmother or great grandmother, who allegedly knew Billy the Kid.  The problem is that this is the third image he’s put forth as being Billy the Kid and the three images obviously show three different guys.  This one has been analyzed forensically and determined to be a match, for what that’s worth.  It has some ardent supporters but is generally not accepted as authentic by professional historians and researchers.   My understanding is that his other two images were disqualified by the Lincoln County Heritage Trust and he held this third image until AFTER they were done with their forensic analysis.  He hired his own expert to do the analysis and it’s my understanding that’s he sold the image for $50,000 back in the 1990’s.  





This image was floating around out there and my understanding is that it was purchased at a garage sale, auction or antique store.  I don’t recall any real provenance other than a superficial similarity to BTK.





This is another image that I don’t know much about but it’s been shown as an alleged image in at least one BTK book and there are some who really like this image as being possibly authentic.





This image appeared in a book or other publication back in the 1920’s or 1930’s and was identified as Billy the Kid.  No provenance other than that it was published when people who had known BTK were still alive.





This image was allegedly introduced into a card game by BTK’s brother back in the early 1900’s.  It’s signed and there was an alleged image of their mother as well.   Compare the signature to that in the very first image.





This image was allegedly found in the photo album of Paulita Maxwell, who is believed to have been BTK’s true love and the reason he went back to Fort Sumner rather than leaving New Mexico.  BTK was killed in her brother’s bedroom.  There is no identification with the image and it’s sole provenance is that it was in Paulita’s photo album.






There were other images out there but to my eye, they don’t pass even an initial, brief level of scrutiny so I haven’t delved much into them.  The following images have all come up since I started following this stuff.


This image was found near Globe, Arizona where Billy and/or his brother are known to have lived.  The finder had the image analyzed forensically and close matches were found to BTK and his brother.  The finder of this tintype is actually a “name” in the old west history world and he happens to be a guy I went to high school with, although we didn’t know each other.  He keeps a low profile about the image and many people don’t even know he’s the one who found it.  He’s been accused of photoshopping Emilio Estevez’s face into the image.   At least one well known historian believes this is an authentic image of BTK.  If you watch Wild West Tech, you've seen the two guys who believe in this image.





The first time my wife and I went to Lincoln this image was making the rounds there.  Apparently one of the rangers who works in Lincoln found this among her families possessions.  It is labeled with the name of one of her ancestors and the other guy is ID’d as Billy the Kid (I forget the specific terminology used).  She is convinced that it’s him as the timeframes and personal appearance of her ancestor match the right time period.  Others, including at least two experts, feel that the clothing is early 20th century which would preclude it being BTK.





At one point a guy started posting on a BTK forum that he had TWO images of Billy the Kid.  He was looking thru an Antique store and found an image that reminded him of his grandfather.  He then realized he was looking at a picture of a very young BTK.  He then began going thru the hundreds of tintypes in that antique store and found a large group that he has decided all were together as a “collection” at one time.  This group includes a second image of BTK as well as images of other people associated with the Lincoln County War.  This guy is a McCarty and he says his family history matches BTK being a relative.  


This is his “younger” BTK:





This is his “older” BTK:





The really crazy thing is that I do believe some of his images are legit.  The following are composites of an actual image of the historical person (left) and his claimed image (right):













The second time my wife and I went to Lincoln the owner of the B&B where we stayed mentioned that his wife inherited a tintype that they believe shows BTK.  It took a couple of hours for him to finally produce and enlarged copy of it for us to look at and no photos were allowed.  It shows for guys standing in what appears to be a field.  There is at least one horse and one donkey in the image.  One of the guys is sitting on either the horse or the donkey and holding the biggest shotgun I’ve ever seen (think “Eight guage” from Apaloosa) and another is standing with a Winchester rifle.  He’s wearing a vest and his shirt appears to have a similar anchor design as that seen in the authentic image of BTK.  The image was too blurry to make out any real details about his face but fortunately, they did allow a film crew to photograph it and their documentary briefly showed the image as background with no explanation of what it was.  I photographed the image from the TV:






At point even I got into the game.  I reasoned that if someone inherited a tintype of Billy the Kid and they knew it was him, it would be produced and we would know about it.  Therefore, anyone owning a tintype either doesn’t know they have it or they don’t realize it’s him.  If this is the case, then it’s not unreasonable to think it could show up for sale somewhere.  I began watching E-bay  found one set of four images where one of the guys bore a passing resemblance to BTK.  I had no experience with tintypes so I decided to buy the lot just to get them in my hands for examination.  After I purchased the tintypes I began to study the image and see amazing similarities to BTK.  Once I got it in my hand I found faded writing on the back that said “El Paso” and that appeared to say “Billy Kid”.  In the meantime, I was doing research online regarding tintype technology as a way of helping to narrow down when my tintype was made and found an image that appears to show the same guy, dressed in a similar manner to many of the portraits from BTK’s era.  I was convinced for a year or more that I really had an image that might have a chance of being authentic.  Eventually, I decided that it was a case of wishful thinking.  


My image:





The online image I believe may show the same guy:






In the past couple of years some additional images have surfaced but I think all have been e-bay finds or something similar, with no real evidence that they are BTK:





I really liked this one when I first saw it.  The guy on the right looks like a LCW era cowboy and the guy on the left resembles BTK.  Most importantly, his teeth appear to be bucked and his mouth is slightly open, like BTK's.  An open mouth is just something you don't see in 19th century tintypes so that was significant for me.  On the other hand, I don't even know if this is a tintype.  It may be a photograph.





I also liked this image when I first saw it.  There is something strange about his arms & hands, almost like he's in chains that are hidden.  I once read a reference to a letter that someone in Texas wrote where the author mentioned a picture of "Bonney in shackles".  This is intriguing because a criminal named Webb was captured around the same time as BTK and held in the same jail and there IS a photo of him in shackles.  If they photographed one notorious criminal, would they really pass the opportunity to photograph the Kid?  To my knowledge nothing has been found to substantiate an image of him in chains and nobody knows where this image came from.





There is still occasional mention of images that might be him but they never seem to come forth.  A poster on one website said a guy in Arizona, whose great-grandmother knew BTK, has three images.  I'd like to see them just to make a judgement for myself.   Another researcher told me personally that when BTK was arrested in Silver City his belongings were taken and placed into a labeled evidence bag, just as is done today.  This reseacher said that the evidence bag has been located, that he has held it and it's contents in his hand and one of the things in the envelope was a tintyhpe of a young man!  Trading tintypes with your friends seems to have been common in those days so there is no telling if the tintype is him or a friend of his but again, I'd like to see it for myself.  

I'll finish this up by saying I don't believe any of these images is Billy the Kid.  One thing I've found is that out of the millions of tintypes that were taken in 19th century America, it is very easy to find images of young men with features similar to BTK.  I do look forward to seeing new images and I truly believe that someday someone will produce an image that most can agree is authentic.  

I will add that one of the researchers I mentioned gave me this image and said it was found in a western library collection labeled as "Billy the Kid".  I don't think he looks anything like BTK but what is fascinating is that there is no question the image was taken in Lincoln, N.M.  I've composited it with an photo I took of the Montano store in Lincoln.  Check the shape of the hills in the background, the spacing of the doors and the slight angles at which the doors are set into the building.  Without question a 19th century image of a cowboy in Lincoln, New Mexico!

have you given up your search for another BTK image?

The last one is really cool BTW.

Awesome read...

Tagging for my research.  Im writing a book on Billy the kid.

A lot of the initial images you post sure do look to be the same guy at different points in time.





Billy had kinda messed up choppers and in each pic you can see that his teeth shape his mouth in a very specific way.


That dental impression is evident in a lot of those pics.

 

This is the one I knew about....



Not sure which one is the orginal image...I think the one with the rifle right and and the pistol at his left hand is.

The Tintype reversed things so people thought the Kid was Left Handed. This TinType sold in colorado for 2.3 million dollars.

Really interesting and cool. One thing for sure, BTK had a wild look in his eyes.

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He looks like that fuck from CT. Perhaps the gene that creates a sociopath also creates phyisical features that are similar.

A couple of them look similar to one found in our family photos


 

I'm not really actively searching anymore but I follow the usual websites and I'm sure some folks would contact me if something popped up.  Right now is a significant downtime with nothing really new happening.  The most recent finds were new images of Doc Skurlock and Charley Bowdre.  It's amazing because previously there were two images of Bowdre, two poses at the same photo session, and his appearance in each is pretty much identical.  This new image presumably has impeccable provenance as it was sold when the authentic tintype of BTK was sold in Denver yet I wouldn't have given it a second look if I saw it in antique store.  I never would have recognized it as Bowdre although close comparison shows that it is him.  To me, that illustrates how difficult it is to really identify 2-dimensional images of someone we've never seen in 3-dimensions.  It seems to make all the difference in the world.  

Nevermind

It is amazing how similar some of the photos look to each other but keep in mind that they were all chosen precisely because they resemble Billy the Kid.  However, there are some out there that I can't say are not the same person.  

I didn't post the image on the left because I know absolutely nothing about it but I cannot say with any degree of certainty that it's not the same guy pictured in the de Aragon image.

Great post. Thanks for posting that.

I read a lot of old west history and I've always liked reading about BTK and the Lincoln County War.  There has to be another picture of him out there somewhere.  I hope I can get to LC sometime to see that area.

I had a discussion with my FIL once about BTK.  To put it as simply as possible...he thinks he was just a bad guy, a criminal.  I think he may have been headed in the wrong direction, but living in a time/place where the law was corrupt put him in some bad situations that he may not have otherwise been in.  I don't think of him as a murderer.  FIL thinks it didn't matter...he would have done those things anyway.  What do you think?

Can you post some pics of the others from the LCW?

Very cool, I am always reading about this part of American history and it always amazed me how much is still being found to this day


Great post OP

Some of those pictures he looks like Rory Mcilroy

Im heading out to New Mexico in Dec to visit a few places before I finish my book.  The book that everyone takes as the bible on BTK is BS.  My book will cover all of this.

Very interesting.

When you complete this please let me know.  I would love to read it.

And which book do people take as the bible on BTK?  I've read a couple...

My old man was a Wild West fan, I always loved Billy the Kid.  After watching young guns when it came out.  I had questions.  Then I read the book on Billy the Kid.  Lets just say that left more questions.  So the last few years I have been digging into it.  New Mexico is my last source of info for the book.  It's a hobby not something I make my living off of, so it's been slow going.

Excellent read sir.  What are your thoughts re: the Brushy Bill Roberts controversy?

This is the book that created what most think of the legend of BTK.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Authentic_Life_of_Billy,_the_Kid

Id like to believe it, but I have to do more research.  I dont think PG killed BTK(Grave exhuming denials, etc.), but the Brush Bill thing is hard to prove.  DNA is the bitch of things right now.

The problem with this is, my lack of money and time.  Everytime I find something out, I have 2 more questions.  It's a spare time killer for me.  Plus it keeps me outa trouble.

I have never really considered BTK to be a sociopath. He was capable of extreme violence but he had real enemies capable of equally violent behavior. IIRC he did not kill anybody who wasn't trying to kill him or his friends or had killed his friends.

If this was going on today, we would be asking; what is his screen name?

Thanks for sharing OP.  Very interesting pics.

 

Fascinating thread - pics and discussion both.

If he is to be considered a sociopath, it's not for his role in the LCW, but for his early killings over trivial matters. Those can fairly be called, from what I know, sociopathic.

Generally speaking I have no issues with his actions in the LCW.

The Justin Shaw "Billy the Kid" photo
has been tested by facial recognition
expert Robert Schmitt, and the result
was that it is a match.

Which is pretty neat, but I remain unconvinced.



http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/national/12005802811297/collector-believes-photo-is-of-billy-the-kid/


http://www.wyff4.com/Billy-The-Kid-Or-Lookalike-You-Decide/-/9324882/6132850/-/anbwh4/-/index.html

Nor do I, PG is the one who is the one that should be under the microscope.

Look at the right ears(on the left side in the photos)

Neat thread, but BTK makes me think of the serial killer from my hometown.

your thoughts?

cool.

I haven't even read Garrett's authentic life.  All of the books I've read were written recently based on historical evidence.  

Researchers believe Billy the Kid was born Henry McCarty.  Nobody knows who is father was or when he died.  Some think he was born in NYC, some think Indiana and someone named William Bonney, who lived next door to Charles Bowdre at Fort Sumner, told the 1880 census worker that he was born in Missouri.  Take your pick.

I'm not super up to date on early history but the family hooked up with William Antrim, maybe in Indiana, and they all lived near each other in Wichita.  Billy's mother contracted TB and they moved to New Mexico where married Antrim and then died when Billy was a young teen.  Billy ended up staying with some friends of the family and finally got into some trouble for helping to hide stolen laundry and was arrested.  He climbed up a chimney to escape and went to Arizona where he alternated between trying honest work and stealing to stay alive.  He was in the vicinity of Fort Grant in Arizona and he was repeatedly bullied by a blacksmith named Cahill.  One night Cahill lit into him so Billy called him an SOB and Cahill took him down, sat on him and started slapping him.  Billy got an arm loose, pulled his revolver and shot Cahill in the belly.  He got loose, ran outside, jumped on the fastes horse available and lit out for New Mexico.  This was his first killing.  

In New Mexico he fell in with a band of horse thieves (most of whom he fought against in the LCW) and had a falling out with them and went to work for Tunstall.  He was known as a gunman by that time, having killed someone, and Tunstall was collecting gunmen.  He fought in the LCW (a fascinating story) and afterward tried several times to go straight but the winners of the LCW continued to hound him and he turned to cattle and horse theft to make a living.  He developed a reputation and a Texan name Joe Grant made insuations that he was going to kill him.  The details vary but all accounts agree that as Billy was walking away Joe pulled his revolver and tried to shoot him in the back.  His revolver didn't go off, Billy turned around and shot him 3 times in the face.  This was Billy's second solo killing.  

Finally, Pat Garrett was elected sheriff to hunt down the cattle thieves and he succeeded in doing so and Billy was sentenced to hang in Lincoln.  While Garrett was out of town, Billy killed both of his guards, each with their own gun, and made his escape.  Kills #3 and #4.  Three months later he was killed by Garett in the bedroom of Pete Maxwell.

Billy unquestionably killed many men during the LCW.  The key to remember is that it literally was a WAR.  Kill or be killed.  He and five other regulators gunned down a sheriff and his deputy in cold blood from ambush.  He and about a dozen regulators killed two of the guys who killed tunstall, as well as a "regulator" of questionable loyalty.  There were others that he probably had a hand in killing but all were basically "in battle".  

Those who knew him, including his avowed enemies, agreed that he was extremely personable and pleasant and could win over anyone in a short period of time.  He was exceptionally smart and talented and this was noted by those who knew him.  He was also a very decent looking guy as acknowledged by the people who met him and the girls LOVED him.  

The pyschopathic Billy the Kid of legend is just that....legend.  He was an orphan trying to scratch out a living in an unforgiving environment, he basically became a soldier and when the war was over he was hounded by the authorities and prevented from going straight.  He should have simply left New Mexico as many of the Regulators did but he chose to stay and he died for it.

His right ear is definitely unique.

Cool thread thanks for posting and I have been to the Lincoln county area a few times and really enjoyed the history.

I don't buy the Brushy Bill story at all.  I've read probably a dozen descrptions from people who met Billy the Kid and they not only agree, they match the authentic image of Billy the Kid.  Many mention his long face, pointed chin and bucked teeth.  Brushy Bill had a huge, square jaw.  No way the two were the same man.  

The image posted in this thread looks more modern....more like 20th century.  I know nothing about clothing and style but that's my gut instinct on it, especially the hat.   I've seen this image but I'm not that familiar with where it came from.  I definately see the likeness but I've never seen any evidence beyond that to suggest it really is Billy the Kid.

ETA:  I followed the links on the image and if it's the one I'm thinking of, the guy has pictures of numerous famous historical figures.....all bought on E-bay.  

I posted this on the original BTK image thread:

Here is a composite I put together of a few of the Regulators as they appeared at the time of the Lincoln County War:

Left to Right (top):  

Richard "Dick" Brewer (played by Charlie Sheen):  Ranch owner, Tunstalls foreman, first leader of the Regulators.  Shot in the eye and killed by Buckshot Roberts at Blazer's Mill.

Josiah "Doc" Skurlock (played by Kiefer Sutherland):  Ranch owner, third leader of the Regulators.  Had front teeth shot out in a bar dispute when he was younger.  Took part in many lynchings of horse thieves.  Left New Mexico and lived to an old age in Texas.

Charles Bowdrey (he was the little guy who got married and then got killed in the YG movies):  Ranch owner who was considered one of the Reguator's best fighters.  He was wounded by Buckshot Roberts at Blazer's Mill (supposedly his belt buckle saved his life), particpated in several pre-LCW lynchings with Skurlock and was killed by Pat Garrett's posse at Stinking Springs.  

William H. "Billy the Kid" Bonney (played by Emilio Estevez):  Drifter and cow/horse thief who was hired by Tunstall as a gunman for the upcoming war.  He shot and killed a bully in Arizona, shot and killed a braggart at Fort Sumner and killed the two deputies guarding him when he escaped from Lincoln.  He took part in every gunfight of the Lincoln County War and along with Charley Bowdre, he was considered one of their best fighters.  He was killed by Pat Garrett at Fort Sumner.

Frederick Waite:  Half Cherokee from Indian Territory.  He was a Tunstall ranchhand who took part in the Lincoln County War.  He was one of the six Regulators (BTK was one of the six) who ambushed and killed Lincoln County Sherrif William Brady and his deputy, right on the main street of Lincoln.  He left New Mexico after the LCW and returned to Indian Territory where he was elected to office.  He died in his early 40's.

Frank Coe:  Ranch owner who rode with the Regulators.  He was riding with the second leader of the Regulators, Frank McNab, and his cousin Ab Saunders when they were ambushed by the Dolan forces.  McNab was killed, Saunders was wounded and Frank ran for his life.  The posse tried repeatedly to kill him because they thought he was "The Kid".  When they realized who he was they captured him, took him back to Lincoln and then let him go when battle appeared imminent.  He lived to a ripe old age.

Tom Foliard (played by Balthazar Getty in YG II):  He was a late-comer to the LCW and was Billy's sidekick.  He, along with Billy, escaped from the burning McSween house at the end of the 5-day battle in Lincoln.  He was killed by Garrett's posse at Fort Sumner.  

Charles Bowdrey and Tom Foliard are the "PALS" who are buried with Billy at Fort Sumner.

Unfortunately, we don't have reliable photos of many regulators but these are generally accepted as the real deal.  

I don't buy it either, by any stretch, but you have to admit it makes for cool stories.

OP,

IIRC They know where BTK is buried, so...
Why not exhume the bodies of, BTK. Paulita Maxwell,
the Son that's purported to be Billiy's, take DNA samples
and get on with finding genetic matches?

just my thinking aloud.....

Wait for my book to come out in a year or so  It's taken me 4 times as long as I thought to put it out.  I just keep finding stuff that makes me question more stuff.

Since the tin type was reversed, it looks like it could be him.

If you are interested in learning about the Lincoln County War then I recommend this book:

The Lincoln County War by Maurice Fulton

If you are REALLY interested in an exhaustive account of the LCW, buy this book:

The Lincoln County War: A Documentary History by Fred Nolan


There are several excellent biographies of Billy the Kid and although they vary a bit on some details, the overall picture is the same:

Billy the Kid: A Short and Violent Life by Robert Utley

The West of Billy the Kid by Fred Nolan

Fred Nolan is THE MAN when it comes to BTK & the LCW.  His LCW book has letters and documents from the war and his BTK book is full of photos of people and places associated with BTK's life.  

I bet you guys didn't know that after the LCW ended, the U.S. Army held a court of inquiry into the conduct of Lt. Col Dudley during the events that ended the war decisively in favor of the Dolan faction.  The court records of this court of inquiry exist and have been transcribed into book form and one of the witnesses was none other than "William Bonney".  It's fascinating to hear him tell his version of the 5-day battle in his own words.

Adam Lanza?

Have you read "To Hell on a Fast Horse"?  

What did you think of it?

All my knowledge on this comes from the movies so forgive me.

Pat Garett never rode with BTK after the LCW did he?

How much of those movies are BS?

What about Arkansas Dave?

Steve Sedwerwall (who has done some FANTASTIC research into BTK) and Sheriff Sullivan attempted to have some bodies exumed for DNA testing.  They succeeded in exhuming John Miller, who is less well known than Brushy Billy but taken more seriously as possibly having been BTK.  They wanted to exhume BTK's mother and compare the two people's DNA.  History also says that after Garrett killed BTK, he was laid out on a table and an all night wake was held.  Sederwall found that table and it tested positive for blood.  They wanted to compare that DNA to John Miller and Billy's mom.  I think they also would have liked to dig up Billy and Brush Billy but there are huge economic factors at stake if they find that John Miller really was BTK, or the guy in BTK's grave isn't related to BTK's mother, or even if Brushy Bill was not BTK.  That would hurt Hico, TX.  

At this point, nobody really even knows where BTK is buried.  I've read that a flood in 1906 or so washed away all the bodies in the cemetary.  I'm skeptical as it seems it would take a flood of Biblical proportions to wash away a cemetary and Fort Sumner is most definately semi-desert if not desert.   Also, a civilian was contracted to remove all the military bodies from the cemetary and some stay he moved BTK's body as well.  He documented all of his removals and they were all soldiers.  Finally, even if we assume BTK is still there, his grave wasn't marked until about 50 years after his death.  One of the guys who follows this stuff claims he took some seismic equipment out there and that the ground under BTK's tombstone has never been disturbed.  It is pretty well established that Billy, Bowdre and Foliard are not buried side-by-side.  Foliard and Bowdre are probably close together as they wre killed within days of each other but Billy was killed 6 months later.  

It's here on my book shelf and I've read it but to be honest, I couldn't even tell you if represents the "establishment" version of events or the "revisionist" version.