I have seen it before and have discussed it on other discussion boards and through emails. So I’ll give a quick rundown on why I don’t believe it’s Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett:
1) Billy is too husky and round face in this picture
2) Where’s Billy’s wide brim sombrero hat he was known to be wearing at this time?
3) The provenance on this photo was Garrett’s posse was bringing their prisoners into Las Vegas after their capture at Stinking Springs. As history says, Billy and the others were brought into Vegas by wagon –not horseback. Where are the other posse men and prisoners? Dave Rudabaugh was considered to be just as big of a catch as Billy the Kid, why isn’t he in the photo? Also, there was no photographer in the area to take this photo in the first place (there were only 3 in all of New Mexico).
4) Billy at the time of capture had his famous racing bay mare with him, not a gray horse.
5) Pat Garrett (on the far left), who was 6’4’’ and ALL legs, is too short in this photo. His legs would be dangling much longer pass the horse’s belly then it is in the photo.
6) During the pursuit and arrest there was a recent snow storm, but by the looks of this photo, the snow is melting and the ground is exposed.
7) I question the age of the photo, because at least two of the horses heads are moving (looking away) and are not blurry. Due to long exposure in photography of that time, subjects had to hold very still to avoid a blurry image. So I believe the photo was taken years after when photography was improved and moving subjects aren’t blurred.
Well, that’s my
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~ Marcelle Brothers, Webmaster of About Billy the Kid & Forum Administrator ~
Speaking of purported photos, what does everyone make of my Billy the Kid Purport Photos web page? Personally, I don't think either of them are him, but the photos are better ones that I've seen and could make one really wonder, compared to alot of the silly ones out there that are clearly not Billy the Kid.
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~ Marcelle Brothers, Webmaster of About Billy the Kid & Forum Administrator ~
I am very skeptical about purpoted Billy photos, but there are 2 that intrigue me. One of them is the photo of the man from the neck up with a very dimpled chin. At first glance, it doesn't make that big of an impression. But looking at it further, the nose, ears, and mouth are peculiar. When I look at a purpoted BTK pic, I try to imagine the man in the photo in the same pose as the tintype of Billy. The one I am talking about seems like it could be him, if the pic was taken up close because the tintype is taken from a few yards away, and the detail of his face is kind of sketchy. The other one is a pic of a young man, well dressed, next to a chair. The face looks like BTK, especially the eyes (from what I have read). He is also wearing a hat that looks identical to the one in the tintype. However, as the webmaster pointed out, this boy is almost too well dressed to be the outlaw that had to rustle to make ends meet. If anyone is interested, I think I have both pics on file to share. Let me know what you think!!
Hummm.....I'm not sure myself. If you have copies of the photos you could email them to me as an attachment and I'll try to figure it out or if the photos are on display on another website you can post a link to that page.
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~ Marcelle Brothers, Webmaster of About Billy the Kid & Forum Administrator ~
Shoot....it worked when I first posted it. I don't know what the deal is. I'll try again later, when I have time to fiddle with it some more - I don't have the time at this moment. Sorry.
Check back later.
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~ Marcelle Brothers, Webmaster of About Billy the Kid & Forum Administrator ~
That's so weird because I can see them. I've tried it three different ways and it's still not working. Sorry, I don't know what else I can do to get it to work. Darn Forum program
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~ Marcelle Brothers, Webmaster of About Billy the Kid & Forum Administrator ~
Hasn't anyone ever tried to find out if these photos are real? With today's computer imagery, I'm sure they could make a pretty good educated guess. ONe that is missing is on the cover of "The Capture of Billy the Kid." It's advertised in True WEst magazine. As for the fancy clothes, photographers, at least in the east sometimes had extra closes so if they didn't have a suit, they could use them.