I am fascinated by the unwavering enigma of Billy the Kid. Billy is said to have killed at least half a dozen individuals. He was jailed several times, but escaped captivity until his death in 1881, at the age of 22. Since then, for over a century, his escapades and thievery have fascinated generations.
This tintype that is also my first photo in the video, made a year or so before his death in 1881, was shot at Fort Summer in New Mexico. Billy is said to have presented the picture to Dan Dedrick, a friend, who then handed it over to his nephew, Frank L Upham, a few years before his death in 1938. In 1947, Upham passed over the tintype to his sister-in-law, who tucked it away in a cedarwood box for nearly 40 years. In the mid-1980s, it was loaned to the Lincoln County Heritage Trust, and retrieved later. In all this time, no one in the family had any idea about what they were harbouring. It was only in 2011 that the picture became public knowledge, after it was auctioned off at a staggering USD 2.3 million, making it currently the 16th most expensive photograph in the world.
Did Billy survive that fateful night? I personally think he died just like how Garrett said and it’s probable Pat took photos of Billy’s dead body but never disclosed it for whatever reason, maybe out of respect for his old friend? Who knows. He must have had a photo printed and shown to the bail bondsmen. That is my belief. I am not saying I am correct. There are many theories as to what happened and that is what makes Billy’s story so exciting.
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