Only one photo of William H. Bonney, AKA Billy The Kid, was known to exist. But now a new photo has been found. Purchased a few years ago for $2 in a Fresno, CA shop, the photo has been authenticated and its value estimated at $5 million. Pretty good find.
And an amazing slice of American History. Below are two photos—one of Billy and friends playing croquet before a home in New Mexico in 1878 and a close up of Billy from the same photo. He was 17 at the time.
The photo and Billy will be the subject of a NatGeo special this Sunday 10-18-15. Can’t wait to see it.
The Crime Fiction Writer's Blog 
Teresa Reasor
October 15, 2015 at 7:06 am
I’m interested in this too.
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Frank Karl
October 15, 2015 at 8:34 am
So I got to ask, what made the buyer even suspect it was a picture of Billy the Kid? Did he have a mad passion for croquet?
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D.P. Lyle, MD
October 15, 2015 at 10:55 am
From what I could gather from the article the buyer was simply fascinated with old photos and as he enlarged and looked at this one thought the kid looked like The Kid. Turned out he was right. Good for him. This photo could have easily been lost forever–and it nearly was–and we would have missed this incredible find.
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Cheryl B. Dale
October 15, 2015 at 2:31 pm
He must have had really good eyes!
Looking forward to the show!
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Sue Coletta
October 15, 2015 at 2:28 pm
Wow. An amazing find, in deed. Thanks for sharing.
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gina amos
October 15, 2015 at 2:57 pm
WOW- Absolutely amazing. I bet the guy who sold the photo for $2 is miffed to say the least!!
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gina amos
October 15, 2015 at 2:58 pm
Which one is Billy? The guy on the left or the right?
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D.P. Lyle, MD
October 15, 2015 at 4:53 pm
Left.
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gina amos
October 15, 2015 at 6:32 pm
Ha, funny I picked him as the guy on the left. You’ve aroused my curiosity now. Think I’ll go and read up on him:)
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Meb Bryant
October 15, 2015 at 8:21 pm
Thank you for the wonderful photo. I wonder what mental illness modern day doctors would associate with Billy’s behavior.
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D.P. Lyle, MD
October 16, 2015 at 7:11 am
Probably a sociopath or borderline personality disorder.
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Richie Roberts
November 2, 2015 at 4:15 pm
Modern day has neutered the male. He was normal, going what he had to do to survive.
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