/ David Pescovitz / 8:43 pm Sun Jun 26, 2011

Billy The Kid photo sells for $2.3 million

Billy Tintype This here is Billy The Kid. And this here photo of Billy just sold at auction for $2.3 million. To one of them Koch brothers. From Brian Lebel's Old West Show and Auction:
130 years ago, legendary outlaw Billy the Kid had his “picture made” in Fort Sumner, New Mexico, posing for what is now considered the most recognizable photo of the American West. A single, original tintype is the only authenticated photo of the Kid in existence today...

Nearly as legendary as the kid himself, the photo has been studied, copied, scrutinized, portrayed in films, re-imagined, and immortalized. Once thought to prove Billy was “The Left Handed Gun,” it later proved he was not.

Billy the Kid is Coming to Denver (auction site)

"Billy the Kid photograph fetches $2.3 million at auction" (CNN)

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  2. If you’re not a tintype enthusiast, this is the explanation: “…and his Colt single action in his holster on his right hip (a tintype is a mirror image, making the gun appear to be on his left hip).”

    Also of note, one of the Koch brothers was the winning bidder.

    1. Dude, I don’t see a holster on EITHER of his hips. I see a bullet belt and a rifle in his right hand (which is really his left hand since a tintype is a mirror image, as you say.) Where is this alleged holster? Is the gun handle that shiny thing by his elbow? Because I don’t see a hammer or the revolving cylinder on that. Why would a gun-slinger have it so high up? Seems like he’d want it as close to his hand as possible i.e. down on his thigh like in all the movies. Has Hollywood been lying to me (though, that’s where I’d ideally keep a gun holstered myself)? Or was The Kid just that bad-assed that he could draw that high up? I’m really confused about this whole business, if you couldn’t tell.

      Also, the post clearly states that a Koch brother placed the high bid, Sherlock.

      1. Yes – Hollywood has lied to you. The mythical ‘fast draw’ duel can be documented happening only a few times. A ‘shoot out’ was more likely under cover, on either side of the street. In general the west wasn’t as wild as Hollywood would have you believe.

        That bright spot by his elbow is the back of his revolver. If you find a larger image, you can make out the outline of the top of the holster easier, and the gun is tucked down into it, protected by the holster. It is tucked back at an angle in this pic as well. You don’t wear a belt of bullets with no gun. Most of the time the holsters were attached to the belts. You wouldn’t see the revolving cylinder, because they were covered on the rear of the pistol. See a Colt Peacemaker for an example.

        So while looking bad ass, having a low holster is just going to lead to a lost gun when riding a horse.

        1. Cool, thank you, sir. Was imagining the bullet belt was for the rifle, guy.

          So, I’m happy for the correct info, but now there is another contradiction with the post. We now know A) that the tintype is a mirror image, and B) the pistol is high on his belt with, if I understand you correctly, THE HANDLE FORWARD–the gun is clearly meant to be drawn with the opposite arm like a shoulder holster. HOWEVER, the post claims that this photo “proved he was not” “The Left Handed Gun.”

          Handle-out gun on picture’s LEFT hip drawn by RIGHT hand EXCEPT photo is a mirror-image=Billy’s a lefty. What am I missing? Or did the digital image get flipped?

          1. What you are seeing is the backstrap of the pistol. http://www.reigelgunengraving.com/Pietta_SAA_45_colt_html.html

            You can see an ornate example 4 pics down. It is the metal between the two grips.

            So it is tucked in traditionally for use with the right hand. You can also figure out the orientation because the rifle only came in a right-loading breech.

            Here is a great run down of what can be gleaned from the photo:
            http://www.newmexico.org/billythekid/billypages/famous_photo.php

            Fun fact – my dad has my great-grandpa’s .44-40 Winchester. It is a fun, large, but slow round. At 50 yards you can hear a distinct TWACK hitting the target after being fired.

          2. I’ve been looking at copies of the Kid’s tintype and 1873 Winchester .44-40s for the last half-hour. I can’t see enough detail on the Kid’s photo to make out the breach load, but as your link pointed out, his buttons are on the wrong side, so the photo posted above is reversed from reality/proper orientation of the actual tintype.

            I see what you mean about the backstrap, but you seem to be saying that he’s showing it off for the photo though if properly holstered, it would be oriented more normally? The holster–properly used–dictates such an orientation? Personally, I still think a pistol that high up would be easier to draw cross-body, particularly if he really did carry it butt-out as shown, but seems like I’m the (uneducated) minority view. As a lefty myself, I suppose I’m biased. I dig that he was more everyday utilitarian with his holster rather than good-for-nothing-but-quick-draw style. That’s definitely cooler.

            Anyway, I really do appreciate you taking your time with me. Sounds like that heirloom .44-40 is a joy to shoot–LUC-KYYYY!

  3. Of course a Koch Brother had to own it. Where do you think they learned to murder and steal? Personally I hope it turns out to be a fake. I like the idea of their blowing $2 million on a Hipstamatic photo.

    1. It’s a shame that it’s now in the possession of an evil, scumbag loser. Oh well, a trustafarian silver-spooned worthless Koch brother slithered out from under the rock he was under and bought something with his dead daddy’s money. Congrats, scum.

      1. “Dead daddy’s money” indeed. As a non-American I know next to nothing about your hated Koch brothers. A minute of searching though reveals that they’ve increased Daddy’s bequeathed fortune by orders of magnitude. The Kochs may be evil incarnate, but don’t try to pretend that they aren’t astute businessmen.

        1. Daddy’s money was in oil, especially technology. Oil has increased orders of magnitude since then. Don’t know about this guy, but the other brothers have gone on record as being global warming deniers. They are the major money behind inaction on global warming. This puts them in either the “I don’t care about humanity” corner or the non-astute corner. Unless you’re on a different planet, they have a negative effect on your life.

        2. Takes money to make money. Once you get enough unless you are incompetant it will grow itself.

        3. A minute of searching though reveals that they’ve increased Daddy’s bequeathed fortune by orders of magnitude. The Kochs may be evil incarnate, but don’t try to pretend that they aren’t astute businessmen.

          You obviously don’t know how incredibly easy it is to increase fortunes in America when you’re willing to use bribery instead of hard, ethical work that benefits society. So easy an idiot Koch brother can do it.

          3. Whatev. Was just trying to make a joke using the differentiation.

            I think we can solidly agree that the (dishonest) motives are the same, no matter what it’s called.

          4. Whatev. Was just trying to make a joke using the differentiation.

            Sorry, my bad. My sarcasm-o-meter must need adjusting.

  4. Well, me and Billy The Kid never got along.
    I didn’t like the way he cocked his hat and he wore his gun all wrong.

  5. “Also of note, one of the Koch brothers was the winning bidder.”

    Aw, crap… really? I’m pretty tired of those guys.

    It does please me though, that I can view the image via the intertubez, without having to pay a couple million to own the thing. Seen it. Don’t care any more.

    Thank you Kock brothers for your extreme beneficence. Ok, next billionaire art collectors, step up. We’re waiting for your largesse. Come on… bread and circuses, we’re all waiting. *taps foot impatiently*.

    I am SO ready for the next revolution… can you tell?

  7. Ha, this is classic Indiana Jones stuff – it belongs in a museum, not in the private collection of some rich asshole.

  8. Meh – the composition is crap, and developing technique is horrible. D-

    PS – Class hate? On BB? Shocked!

    1. Class hate? On BB? Shocked!

      I don’t hate Koch brothers because of their class, I hate them for their lack of it.

  9. The Koch brothers gave 20 million dollars to the ACLU to fight the Patriot act. And while they’ve given millions to political causes, they’ve also given 600 million to the arts and medical research.

    However, in the world of the typical knee-jerk ignoramus (a world that has all the moral nuance of the Old Testament), they stand for nothing but evil in its most distilled form. How nice it must be to have the moral certainty of a comic book.

    1. They make an estimated hundred billion dollars a year. Most of us can manage to get by on less than a million. Giving less than a billion away is a pittance to them.

    2. You are talking about the same guy who hid behind the scenes like a rat to push the union busting law through the Wisconsin statehouse? Yah, a billionaire putting a boot to the neck of working people is really admirable.

      FYI, as another has pointed out they are Koch BROTHERS. They seem to have wildly different ethics. From what I’ve seen in the press wealthy siblings can really turn on each other. We’ve had some truly nasty courtroom sagas that have gone on for years between folks like this around here. The only thing bigger than their holdings are their egos and sense of entitlement.

    3. The Koch brothers gave 20 million dollars to the ACLU to fight the Patriot act. And while they’ve given millions to political causes, they’ve also given 600 million to the arts and medical research. However, in the world of the typical knee-jerk ignoramus

      Hmmm… and what else have they done?

      Does the harm outweigh the good, perhaps?

      Or are you a typical knee-jerk ignoramus who’s unable to weigh such facts?

    4. May I borrow your thought processes for, oh, say 10 seconds. I’m ready to have my cliche world turned upside down. Joy to read you and same joy to you.

  11. Seems rather on the nose that a complete psychopath would use ill gotten gains to acquire a photo of a complete psychopath. At least back in the days of Billy the Kid, the law did something about its complete psychopaths…

  13. That’s 2.3 million dollars NOT spent promoting questionable politics. And the problem with this is…?

  14. It’s worth noting that Charles and David are usually known as the “evil, scumbag loser[s]” – the ones who are still involved with Koch Industries and the Koch family foundations. William Koch may or may not fit that description too, but he doesn’t appear to be the political activist pulling the strings in the background like his other brothers.

  15. I send you a picture of Billy made with th Perry shutter as quick as it can be worked — Pyro and soda developer. I am making daily experiments now and find I am able to take passing horses at a lively trot square across the line of fire — bits of snow in the air — spokes well defined — some blur on top of wheel but sharp on the main — men walking are no trick — I will send you proofs sometimes. I shall show you what can be done from the saddle without ground glass or tripod — please notice when you get the specimens that they were made with the lens wide open and many of the best exposed when my horse was in motion.

    Blood a necklace on me all my life.

    /studied it in college.

      1. It was Michael Ondaatje – ‘The Collected Works of Billy The Kid’ – before I get accused of plagiarism.

  16. There’s no need to defend or attack the Koch brothers for being billionaires. That’s not the issue. The issue is that while a rich one-percenter lives in luxury and ease, the money which could be spent on improving humanity goes to buy an item for personal satisfaction.
    ‘Why not?’ I hear the Rightwingers yelp. ‘Can a successful businessman or woman not spend their gains as he or she sees fit you Commie bastard?!’
    Of course they can. And as a father I can blow all my money on scotch and poker rather than feed my family. The difference is in the continuing amoral acts of the mega-rich. It always has been, always will be. Don’t tell me how much $$$ the elite give to charity. Show me how much $$$ the elite have spent to put charities out of business.

  18. I could be wrong, but I’d thought is was William Koch III who’d won this item at auction, and I do not think he is one of the Tea Party-backing Koch Brothers. Bill Koch is the guy that won the America’s Cup, lives in New England (or did live on the Cape), and is generally a decent fellow.

  19. I have a repro of that same photo on a “wanted” leaflet I once bought in Colorado in an amenity shop: mhhh….I’m wondering if is it worth something near that amount now…
    No, probably not.

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