When collector Randy Guijarro bought some old photos back in 2010, one in particular stood out to him: a black-and-white picture of people playing croquet in the country side.
Guijarro paid $2 for the four-by-five-inch tintype, plus two other photographs, which he plucked from a cardboard box in an antique shop in Fresno, California, in 2010. It is estimated now to be worth millions of dollars.
He had no idea, however, just how significant that photo was. Americana expert Kagin’s Inc. recently confirmed that the people featured in the photo are none other than the outlaw Billy the Kid and his gang of Regulators.
When Randy Guijarro studied the image under a microscope at home he recognized Henry McCarty leaning on the croquet mallet. Henry McCarty is known in Wild West lore as Billy the Kid.
Billy the Kid, born Henry McCarty was an American Old West gunfighter who participated in New Mexico’s Lincoln County War. He is known to have killed eight men. With a US $500 bounty posted by Governor Wallace on December 13, 1880, Garrett continued his search for Bonney. On December 23, 1880, Garrett captured Bonney along with Pickett, Rudabaugh and Wilson at Stinking Springs.
On April 28, 1881, Bonney was able to free himself. He obtained a horse and rode out of town.
The Regulators were an American old west deputized posse that fought in the Lincoln County War.
What would you do if you found a piece of history like the photo of Billy the Kid and his group of Regulators? Use the comments section below and share your thoughts. We’d love to hear from you!
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