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Man who discovered rare Billy the Kid photo: 'The hunt is a really grand thing' Man who discovered rare Billy the Kid photo: 'The hunt is a really grand thing'
(34 minutes later)
The man who found a rare and expensive photograph of Billy the Kid playing croquet has some advice for other treasure hunters: get rummaging.The man who found a rare and expensive photograph of Billy the Kid playing croquet has some advice for other treasure hunters: get rummaging.
“I hope this prompts others out there to look into trunks and attics because there are so many lost treasures out there,” Randy Guijarro told the Guardian on Monday.“I hope this prompts others out there to look into trunks and attics because there are so many lost treasures out there,” Randy Guijarro told the Guardian on Monday.
Related: Multimillion-dollar photo of Billy the Kid playing croquet was $2 junk shop find
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.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.
The telecommunications technician said he and his wife, Linda, plan to use some of the money from his startling discovery to fund more expeditions. “We could use a new vehicle. We’d really like to look for lost pieces of history be it US or worldwide. We love to be adventurers. The hunt is a really grand thing.”The telecommunications technician said he and his wife, Linda, plan to use some of the money from his startling discovery to fund more expeditions. “We could use a new vehicle. We’d really like to look for lost pieces of history be it US or worldwide. We love to be adventurers. The hunt is a really grand thing.”
Studying the image under a microscope at home he recognised Henry McCarty, known in Wild West lore as Billy the Kid, as the man leaning on a croquet mallet, along with members of his gang, the Regulators, playing the sport in New Mexico in 1878.Studying the image under a microscope at home he recognised Henry McCarty, known in Wild West lore as Billy the Kid, as the man leaning on a croquet mallet, along with members of his gang, the Regulators, playing the sport in New Mexico in 1878.
The discovery, only the second authenticated photograph of the outlaw, has been valued at $5m. A National Geographic documentary narrated by Kevin Costner detailed the five-year effort to authenticate it – a forensic and historical odyssey - in a broadcast on Sunday.The discovery, only the second authenticated photograph of the outlaw, has been valued at $5m. A National Geographic documentary narrated by Kevin Costner detailed the five-year effort to authenticate it – a forensic and historical odyssey - in a broadcast on Sunday.
“It was wonderful. We were very emotional watching it,” said Guijarro, 54. “We’ve laid it out, told the truth, and we hope you’ve enjoyed the ride.”“It was wonderful. We were very emotional watching it,” said Guijarro, 54. “We’ve laid it out, told the truth, and we hope you’ve enjoyed the ride.”
Scepticism and false leads dogged the detective work and at times left the couple tense and anxious, unsure whom to trust, he said. “There were highs and lows. It was a bit of a lonely journey. This picture was almost Twilight Zone-ish. Too good to be true.”Scepticism and false leads dogged the detective work and at times left the couple tense and anxious, unsure whom to trust, he said. “There were highs and lows. It was a bit of a lonely journey. This picture was almost Twilight Zone-ish. Too good to be true.”
Billy the Kid is synonymous with the Wild West, a New Yorker who forged a brief, bloody career as an outlaw, reputedly killing 21 men before being gunned down by Lincoln County sheriff Pat Garrett in 1881, at the age of 21. Some historians estimate he killed just nine people. The only other confirmed photo of him, a portrait of him posing with a gun taken in 1880, sold for $2.3m (£1.5m) in 2011.Billy the Kid is synonymous with the Wild West, a New Yorker who forged a brief, bloody career as an outlaw, reputedly killing 21 men before being gunned down by Lincoln County sheriff Pat Garrett in 1881, at the age of 21. Some historians estimate he killed just nine people. The only other confirmed photo of him, a portrait of him posing with a gun taken in 1880, sold for $2.3m (£1.5m) in 2011.
Guijarro has been a life-long collector of coins, sports cards, comic books and other memorabilia, often teaming up with his wife, who likes old photographs.Guijarro has been a life-long collector of coins, sports cards, comic books and other memorabilia, often teaming up with his wife, who likes old photographs.
In late summer of 2010, he was driving home alone from work and stopped by Fulton’s Folly Antique Collective in Fresno’s Tower district.In late summer of 2010, he was driving home alone from work and stopped by Fulton’s Folly Antique Collective in Fresno’s Tower district.
The dealer directed him to two men with “boxes of junk”. They told Guijarro they were cleaning out a storage space and needed to get rid of it. He picked three photos – the croquet players, plus other 19th-century scenes – and offered $2, all he had in his pocket. They took it.The dealer directed him to two men with “boxes of junk”. They told Guijarro they were cleaning out a storage space and needed to get rid of it. He picked three photos – the croquet players, plus other 19th-century scenes – and offered $2, all he had in his pocket. They took it.
Guijarro does not remember much about them. “No idea who they were. It’s almost a shadowy haze.”Guijarro does not remember much about them. “No idea who they were. It’s almost a shadowy haze.”
He liked the composition of the croquet shot but it was a week before he examined it under a microscope and recognised the notorious bandit. “You could put a Winchester rifle in his hands. It was the hat, the stance, him leaning on a croquet stick. I thought, my lord, it’s Billy the Kid.”He liked the composition of the croquet shot but it was a week before he examined it under a microscope and recognised the notorious bandit. “You could put a Winchester rifle in his hands. It was the hat, the stance, him leaning on a croquet stick. I thought, my lord, it’s Billy the Kid.”
He summoned Linda – “a wonderful, pragmatic woman”, he says – and she researched other members of the Regulators. She found online images of Tom O’Folliard and Charlie Bowdre which matched two of the other croquet players. “It was just beautiful,” Guijarro said.He summoned Linda – “a wonderful, pragmatic woman”, he says – and she researched other members of the Regulators. She found online images of Tom O’Folliard and Charlie Bowdre which matched two of the other croquet players. “It was just beautiful,” Guijarro said.
With the help of scholars, collectors, facial recognition experts and other specialists they eventually identified all 18 people in the photo, plus the schoolhouse in Chavez county, New Mexico, whose remains they excavated.With the help of scholars, collectors, facial recognition experts and other specialists they eventually identified all 18 people in the photo, plus the schoolhouse in Chavez county, New Mexico, whose remains they excavated.
The photo, it turned out, was taken in 1878 after a wedding, just a month after the gang took part in the brutal Lincoln County war. Kagin’s Inc, a California-based numismatic firm, has insured it for $5m and is seeking a private sale.The photo, it turned out, was taken in 1878 after a wedding, just a month after the gang took part in the brutal Lincoln County war. Kagin’s Inc, a California-based numismatic firm, has insured it for $5m and is seeking a private sale.
“We’re not counting our chickens before they’re hatched but there’s a lot of interest out there,” said Guijarro. In addition to buying a new car, he and Linda plan to pay off debts, help some friends and relatives and start plotting more treasure hunts.“We’re not counting our chickens before they’re hatched but there’s a lot of interest out there,” said Guijarro. In addition to buying a new car, he and Linda plan to pay off debts, help some friends and relatives and start plotting more treasure hunts.
They are not hoarders – almost everything they find, they sell, he said. “Otherwise we would be sitting on a hundred acres of stuff. It’s all about the hunt.”They are not hoarders – almost everything they find, they sell, he said. “Otherwise we would be sitting on a hundred acres of stuff. It’s all about the hunt.”