Was Billy the Kid spotted at Smiley’s Flea Market?

Frank A. Abrams [a lawyer, author and inventor in Skyland, N.C.] believes that a 3¼-by-3-inch tintype he bought at Smiley’s Flea Market in Fletcher, N.C., in 2011 might depict both Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett, the sheriff who killed the notorious outlaw in Fort Sumner on July 14, 1881.

“Abrams said he believes the photo of five seated cowboys was taken Jan. 14, 1880, at the dual wedding of Pat Garrett to Apolinaria Gutierrez and Barney Mason to Juana Madril….

“ ‘If I’m right, this will be the only known picture of Billy the Kid with Pat Garrett,’ Abrams said last month in Albuquerque.

“Though Abrams says he’s not ‘advocating a position’ on the authenticity of the photo, he spent 10 days traveling to historic New Mexico sites linked to the Kid and Pat Garrett, and meeting with people familiar with the duo’s history. He said he’s now searching out ‘experts’ in photo recognition in hopes of proving his theory.

“A trio of renowned Old West historians, however, say Abrams has a daunting task ahead….”

— From “Are Billy the Kid, Pat Garrett in tintype?” by Charles D. Brunt in the Albuquerque Journal (Dec. 6)

Meanwhile, UNC Professor Philip Gura‘s eBay-purchased daguerreotype of a woman he believes to be Emily Dickinson remains mired in skepticism