A random photograph that American collector Randy Guijarro bought in a junk shop for two dollars turned out to be a unique photograph of Billy the Kid, the legendary outlaw of the Wild West.
History of photography
54-year-old California resident Randy Guijarro has been fascinated by the Wild West since childhood and collected artifacts related to this era. In 2010, he bought three 19th-century photographs from a junk dealer, including a ferrotype with a group portrait of people playing croquet. Guijarro soon discovered that one of the subjects in the photo resembled Billy the Kid. It took the collector five years to confirm his guess: in October 2015, experts from the Kagin’s auction house concluded that the picture really shows Billy, and valued the photograph at five million dollars.
First portrait
Before Guijarro's discovery, only one portrait of Billy the Kid was known - it was taken in 1880 by a traveling photographer in New Mexico. Billy gave the photo to his friend Dan Dendrick, and it was kept in his family for many years. The photograph was exhibited several times at the Lincoln County Museum, and in 2011 it was sold at auction for $2.3 million to billionaire William Koch.
“There are too many stories going around about me; I don’t know if anyone will believe that there was anything good in me now.” - Billy the Kid from an interview with The Las Vegas Gazette
Billy the Kid
New York native William Henry McCarthy lived only 21 years and remained in history under the name Billy the Kid. In the late 1870s, the Regulators gang, of which he was a member, participated in the famous “Lincoln County War,” a bloody struggle between local clans for influence. Most of the gang members were killed by the authorities and rival mercenaries, but Billy and his friend Tom O'Folliard managed to escape. The governor of New Mexico promised $500 for the head of the criminal, who was credited with more than twenty murders. Having learned about this, Sheriff Pat Garrett tracked Billy down and handed him over to the local prison. The bandit managed to escape, but the sheriff found him again and shot him on July 14, 1881.
“Those who knew Billy well will confirm that even in times when he was overcome by the most wild and dangerous moods, his face was always overshadowed by a smile. He ate laughing, drank laughing and killed laughing too. He was not characterized by loud laughter, his the laugh was more of a soft musical vibration of the voice combined with a pleasant smile. You had to look into his eyes to catch the signs of anger" - Sheriff Pat Garrett, author of The True Life of Billy the Kid
Evidence of photo authenticity
1. Lincoln County Archives confirm that during the years 1877-78, which the photo probably dates from, all members of the Regulators gang were in the area at the same time, guarding farmer John Tunstall and lawyer Alexander McSween.
2. Photo taken at Tunstall Ranch. The building from the photograph has still been preserved; the outlines of the hills in the background coincide with the real area. Croquet mallets also point to the rancher: this game was not common in America in the 1870s; apparently, the Englishman Tunstall brought them from his homeland.
3. The man in the photograph resembles Billy the Kid in his posture and manner of dressing. In the only reliable photograph, he also stands with his shoulders slumped and his hat pushed to one side. At the same time, as one of the experts noted, cowboys in the Wild West almost never wore knitted sweaters, which Billy the Kid is wearing in both photographs.
4. Billy the Kid is believed to have had an affair with Sally Chisham. According to her diary, on August 13, 1878, she received two heart-shaped lollipops from Billy, and in September she met him at her uncle's ranch. The program, which recognizes faces in images, rated the match with Sally's portrait at 80.6%.
5. The height of the man in the photo coincides with Kid’s height, known from police records - 177 cm. They were able to calculate him thanks to a croquet mallet, the length of which is usually 91.44 cm.
1986, New York. A police officer slowly makes his way through the darkness on crunchy snow that looks like morning cereal without milk. He finds the body of a murdered boy, and the entire city police forcefully joins the case, along with the alienist Mr. Kreizberg.
This is an archaic term for a psychiatrist. At the beginning of the first episode, the caption appears: “In the 19th century, those suffering from mental illness must return to their real likeness. Experts who deal with these individuals are called alienists.” What exactly “true likeness” means in this context is not yet very clear.
The series is based on the book of the same name from the series about the adventures of Mr. Kreizberg. Author Caleb Carr has repeatedly planned to adapt his 1994 novel as a feature film. Even on main role wanted to see at least Sam Neill or Anthony Hopkins. And only in 2015, the director of "" and "Beasts of No Nation" Fukunaga began to develop the series. He abstained from directing, leaving space for Jacob Verbruggen (several episodes of House of Cards and one for Black Mirror). Actually, Fukunaga treated the original novel with care and put all the attributes of the book in their place. Carr combined fictional characters with real ones, which is why his novel features Anthony Comstock, James T. Ellison and Theodore Roosevelt. The latter has already appeared at the beginning of the first episode and plays the commissioner of the police department.
Murder little boy shrouded in terrible details: the body is missing certain parts (genitals, tongue), the throat is cut and the eyes are pecked out by birds. However, an alienist is involved in the case, because the boy’s body was found in women’s clothing. The first episode aims to introduce viewers to the main characters, so they introduce the characters as effectively as possible. For example, Daniel Brühl appears, as if Churchill in the recent "", from the twilight. His taciturnity gives rise to suspicions that he has something to hide. He tightly hides his inner demons behind the image of a serious man with a thick beard, from whom you shouldn’t even expect a joke.
Kreizberg collaborates with John Moore, he is an illustrator for The New York Times and part-time stealer of women's hearts. In Carr's book, Moore was the narrator of the story. And in the series, he is a man of few words and cannot bear even the sight of blood and guts, so this case seems extremely difficult for his eyes, stomach and psyche. This role went to Luke Evans, who lacks big roles in films, even here he plays the partner of the main character, a sort of Watson for Sherlock Holmes. However, if Watson was the voice of sobriety, Moore is like a comedic character who is treated with contempt by everyone for his reputation as a ladies' man. Residents do not take him seriously as a detective, because he is only an illustrator. And we know well from David Fincher's Zodiac that an obsession with criminal cases can manifest itself even in artists.
Moore introduces the alienist at the police station to Sarah Howard, who reluctantly helps both of them in the investigation. She is played by the eldest of the Fanning sisters, Dakota. She may seem too severe to the viewer, and you involuntarily begin to sympathize with her when you see how tightly her body is pulled into a corset. It seems that in the first episode Fanning got to play an informant for the main characters. While Kreizberg and Moore rely on gut feelings from similar cases in the past, Howard is a breath of adequacy in detective judgment.
In the end, the series does not disappoint the audience after the trailers. This is a strong detective story with characters who for the first time encounter the still unknown psychological deviations of killers. Executive producer and series creator Fukunaga maintains his visual style. Some frames can be paused and the interior of 19th century rooms can be examined in detail. Along with attention to the environment, Fukunaga and director Verbruggen keep the focus on violence in a society that is accustomed to easily explaining the motivations of criminals. This is why the characters are so surprised by the events shown in the first episode. They act like this is the first brutal murder in New York. It is unlikely that the television series will unfold in some unexpected direction, but even such a style and plot is already worthy of attention.
Gas gas gas!
Do you like my car?
Guess you're ready
"Cause I"m waiting for you
It's gonna be so exciting!
Got this feeling
Really deep in my soul
Let's get out I wanna go
Come along, get it on!
Gonna take my car
Gonna sit in
But you"ll like it!
I wanna race for you
Shall I go now?
Gas gas gas!
I'm gonna step on the gas
Yeah yeah yeah!
I"ll be so quick as a flash
And I"ll be your hero
Gas gas gas!
I'm gonna run as a flash
Yeah yeah yeah!
I'm gonna step on the gas
And you"ll see the big show!
Don't be lazy
"Cause I"m burning for you
It's like a hot sensation!
Got this power
That is taking me out
Yes I"ve got a crush on you
Ready now, ready to go!
Gonna take my car
Gonna sit in
Gonna drive alone till I get you
"Cause I"m crazy, hot and ready
But you"ll like it!
I wanna race for you
Shall I go now?
Gas gas gas!
I'm gonna step on the gas
Tonight I"ll fly and be your lover
Yeah yeah yeah!
I"ll be so quick as a flash
And I"ll be your hero
Gas gas gas!
I'm gonna run as a flash
Tonight I"ll fight to be the winner
Yeah yeah yeah!
I'm gonna step on the gas
And you"ll see the big show!
Guess you're ready
"Cause I"m waiting for you
It's gonna be so exciting!
Got this feeling
Really deep in my soul
Let's get out I wanna go
Come along, get it on!
Gonna take my car
Do you like my car?
"Cause I"m crazy, hot and ready
But you"ll like it!
I wanna race for you
Shall I go now?
Gas gas gas!
I'm gonna step on the gas
Tonight I"ll fly and be your lover
Yeah yeah yeah!
I"ll be so quick as a flash
And I"ll be your hero
Gas gas gas!
I'm gonna run as a flash
Tonight I"ll fight to be the winner
Yeah yeah yeah!
I'm gonna step on the gas
And you"ll see the big show!
Gas gas gas!
Yeah yeah yeah!
Gas gas gas!
And you"ll see the big show! Gas gas!
Do you like my car?
Guess you're ready
Because I'm waiting for you
It will be so interesting!
Got this feeling
Let's go, I want to go
Let's go get it!
I'm going to take my car
I'm going to sit
But you'll love it!
I want to chase you
Shall I go now?
Gas gas!
I'm about to step on the gas
Yes Yes!
And I'll be your hero
Gas gas!
I'll run like a flash
Yes Yes!
I'm about to step on the gas
And you will see a great show!
Don't be lazy
'Cause I'm burning for you
It feels like a hot feeling!
Got this power
It's driving me crazy
Yes, I have
Ready now, ready!
I'm going to take my car
I'm going to sit
Gonna ride alone until I get you
'Cause I'm crazy, hot and ready
But you'll love it!
I want to chase you
Shall I go now?
Gas gas!
I'm about to step on the gas
Tonight I will fly and be your lover
Yes Yes!
I'll be as fast as a flash
And I'll be your hero
Gas gas!
I'll run like a flash
Tonight I will fight to be the winner
Yes Yes!
I'm about to step on the gas
And you will see a great show!
Guess you're ready
Because I'm waiting for you
It will be so interesting!
Got this feeling
Really deep in my soul
Let's go, I want to go
Let's go get it!
I'm going to take my car
Do you like my car?
'Cause I'm crazy, hot and ready
But you'll love it!
I want to chase you
Shall I go now?
Gas gas!
I'm about to step on the gas
Tonight I will fly and be your lover
Yes Yes!
I'll be as fast as a flash
And I'll be your hero
Gas gas!
I'll run like a flash
Tonight I will fight to be the winner
Yes Yes!
I'm about to step on the gas
And you will see a great show!
Gas gas!
Yes Yes!
Gas gas!
And you will see a great show!