Of course, it’s not just any old 19th century killer, pictured in this ferrotype – it’s the one and only Billy the Kid, the wild west outlaw who killed between four and 21 men. Selling for $US2.3 million in an auction on the weekend, it became the fourth most expensive photo to ever be sold.
Billy the Kid originally paid 25 cents to have his photo taken in either 1879 or 1880 in Fort Sumner, New Mexico, a price far from its current-day value of $US2.3 million, which was willingly paid by billionaire William Koch.
Photographer Cindy Sherman recently leapt to the headlines with her $US3.89 million-selling photo Untitled 96, which is now the most expensive photo in history. While I’m not much of a fan of her photo, I’d rather hang it on my wall than this spooky Billy the Kid ferrotype. [CNN via PetaPixel]