Another Note on the “Montano Billy” Photograph

Recently there has been a photograph making its way through the Billy Territory of the Internet, of a young man on a horse in front of what appears to be the Montano store in Lincoln, New Mexico. It's claimed that this photograph was taken by James A. Tomlinson, a druggist and amateur photographer in Lincoln at that time, and that the boy photographed is none other than Billy the Kid.

While it is certainly an intriguing picture, it currently lacks the requisite provenance to declare without doubt that it is Billy.

But to add another point of context to the photo (which we do not even know for sure that Tomlinson took), I'd like to point out another item or two that can be established:

On May 19, 1879, James A. Tomlinson was called as a witness in the Dudley Court of Inquiry to provide details about his stay at Fort Stanton during July of 1878.

From Tomlinson's testimony, we can confirm from his own testimony that:

1. He was in the Lincoln area during at least part of the Lincoln County War.

2. He was known as a photographer and "picture man."

3. He was acquainted with the McSween faction, so much so that right before the Five Days' Battle, Dudley ordered him to leave Fort Stanton due to his possibly being a "McSween spy."

While this doesn't go very far in establishing any provenance for the Montano Billy Photograph, it does provide us with some more context for Tomlinson at the appropriate time and place.

Perhaps it's one more inch gained in the long road toward one day perhaps establishing provenance or disproving the photo?

Let us march forward, compadres, in the name of history!