Houghton Mifflin Publisher'sThe Wyatt Earp Arizona Photo
By
Gene Stevens
Update 03/27/2024
from a letter dated October 30th 1930
from Stewart N. Lake to Ira Kent,
The letter tells of an unknown Tintype originally in the possessionof Sadie Earp that was given to Stuart Lake.Authors note; This is the first article in a series of articles that I will write about historic photographs that I am either in possession of or have been brought to my attention.
I've always been history buff. As a kid, I grew up hearing my Dad's world war two stories and watching classic TV in Chicago during the 1960's and 70's. I had a healthy dose of John Wayne movies and I was lucky enough to see the movie Shane on a full size theater screen in the basement of neighborhood friend, who's Dad was a projectionist in a theater in downtown Chicago. My Father recognized my love of history and when my eight grade class at the John C Coonley Elementary school in Chicago organized a trip to Washington DC before our graduation, he made sure that I was able to go, and paid for the trip.
It was the trip to D.C. that really ignited a love in me for our history. I love the American West and Western movies, that's for sure. I'm not really a collector of wild west items per se. I am a mainly a train buff and collector of old toy trains right now, and trains most certainly played a huge role in the settlement of the American west. In the 1990's, I became a historic reenactor. I reenacted multiple time periods, including civil war, World War two and fur trade period, particularly the Black Hawk War of 1832. It was my study of the Black Hawk war period that brought me into a deeper understanding of westward expansion. It motivated me to write a book on the first battle of the Black War called “Red Flag of Defiance”. The hobby also gave me the unique opportunity to travel all over the country, and to see many historic places. I walked on many battlefields and visited many historic sites. It was quite a journey. I also collected and owned some original civil war related collectibles. Including tin types and carte de visite photos of civil war soldiers.
In 2015 My wife and I made our first trip to Arizona. It was the first of many. We both fell in love the desert, the history and everything that Arizona had to offer.
The first time we visited there, I was compelled to go Tombstone. I had seen all the movies and westerns since I was a kid, and I wanted to see what the wild west was all about. My wife (Vicki) and I loved Tombstone so much that we decided to get married there in 2017. We were wedded by the honorable Doctor Jay and Linda at the O.K. Corral. It was a very special moment.
As I previously stated, I'm not an avid collector of western related stuff. I do own many books on various historic subjects, a couple of books on Wyatt Earp, some artwork by CM Russell and I own some reproduction western badges. But with that said, I was on a mission to transform a large rock garden in my back yard into a life size wild west diorama. So I went on a search through antique shops and ebay for western themed yard items. While shopping online, I ran into a photo that caught my eye. It was listed as a “cabinet tintype photo of Described as; a "gentleman" wild west originally from Arizona. Having some basic understanding of period (19th century) photos from my reenacting, I recognized that the photo is probably an ambrotype. But when I looked at the photo, I was immediately struck by the mans face as being familiar. As I looked at it more, I felt that the photo looked like a younger Wyatt Earp. I'm not going out on a limb here, because I had no idea who it is (or was). The photo was listed for $40.00 dollars. And as I mentioned, I had a couple of tintypes and carte de visites in the past during my civil war reenacting days. Though, I personally thought that $40.00 was a bit steep for any tintype. But, I decided to buy the photo anyway. I guess I just had see this photo for myself.
Once I had it in my possession, I was stunned by the resemblance of the person in this photo to Wyatt Earp. But I knew that this photo was at this point just another unknown person from the 19th century. I'm a bit of a digger and researcher, soI started by doing some of my own comparisons. I first compared the photo to a couple of known photos of Wyatt Earp. And there were many anatomically similar features. Showing that the photo in question had many striking similarities to known Wyatt Earp photos. Particularly the photo or Wyatt that was taken while he was in Lamar Missouri which is fairly clear Photo of Wyatt.
I was now seriously compelled to investigate the photo further. I went online and located a site that dealt with facial recognition (www.faceplusplus.com). I did some comparisons with a known picture of Wyatt Earp ( photo known as the Lamar photo) and the comparison indicated a high probability 70%, in that the photo that I'm in possession is "probably" the same person as the person in the Lamar photo... Wyatt Earp.
I then did some additional comparisons to other known Wyatt Earp photos and those comparisons lead me to believe that the program had some reliability, Though I cannot vouch for the reliability of this particular platform. I also compared it to the photo of Wyatt as a child with his mother, and the comparison to the Wyatts childhood face was also scored at 68% positive in relation to the ambrotype photo in my possession. To help place the photo in context with its time period. Its worth mentioning that the photo processes of the day at changed in more modernized places, and that the ambrotype photos had faded out of popularity in the east by the 1860's. But were still very much in use during that time by frontier photographers of the day, due to their ease of production. At this point, I knew I needed more information, so I decided to reach out to the seller about the photo. All the seller would tell me was that the photo was purchased from an auction house in Youngstown Arizona, and that the photo was by itself, with no other items. On a really strange note, I tried to ask the seller more questions about the photograph, and I was rebuffed with hostility and shut down. Perhaps I was either too assertive (which I don't believe that I was), or the seller did not want to divulge the exact source. I followed up by emailing two auctions houses in the Youngstown area to see if they knew anything about the photo. One said that they did not remember the photo. The other said that the picture looked familiar, but they could not recall anymore details. I had reached biggest obstacle in establishing any provenance.
Tombstone Times
All things considered, I felt that I needed to reach out to someone closer to Wyatt Earp history. I'm never one to consider the trail cold until I've exhausted any and all resources. So I contacted a resource in Tombstone Arizona, unfortunately. My source in Tombstone wished to remain anonymous. I sent this person a copy of the picture to examine. I was actually expecting a response saying something like, “you must be crazy.. This isn't Wyatt Earp”. But then I received the following response from the anonymous source.
“I will start out by stating that I am not an expert on photo comparison, by any means.That said, I am always up to the challenge. Although, I cannot state it is not Wyatt Earp from first look, I will state that a few things come to my mind first of all ---Wyatt never wore a beard, much less an "amishstyle" beard with no mustouche. Wyatt always had a mustache in every photo of him and this photo does not show a mustache. So, that alone makes me think it is not him.
He does have a similar eye slant, but the nose is not quite the same. And the one thing that really helps identify a photo is the ears, and unfortunately, that part of the image is not clear enough to give a good comparison. The fact that the photo was originally found in youngstown Az doesn't really give a clue, since that city is in the biggest county, Maricopa, which offers more places for antiques to be sold. We are (sic) leaning towards the thought that it could be another Earp relative, but not likely Wyatt.
Honestly, there have been so many other correspondences with photos of a man from that time - most all believing that they found the golden ticket to having an unseen image of the famous man. I have rejected forthright any thought that it was even worth researching and I let them know it was one of many that people think might be the famous Wyatt Earp but is just another old west photo of an old west man. But, that said we think that this is worth further investigation since there is at least some resemblance.
I have to say, that I was very surprised and elated, though very cautiously optimistic by the response. I was most definitely happy that I wasn't the only one who saw the same face that I did, and did not automatically dismiss the find. Call me crazy or accuse me of trying to hoodwink the public. But with that said, many people who do historic research frequently suffer slings and arrows. when they try to reveal the discovery of new things. I understand why my source wants to stay anonymous. I too have suffered similar slings and arrows for this find. And I expect to suffer more. But with that said, I've had some time to study and research more, and I'd like to address a couple of Comments for the sake of investigative clarity .
“ Wyatt never wore a beard, much less an "amish-style" beard with no mustache. Wyatt had a mustache in every photo of him and this photo does not show a mustache. So, that alone makes me think it is not him.”
The above photo is popularly known as the Lamar photo, take during Wyatt Earp's time in Lamar Missouri. Its very apparent by this photo that; Wyatt as what vaguely appears to be a Mustache and what appears to be a small beard or the beginning of one, suggesting that this could have been when he decided to start wearing facial hair. Its also apparent that he haswhat appears to be a small beard or late adolescent growth. .'He does have a similar eye slant, but the nose is not quite the same. And the one thing that really helps identify a photo is the ears, and unfortunately, that part of the image is not clear enough to give a good comparison.”
The Arizona photo appears to be a similar late adolescent growth somewhat like the Lamar photo. But Longer. If this is Wyatt Earp, this photo may have been taken during the Earp family transit to or arrival in San Bernadino California from Pella Iowa.
“And the one thing that really helps identify a photo is the ears, and unfortunately, that part of the image is not clear enough to give a good comparison.”
A close forensic examination of the photocleaned up the photo and indicated(and is visible) that the features ofthe ears in both the Arizona andLamar photos are similar.
“But the nose is not quite the same”
In the book “The Illustrated Life and Times of Wyatt Earp” By Author and Illustrator, Bob Boze Bell, lays out a clear and concise timeline of Wyatt Earp's life. On page 18 the Author tells us that Wyatt, Barely 20 years old “Finds his true calling when he encounters whiskey peddlers, whores, and gamblers who follow the (railroad) tracks.
He is fascinated by the lifestyle; smart enough to play their game and bold enough to stand up to their games. Exposed to one of the most popular sports on the railroad construction sites – Boxing.” It was during this time that Wyatt both a bidder and a boxer. He sometimes competed, sometimes promoted and occasionally refereed fisticuffs. It is possible that the change in Wyatt's nose was due his boxing activities during this time? Its not only possible, but probable.
In the book Famous Gunfighters of the Western Frontier by W.B. (Bat) Masterson, He states;
I have known Wyatt Earp since early in the seventies, And I have seen him tried out under circumstances which made the test of manhood supreme. He landed in Wichita Kansas in 1872, being about 26 years old, and weighing in the neighborhood of one hundred and sixty pounds, all of it muscle. He stood six feet in height, with light blue eyes, and a complexion bordering on the blonde.
Where Could The Photo have been Taken?
In the spring of 1864, the Rousseaus and three neighboring families---the Earps, the Curtis'es, and the Hamiltons,---left Iowa and moved out west.
The expedition west had a diarist along by the name of Sarah Jane Rousseau. She was eager to escape from the bitter cold Iowa winters. Suffering from a debilitating case of rheumatism, she hoped that she could find relief from her crippling disease at her new home in California. Whereas
On May 12, 1864 the four families embarked by wagon train for southern California, rendezvousing at the nearby town of Pella, where wagon master, Nicholas Earp and his family lived. Sarah Jane Rousseau, virtually unable to walk by this time, began her wonderful journal of the group's experiences which eventually took them to the town of San Bernardino. Her diary was detailed with descriptions of the caravans' day-to-day life. Ref https://www.sbcity.org/about/history/pioneer_women/sarah_jane_rousseau.asp
It is well known fact that the Earp family was very mobile and on the move most of their lives. As the civil war subsided, the American west was opening up to settlement and Nicholas Earp, Wyatt's father was on the move in pursuit of a better life. In late 1864, the Earp family departed Pella Iowa on a wagon train bound for San Benadinos California, by way of Salt Lake City Utah. In the book Pioneer Photographers of the Far West: A Biographical Dictionary, 1840-1865, There is ample information to indicate that there were photographers present in both Salt Lake City and San Bernadino California.
But again, if the subject in the photo is Wyatt Earp. The best chance of Wyatt sitting for a photo would have been in San Bernadino. It was in the new frontier town of San Bernadino, that another new person had also settled into the area right around the same time as the Earp Family and his name was Maurice A. Franklin. And he arrived in San Bernadino in 1864. Franklin set up a photograph shop on D street, Not far from where the Earp family had set up camp upon arriving in California.
Another Piece of the Puzzle on the Trail.
While searching for additional information online, I ran into a video of a Writer by the name of Nick Cataldo. He appeared in a 2016 program on C-Span in which he spoke about a book that he had written, called “The Earp Clan, The Southern California Years.”. As I listened to Nick talk about his book, I realized that he had another piece of the puzzle that I was searching for. I purchased a copy of Nicks book. On page 15 under the subtitle “Notorious “D Street” , Nick tells the story of the early years of San Bernadino and the Corner of Third and D street which became known as Whiskey Point. Nick also states that “The town that greeted them (The Earps) was pretty tough. San Bernadino featured a number of saloons, gambling halls, and a flourishing red light district on south “D” Street. It also proved to be Nick Earp's kind of town”. But in addition to the saloons and cat houses of San Bernadino. Other businesses sprung up. One of which was the photographic studio of Maurice Franklin, located near 3rd and “D” street.
A photo taken in the early 1870s A high-resolution scan later showed that Vale’s photography sign could be seen on the upper floor. Earlier, the upstairs studio had been the gallery of Maurice Franklin. Located at 3rd and D Street.
Forensic-investigation
In April 2021, I reached out to a police Forensic artist and re constructionist, Michael Streed, who owns a company called SketchCop. Streed is one of the world’s leading forensic artists based out of Orange County, California and the Baltimore and Washington D.C. areas. Streed has been involved in law enforcement for over 35 years and though he is now a retired sergeant, he still works on cases for the Baltimore Police Department as their full-time sketch artist.
Streed analyzed the photo and compared them to three other known Wyatt Earp photos. Both Michael and I are former law enforcement so I could tell that we were both being very cautious about how we approached the situation. When we initially communicated, I was careful to conceal the identity of the photograph and my feelings about it. We drafted and signed a non-disclosure agreement. It was only after the agreement was signed that I told Michael who I thought the person in the photo was. Michael's extensive assessment indicated that the photo in question was “highly likely” Wyatt Earp.
Side by side comparison by Michael Streed “Sketch Cop”
Questionable Photos and Smoking guns
Around 2015 stories began to surface in the news about the discovery of a previously unknown photograph of the famous outlaw, William H. Bonney aka Bill the Kid. The photo was apparently discovered in a resale shop in Fresno California. The story appeared on several news sources including True West Magazine. The following is an excerpt from news.justcollecting.com.
“Several photographs purporting to feature the legendary Old West outlaw have surfaced over the years, although all but one have been debunked by scholars. Most famously, a photo said to feature Bonney and his gang playing croquet at a wedding party in New Mexico was discovered in 2010 in a Fresno junk shop.That photograph was the subject of a major National Geographic documentary, and made headlines around the world when it was valued at up to $5 million – although many experts have since dismissed its authenticity.”
True West Magazine posted a very detailed article about the discovery of the Billy The Kid photograph. Ref https://truewestmagazine.com/article/billy-the-kid-experts-weigh-in-on-the-croquet-photo/ Its very apparent that the author of the article and great care to take a very objective look at the information.
And included opinions and views from those who supported the authenticity of the photograph and those who had dismissed the authenticity of the new found photograph.
I myself have read many articles and viewed documentaries from both sides of the argument where the William Bonney photo is concerned and is any investigations. There are myths, truth and a lot of stuff in between. I have to agree with one big statement in the True West Article from Drew Gomber, from Lincoln County He states;
“There is a big difference between documentation, which is a document trail that leads back to day one, and authentication, which merely identifies the picture as being from a particular period and sometimes, a place. Personally, I still have to go with documentation.”
—Drew Gomber, Lincoln County historian
So what Drew Gomber is referring to is the white elephant in the room, which pertains to “Provenance” which I refer to as “The smoking gun”. In historic reenacting, Provenance was mainly found and authenticated via “primary source information” Not a copy. But original documentation. This therefore must be acknowledged in the case of the photograph in my possession. Though, I have to note that unlike the William Bonney photograph. Which is taken from quite a distance, and makes it difficult for the investigators to make a better identification. The possible Wyatt photograph is a direct close up in a more controlled situation lending itself to a better examination. Another big difference is that the possible Wyatt photo is not for sale. It has not been shopped around for a positive answer to its authenticity and has only been shown to those people who I had hoped could help to establish provenance. But just like the William Bonney photograph, it lacks provenance. There is no smoking gun to connect the photograph to Wyatt Earp. So at this point, my investigation has only forensic- investigative and circumstantial backed evidence.
-Gene Stevens
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