The Slander of Billy the Kid and the Abrams Tintypes
Changing 150 years of history.
I am a very English lady of ‘a certain age’ so on the face of it an unlikely candidate to appreciate The Slander of Billy the Kid and the Abrams Tintypes. But I found it to be a well-penned page turner with wider appeal than one might expect.
American author and attorney Frank Abrams came to notoriety a while after he bought five tintype photographs at a flea market. Frank gives the background to that form of early photography, making this a book of interest to anyone with a passion for photographic history.
The Slander of Billy the Kid and the Abrams Tintypes starts with that shopping trip to find some pictures for a wall at home and finishes by shedding new light on 150 years of Wild West history that we thought was carved in stone. A must-read for lovers of Western movies and novels.
The book unravels the journey of discovery behind those five connected tintype photographs found in 2011. Their historic importance was only later revealed after professional forensic examination. Two of the men in the photographs were Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett. They were both alive and seemed, at that time, to be on good terms!
Many aficionados of all things Wild West greeted the possible change in the hitherto accepted narrative with scepticism at the least and hostility at the worst. Pat was a saint and Billy was a sinner and that was the long-held opinion. But Frank had unearthed evidence that could change that perception. Pat Garrett and his dubious associates lived to tell a tale that showed them in a favourable light. Young Billy had no voice.
The Slander of Billy the Kid and the Abrams Tintypes is quite the riveting read. It’s a well-researched historic documentary of a violent yet romantic era. It’s a detective story with twists and turns. It is written in an accessible style that had me imagining the author narrating in a warm rich Wild West accent. Frank Abrams adds colour and personality to those long-gone characters, who were far more complex than depicted in flickering movies or shoot-’em-up outlaw novels. This book is a rollicking good read!
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