DENVER ? The iconic portrait of Billy the Kid that led to the mistaken belief that the outlaw was a southpaw is going up for sale this weekend.
A tintype image taken in 1879 or 1880 in Fort Sumner, N.M., showing the gunslinger with a Winchester rifle in his right hand and a Colt revolver holstered on his left is thought to be the only surviving depiction of the man also known as William H. Bonney.
The portrait led those unaware that tintype photos are reverse images to assume he was a lefty. The misinformation was so widespread that Paul Newman played the outlaw in the 1958 Western "The Left Handed Gun."
The portrait is set to be auctioned in Denver on Saturday at the 22nd Annual Old West Show & Auction.
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