Collector who bought Jesse James picture for just £7 on eBay told it could be worth £2 million
A collector has hit the jackpot after being told that an old photograph he picked up on eBay for just £7 was a genuine portrait of infamous Wild West outlaw Jesse James, worth up to £2 million.
Justin Whiting, 45, bought the photograph in July 2017 and immediately tracked down Will Dunniway, a 19th century photography expert from California.
He was astonished when forensic experts confirmed his picture of infamous Wild West outlaw Jesse James was genuine and could sell for six figures.
"I noticed the picture for sale - it was ten dollars. It was a bit blurry on the site but when I got it, it was a lot clearer.
"I thought to myself: 'Gee wizz, this could be a real photo!' I've been obsessed with American outlaws for years and read lots of books and study their faces.
"The picture was identical to the one in my book, except it was full length. All my friends said it was the same but I knew I needed to contact experts.
"I didn't dare to believe they would say it was genuine and worth at least two million."
Expert Mr Dunniway confirmed the photograph was a genuine portrait of bank robber Jesse taken when the babyfaced outlaw was just 14.His report said: "The age of this image was about 1861-2 and is correct in every way to this period.
"When it is compared to the much used comparison image I believe it was taken on the same day by the same photographer.
"It is very evident by the face, hair cut, jacket, shirt and tie that this is the same image of Jesse James at 14 years old. One of the originals."
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I thought this was a neat story on so many levels. I buy from ebay and I have to say that I have found stuff that was worth more than I paid.. but I never found something worth millions. It would hard to give this up those. Other than Billy the Kid, Jesse James has to be one of the most interesting characters of the old west.
The photo is luck, akin to winning the lottery.
From what I have heard or seen or read, I would say Wyatt Earp and Bill Hickok were the most interesting of the well known personalities of the Old West. Although, it is nothing but opinion.
Come to think of it, a discussion about the heroes and villains of the old west might be an interesting one on NT.
Why wouldn't it be? These people are legendary.
Sounds like a great idea John. Earp and Hickok actually weren't the best, they just were backed up by really good PR guys. For the best, look up Commodore Perry Owens, Heck Thomas and Bill Tilghman. None of them had PR but they were all Deputy US Marshalls and were about as good as you could find.
It’s only worth millions to the person who has millions to throw away on an old photo. Hell, I could photoshop the version posted on this article to make it look authentic - for free. Not saying that these people don’t exist, just saying that “worth” is an extremely relative term under these circumstances.
I agree Hal, but that is true of any antique.
It's also true of any art. It's not much of an exaggeration to say that just about every square inch of the walls of our home are covered with various paintings, prints, ceramics and other works of art my wife and I have collected over the years. In my home office the walls are covered with animation art, including cells, which I love. As for what it's all worth we haven't any idea beyond what we paid for it all (and I really don't remember what that total would be, because we paid a lot for some pieces and next to nothing for other pieces?), because the when you are collecting art as a hobby as an amateur you should only buy what you like. What you want to look at and leave the collecting of art for investments to the professionals. What it's worth to you is what's important.
I’ve got an extensive art collection myself, and you’re right - if it brings you joy then it has value to you that won’t be realized by everyone else. I enjoy anything three dimensional that has a face, like carved or cast masks, busts, and human statues of all sizes. There are literally hundreds of them adorning the walls in my mancave, of every material and from every continent on the globe, to the extent that very little space is left for expansion. I get them from antique stores, consignment shops, outdoor art vendors, flea markets, garage sales, Craigslist, etc., but I only buy the ones that I can get on the cheap. I’ve passed on many that are too pricey, and will often see them still sitting in the same place at that store years later because nobody is going to spend what they’re asking.
To enhance my personal museum experience, I’ve added a bunch of remote controlled lighting effects. There are a variety of medieval looking swag lights and can lights in the ceiling with LED bulbs that I can change the color and brightness with a remote control, or set them to blink or swirl. Then there are snowfall LEDs covering the ceiling, and rotating disco lights in small lamps that are hidden among the artwork. My latest addition is my favorite though. Since about the only empty space that is left is center of the room, I hung a laser light from the ceiling that covers the entire floor with amazing rotating patterns, and a fog machine that illuminates the laser beams in midair, like a Pink Floyd concert - both also on remote control. The fog machine sits behind a concrete dragon, situated perfectly to look like the dragon is farting smoke. Cracks me up every time. I may have an obsession ...
Here’s one corner of the collection. I wish something could be done to improve the quality of photo postings here, as the photo doesn’t do it justice. My complaints about that seem to go nowhere.
Very true Hal. My daughter works for an on line auction house and has told me (and I think she's probably pretty close) that any appraisal you get for an antique is probably overvalued by 1/2 to 3/4 by the appraiser. What you would actually get for an item is likely to be far less than you expect. Even with that, there actually are people who collect such old photographs and who have the money to indulge their hobby (also, some of them are acting as agents for museums)
You probably could and it would probably look just like the real thing to an amateur. What can't be photoshopped is the paper. Like all substances made from a carbon based organism, paper is subject to radio carbon dating. If you're paying that kind of money for a picture, RC dating is one of the cheaper authentication methods.
What a cool story. Everybody's dream ebay purchase!
I have bought a lot of stuff on ebay over the years, but I never got anything that was worth this. I actually do better at the local consignment store. Maybe one day I'll hit it big time, LOL.
Actually, Jesse James was an interesting character. He was the son of a minister. Talk about losing your religion!
The Civil War is what got him Perrie. When it came, he joined a guerrilla unit rather than the regular Confederate Army. I'm sure you remember reading about Bloody Kansas. He and his brother were part of the force led by a guy named Bloody Bill Anderson. They specialized in robbing trains, supposedly for patriotic reasons, although I've never seen anything that suggested that any of the money obtained was actually sent to Richmond. When the war was over, the James brothers stayed with what they knew how to do, robbing trains and banks.
That thumping sound you hear is the person who sold the picture beating their head against their wall...
I thought it was more of a splat.
Good for him, finding someone silly enough to pay 2 million pounds for a photo.