7 1/16" x 9", mount size 7 5/8" x 9 1/4". Swartz, FORT WORTH, TEX. photographer’s imprint on front of image lower left. Typed on paper affixed to verso, “THE WILD BUNCH / Left to Right: Standing: Wm. Carver; Harvey Logan / Sitting: Harry Longabaugh; Ben Kilpatrick, Geo. Parker, alias “Butch Cassidy”.
This is THE original photograph that was discovered by a police detective at the Swartz Photography Studio in Fort Worth, which was subsequently obtained by the Pinkertons. The Pinkertons had copies produced of each individual bandit for distribution to other police agencies.
Provenance: Obtained by Robert McCubbin directly from the Pinkerton Detective Agency.
True West Magazine: “The “Fort Worth Five” photograph became a part of history when a lawman recognized the wanted men in a photograph hanging at picture taker John Swartz’s gallery in Fort Worth, Texas. When the Pinkerton National Detective Agency got wind of this Wild Bunch Gang photo, taken in 1900, the Pinkertons printed the mugshots on wanted posters that circulated across the West… This photograph not only helped immortalize the frontier desperados, but also helped bring about the gang’s downfall.”
Lot 282, Brian Lebel's Old West Auction - January 25-26, 2019. Mesa, AZ.
Sold $118,000.