Newly found photos of Billy The Kid suggest he lived in Philadelphia at a young age

Two newly discovered photographs of Billy The Kid, the infamous western gunslinger, suggest he may have lived in Philadelphia when he was a child.

According to Lee M Fox, owner of Fox Auctions, the discovery of these images are bringing some insight into Billy The Kid‘s young years, which had been a mystery — until now.

There are records that show Billy’s mother, Catherine McCarty, lived in Philadelphia between 1863 and 1867, and it turns out, one of the two recently discovered images of Billy was also taken in Philadelphia, suggesting that Billy may have lived with his mother during that time.

Fox said one of the two new photos has information on the back of it, indicating that it was taken at “WM. W. Seeler’s Photo-Miniature and Photograph Gallery” located on 8th and Spring Garden Streets in Philly.

“This is a historical discovery that fills in crucial missing western provenance and has great potential to be the new most valuable historic imagery of the American West,” Fox said in a release.

Fox also said that the two new photographs, which show Billy The Kid as a young adult and a child, will be going up for auction on April 25, 2026 at 1 p.m. in Pitman, New Jersey and online through this website.

In June 2011, William I. Koch, a billionaire, bought the only authenticated photograph of Billy the Kid at auction for $2.3 million, the most ever paid for a historic image of the American West. But Fox said he believes the auction of the two new photographs will surpass that number.