Talk about hitting the jackpot. A collector who purchased a old photograph of a man from the wild west for $10 on eBay later learned that it was actually a real portrait of infamous outlaw Jesse James and it could be worth almost $3 million.
After purchasing the photograph, the collector, Justin Whiting, asked Will Dunniway, a 19th century photography expert from California, to have a look at it.
That’s when he discovered he’d stumbled upon a potential gold mine.Whiting spoke to The Telegraph about his rare find…
“Anything is possible on eBay so I kept buying the odd photograph for a few quid, like other people would buy a lottery ticket.
“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.”
But that’s exactly what it is, claims photography expert Dunniway, who says it is a genuine portrait of bank robber Jesse James taken when he was just 14-years-old.
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) March 19, 2018
