A Photo of Wyatt Earp Armed?

January 24, 2012

Here's a photo of my son Thomas Charles "Wombat" at his favorite taco stand with his fiance Pattarapan.

We met here at noon on Sunday, had tacos, then proceeded to go to five other cafes, restaurants and bars to imbibe and inhale his favorite liquids and solids. If you want to try this fantastic place yourself, it's just south of Van Buren on 16th Street. Great tacos!

Meanwhile, I sent John Boessenecker two other sketches of Sheriff Bob Paul:

John's publisher, leans towards this one:

Meanwhile, Paul Andrew Hutton sent me a packet of his incredible Wyatt Earp images. These are stills of actors who have portrayed Wyatt in movies. One of the pics is from 1923. Here 'tis:

What's amazing about this photo is that Wyatt Earp was a "consultant" on the film "Wild Bill Hickok" a William S. Hart movie. On the back of this publicity photo it says, "Wyatt Earp, deputy sheriff to Bat Masterson of Dodge City, known as one of the three greatest gun-men that ever lived, along with Bat Masterson and 'Wild Bill' Hickok. Bert Lindley. . . .Wyatt Earp."

At first glance it doesn't look much like our image of Wyatt Earp, but take another look. If you blond out that mustache this is pretty close to how Wyatt actually looked in Tombstone. Add to that the fact that Wyatt probably had a hand in Lindley's wardrobe and stance (notice the cigar) and this is absolutely striking. Anyway, it's all quite convincing to me. What do you think?

"All people dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their mind, wake in the morning to find that it was vanity. But the dreamers of the day are dangerous people, for they dream their dreams with open eyes, and make them come true."
—T.E. Lawrence