Westerns & the Old West
@davidlambertart.bsky.social
I post almost exclusively about minutiae related to the Old West and Western films/pop culture. I do drawings too. 🍉
Cheers! 🤠🍻🤠 & God bless 🙏
http://buymeacoffee.com/davidlambertart
Cheers! 🤠🍻🤠 & God bless 🙏
http://buymeacoffee.com/davidlambertart
Happy 51st Birthday to Leonardo DiCaprio
November 11, 2025 at 8:52 AM
Happy 51st Birthday to Leonardo DiCaprio
Happy Birthday to the late, great Robert Ryan, born 116 years ago today
November 11, 2025 at 8:40 AM
Happy Birthday to the late, great Robert Ryan, born 116 years ago today
In the Dedrick Tintype you can see a few tools related to photography of the era. Next to Billy you can see someone holding a reflector & at his feet you can see the leg of a stand to hold him still for the length of the exposure (artwork by Bob Boze Bell)...
November 11, 2025 at 5:30 AM
In the Dedrick Tintype you can see a few tools related to photography of the era. Next to Billy you can see someone holding a reflector & at his feet you can see the leg of a stand to hold him still for the length of the exposure (artwork by Bob Boze Bell)...
I have no idea why it became a trend. I think it looks dumb as hell...
November 11, 2025 at 5:30 AM
I have no idea why it became a trend. I think it looks dumb as hell...
Here's Billy's bud Dan Dedrick wearing a hat with a punched-in crown (also wearing the same style boots & a bib shirt). The only known photo of Billy the Kid was authenticated because Billy gave it to Dedrick (& Paulita Maxwell & Pat Garrett confirmed it). That's why it's called the Dedrick Tintype
November 11, 2025 at 5:30 AM
Here's Billy's bud Dan Dedrick wearing a hat with a punched-in crown (also wearing the same style boots & a bib shirt). The only known photo of Billy the Kid was authenticated because Billy gave it to Dedrick (& Paulita Maxwell & Pat Garrett confirmed it). That's why it's called the Dedrick Tintype
Contemporaries of Billy the Kid wear a similar style of cowboy hat with a punched-in crown. Here's Bob Olinger (pictured standing with that rat bastard Jimmy Dolan) wearing one. He's the guy Billy killed with his own shotgun*
*see above 👆
*see above 👆
November 11, 2025 at 5:24 AM
Contemporaries of Billy the Kid wear a similar style of cowboy hat with a punched-in crown. Here's Bob Olinger (pictured standing with that rat bastard Jimmy Dolan) wearing one. He's the guy Billy killed with his own shotgun*
*see above 👆
*see above 👆
One of the mysteries about Billy's outfit is his strange hat. Some say it's a top hat, which wouldn't be uncommon, but I've never seen one with a punched-in crown like that. What's more likely is that it's a tall "cowboy" hat (probably a Stetson) with a punched-in crown...
November 11, 2025 at 5:24 AM
One of the mysteries about Billy's outfit is his strange hat. Some say it's a top hat, which wouldn't be uncommon, but I've never seen one with a punched-in crown like that. What's more likely is that it's a tall "cowboy" hat (probably a Stetson) with a punched-in crown...
The Kid was also known to favor the .41 Colt Double Action Thunderer. Unlike the Colt SAA, it didn't need to be cocked to fire. Another gun we know Billy used was Bob Olinger's 10 gauge Whitney shotgun. Note the wire around the stock where Billy broke it after killing Olinger...
November 11, 2025 at 5:24 AM
The Kid was also known to favor the .41 Colt Double Action Thunderer. Unlike the Colt SAA, it didn't need to be cocked to fire. Another gun we know Billy used was Bob Olinger's 10 gauge Whitney shotgun. Note the wire around the stock where Billy broke it after killing Olinger...
The guns Billy the Kid has in his tintype are a Winchester '73 with a 20 inch barrel & 10 round magazine & a six-shot Colt Single Action Army/Frontier. Both were chambered for .44-40 rounds so he would only have to carry one kind of ammunition on his belt...
November 11, 2025 at 5:24 AM
The guns Billy the Kid has in his tintype are a Winchester '73 with a 20 inch barrel & 10 round magazine & a six-shot Colt Single Action Army/Frontier. Both were chambered for .44-40 rounds so he would only have to carry one kind of ammunition on his belt...
Most people with an interest in Billy the Kid know that his tintype is reversed, giving the impression that he was left handed. The error was discovered because his buttons & the loading gate on his rifle are on the wrong side. Attached is the correct version...
November 11, 2025 at 5:18 AM
Most people with an interest in Billy the Kid know that his tintype is reversed, giving the impression that he was left handed. The error was discovered because his buttons & the loading gate on his rifle are on the wrong side. Attached is the correct version...
Billy the Kid also wears a pinky ring. Pinky rings could signify that the wearer was uninterested in marriage, a gambler, a conman or just a criminal. The Kid was likely all of the above (I don't know his thoughts on marriage). Pinky rings carried over into the American Mafia...
November 11, 2025 at 5:17 AM
Billy the Kid also wears a pinky ring. Pinky rings could signify that the wearer was uninterested in marriage, a gambler, a conman or just a criminal. The Kid was likely all of the above (I don't know his thoughts on marriage). Pinky rings carried over into the American Mafia...
...of course Pete Maxwell's house is where Billy the Kid was killed, possibly after making love to Paulita Maxwell. I don't actually think the supposed "PM" on his cardigan stands for anything that interesting, but hey, speculating is fun...
November 11, 2025 at 5:17 AM
...of course Pete Maxwell's house is where Billy the Kid was killed, possibly after making love to Paulita Maxwell. I don't actually think the supposed "PM" on his cardigan stands for anything that interesting, but hey, speculating is fun...
Billy the Kid's cardigan has a tag that seems to have the letters "PM" on it. Some speculate that this stood for Paulita Maxwell (likely one of Billy's lovers) who I quoted regarding the tintype earlier. Others think it might've been a hand-me-down from her brother Pete...
November 11, 2025 at 5:17 AM
Billy the Kid's cardigan has a tag that seems to have the letters "PM" on it. Some speculate that this stood for Paulita Maxwell (likely one of Billy's lovers) who I quoted regarding the tintype earlier. Others think it might've been a hand-me-down from her brother Pete...
Antonio Carrasco (the guy in my current profile picture) wears two cardigans (one with a collar) in the famous photo of him. I've attached my drawing of him because I'm a shameless self promoter*, but you can find the actual photo online pretty easily
*prints available. DM me
*prints available. DM me
November 11, 2025 at 5:12 AM
Antonio Carrasco (the guy in my current profile picture) wears two cardigans (one with a collar) in the famous photo of him. I've attached my drawing of him because I'm a shameless self promoter*, but you can find the actual photo online pretty easily
*prints available. DM me
*prints available. DM me
Though underrepresented in Westerns, cardigans were popular in the Old West. Oftentimes hacks & charlatans will claim a photo is of Billy the Kid almost solely on the fact that the subject is wearing a cardigan, which is stupid, of course...
November 11, 2025 at 5:12 AM
Though underrepresented in Westerns, cardigans were popular in the Old West. Oftentimes hacks & charlatans will claim a photo is of Billy the Kid almost solely on the fact that the subject is wearing a cardigan, which is stupid, of course...
Here's an 1874 pic of noted scout "Comanche Jack" Stilwell wearing a bib shirt with an ⚓️ on the shield. He once traveled to Arizona intent on getting revenge on Wyatt Earp for killing his brother Frank (who likely killed Earp's brother Morgan), but ultimately decided against it...
November 11, 2025 at 5:06 AM
Here's an 1874 pic of noted scout "Comanche Jack" Stilwell wearing a bib shirt with an ⚓️ on the shield. He once traveled to Arizona intent on getting revenge on Wyatt Earp for killing his brother Frank (who likely killed Earp's brother Morgan), but ultimately decided against it...
More examples of bib shirts with anchors on their shields...
November 11, 2025 at 5:06 AM
More examples of bib shirts with anchors on their shields...
Bib shirts were called fireman's shirts because they were favored by fire brigades. They often featured nautical designs embroidered on the "shield". Billy's has an anchor, which was pretty common. The 2nd pic dates to the Civil War, meaning this style lasted for over 15 years...
November 11, 2025 at 4:59 AM
Bib shirts were called fireman's shirts because they were favored by fire brigades. They often featured nautical designs embroidered on the "shield". Billy's has an anchor, which was pretty common. The 2nd pic dates to the Civil War, meaning this style lasted for over 15 years...
The Kid usually dressed like a Mexican Vaquero in a white shirt, black pants & a sugarloaf sombrero. Those who knew him said the tintype was a poor representation of his regular attire. In it he wears a cardigan, a bib shirt & an unknown style of hat with a punched in crown...
November 11, 2025 at 4:59 AM
The Kid usually dressed like a Mexican Vaquero in a white shirt, black pants & a sugarloaf sombrero. Those who knew him said the tintype was a poor representation of his regular attire. In it he wears a cardigan, a bib shirt & an unknown style of hat with a punched in crown...
A 🧵 about the Dedrick Tintype, the only authenticated photo of Billy the Kid...
November 11, 2025 at 4:59 AM
A 🧵 about the Dedrick Tintype, the only authenticated photo of Billy the Kid...
Happy 54th Birthday to Walton Goggins
November 10, 2025 at 9:51 PM
Happy 54th Birthday to Walton Goggins
Happy Birthday to the late, great Ennio Morricone, born 97 years ago today
November 10, 2025 at 9:34 PM
Happy Birthday to the late, great Ennio Morricone, born 97 years ago today
Carlo Simi's costume sketch for Keoma
November 9, 2025 at 8:16 AM
Carlo Simi's costume sketch for Keoma
Sergio Leone on why building an authentic world with realistic detail is essential to getting the audience to believe in the "myth of the Western"
November 9, 2025 at 12:35 AM
Sergio Leone on why building an authentic world with realistic detail is essential to getting the audience to believe in the "myth of the Western"