A collector may have hit the jackpot. This is after a picture he bought for £7 was valued at being worth £2million.
The picture shows infamous Wild West outlaw Jesse James and has been verified as being genuine by forensics experts. Justin Whiting, 45, bought the picture last July and tracked down Will Dunniway, a 19th-century photography to check the authenticity.
Justin, from Spalding, Lincolnshire, said: ‘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 $10. It was a bit blurry on the site but when I got it, it was a lot clearer.
The picture is believed to show the infamous Wild West outlaw Jesse James when he was a boy ‘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.’ Mr Dunniway confirmed the photograph was a genuine portrait of bank robber Jesse taken when the baby-faced outlaw was just 14. His report said: ‘The age of this image was about 1861-2 and is correct in every way to this period.
