Rare Spanish matchbox featuring Billy the Kid.
Billy the Kid was a gangster who became a legend.
He was murdered at the age of just 21, but he had plenty of time to make his mark. Billy el Niño or Billy the Kid was born in 1859 in New York and his real name was William Booney and at the age of three he immigrated to Kansas City.
He had a difficult childhood. He lived in a place steeped in violence, his father died in a duel and his mother died of tuberculosis when he was just 14 years old. Difficulties led him to crime, initially committing some robberies until, at the age of 17, he put the first name on his list of more than 20 murders.
In 1878 he was arrested and sentenced to hang for the 
murder of a sheriff. He finally managed to escape, killing his guards. However, his freedom did not last long since in 1881, after a wild chase, he was killed.
He may not have reached the age of 22, but records, films, documentaries were created around the legend of his life, which provided a source of inspiration for western films.
It is noteworthy that one of the few surviving images of Billy the Kid was bought in 2010 by a second-hand store in the city of Fresno (California, USA) for just two dollars, while today its value exceeds 5 million!