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Hi Btphelps - The most important thing in any article on a historical person, whether it is for Wikipedia or an old-fashioned encyclopedia, is accuracy. That accuracy goes beyond just the facts and dates that are presented, and goes on to include any photographic images that are purported to be the individual in question. Recently someone who signs off as OSMOND PHILLIPS has been adding a large group of what are clearly phony photos represented as Wild West historical figures to articles on Wyatt Earp, John Clum, Bat Masterson, Mysterious Dave Mather, Luke Short and Billy the Kid - among others. This OSMOND PHILLIPS cites Robert G. McCubbin, the noted Wild West photo authority and collector, as being someone similar to how this OSMOND PHILLIPS would like to be viewed. What makes this interesting is that my longtime friend Bob McCubbin would be the very first to tell you that the entire collection submitted by OSMOND PHILLIPS, to various Wikipedia articles, are NOT the people they are represented as - without exception. Bob McCubbin allowed me to use a photo of Ben Thompson for a book of mine that was published back in 1982. Bob McCubbin also provided additional photos for my 2015 biography (co-authored with Chuck Parsons) The Notorious Luke Short: Sporting Man of the Wild West.
OSMOND PHILIPS would like to portray me as someone who is not qualified to judge a phony photo alleged to be a figure from the Wild West. Well, those who are familiar with my non-fiction books and articles  know that I have had a 
concurrent career as an artist - a portrait artist. These portraits are noted for their photographic realism. Examples of my portraits were given in my series ""Gunfighters of the Real West,"" a series of 50 articles that appeared in Real West between January 1978 and December 1985. Other examples of my portrait work of Wild West figures (always based upon authenticated photos of Wild West figures) can be found in each of my seven books. The fact is that you don't have to be an esteemed photo collected, like Bob McCubbin, or a portrait artist/Wild West historian, like myself to identify these photos from OSMOND PHILLIPS as fakes. Anyone off the street should be able to do it - it each and every case - by being shown an authenticated photo of the Wild West person in question when placed side-by-side with one of the OSMOND PHILLIPS photos. So why does OSMOND PHILLIPS do this? I think that individual has provided the answer by claiming that they have some kind of TV show coming up on ""National Geographic and Discovery."" You want to talk about a ""conflict of interest."" This person isn't interested in promoting a accurate information (or photos) for Wikipedia - but is very interested in promoting a TV show, and undoubtedly sales of these fake photos to gullible buyers.

I think time will show which one of us has the best interest of Wikipedia at heart. On one side you have an individual peppering Wikipedia articles on Wild West figures with photos that have no provenance - beyond their unsupported say so. Most photos from that era of the photos that have been submitted bear a photographers imprint, or logo, along with the place that  the photo was taken. The photos submitted by OSMOND PHILLIPS most likely have these logos with the photographers address - but don't expect to see them any time soon. On, my side you have a historian and artist who has authored books that have Forewords by noted Wild West historians such as Joseph G. Rosa, Leon Metz and Rick Miller. I have also co-authored a book with Robert K. DeArment (considered by many to be the greatest of all living Wild West historians) and, more recently, Chuck Parsons also a noted Wild West historian and author. I stand on my credentials. This happens to be my 40th year being involved in Wild West history. During that time my reputation for honest and accuracy has been a constant. On those occasions when I've found some errors in my earlier work, I have made every attempt to correct it. I stand on my record - and I use my real name ... which is probably something OSMOND PHILLIPS can't claim.

On a final note I am very disappointed it what just happened to my updates that were being written for the existing article on Billy the Kid. I spent a lot of time on this, trying to provide a lot of missing information that other historians and students of the subject would have benefited from. Well, someone decided to revert to a previous version which not only obliterated just about all of my work, but restored the phony photos by OSMOND PHILLIPS. I challenge anyone, particularly those with an interest in Billy the Kid, to take a look at my version (which was still a work in progress, that I was planning on getting to conform to the Wikipedia format and style) and compare it to what you have now. The person who reverted this claimed that my version was ""unreadable."" I ask anyone, without an agenda,