Cross Road Blues Images

The only two known images of Johnson were unearthed in recent decades—for years people worshipped him without even knowing what he looked like. As a result, the existing images are very, very valuable. This one gives a great view of his famously long fingers.

This is the only photo we have of him that shows his full body. Scholars believe he must have borrowed the suit he is wearing, since he probably would not have been able to afford it on his own.

This picture, which may be a photo of Robert Johnson with Johnny Shines, was "discovered" by a guitar salesperson and sold to the Johnson estate in 2005. However, since Johnny Shines has passed away and others who knew him could not confirm that it was Robert, the photo is still unattributed.

Cartoonist R. Crumb was sued by Steve LaVere, the litigious researcher who had the rights to the photo it's based on, for producing this image. His first response was "f*** you," but now he has to split the royalties.