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Abraham Lincoln Assassination Printed Reward Poster....
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$187,500.00
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Description
The First Printing of Perhaps the Most Infamous Reward Poster in American History
Abraham Lincoln Assassination Printed Reward Poster. Folio
broadside, 314 x 583 mm. War Department: Washington, April 20,
1865. First printing, first issue. "$100,000 REWARD THE MURDERER Of
our late beloved President, Abraham Lincoln, IS STILL AT
LARGE."Issued by Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War, on behalf of the War Department, this broadside offers a reward of $50,000 for the "apprehension" of Lincoln's assassin John Wilkes Booth. It likewise identifies "John H. Surratt" as one of Booth's accomplices, as well as "David C. Harold" (misspelling of Herold) as another conspirator. While Surratt is correctly spelled on the top half of the poster, it is misspelled "Surrat" in the physical description on the lower half of the poster. The later, second printing of this poster adds three rectangle areas at the top for images of the conspirators to be inserted, along with a more detailed description of David C. Herold, who in this first printing is described only as "a little chunky man, quite a youth, and wears a very thin moustache." The second printing, second issue is almost identical to this first printing, first issue as it does not contain the space for photographs but adds an important qualifier to the description of Booth's facial hair: "...and wore a heavy black mustache, which there is some reason to believe has been shaved off."
During the confusion and spread of misinformation in the days following the assassination of Lincoln, it is not difficult to imagine the urgency and abject necessity to both produce and quickly disseminate information about the assassin and his co-conspirators as soon as it became available. So, too, is it understandable that multiple iterations and corrections to the poster had to be made. Speed was foremost in the minds of the authorities; accuracy came later.
Eventually, ten names would be recorded as the official Lincoln Conspirators. Of those ten, only three - Booth, Herold, and Surratt - are identified on the present wanted poster. After the assassination, Booth and Herold escaped Washington first into Maryland, and then onto Virginia, where, six days after the poster was first issued, the pair were found in a barn near Port Royal, Virginia. Surrounded by a detachment of Union soldiers, Herold surrendered, but Booth refused. The soldiers set the barn on fire and shot Booth while he was still inside. He died three hours later on the porch of the farm. Herold was tried, convicted, and hanged along with three other conspirators on July 7, 1865. John Surratt escaped to Canada, then Europe, where he was eventually apprehended in Egypt and extradited to the United States. He was tried in a civilian court in 1867, resulting in a hung jury. He was released, never charged again, and died a free man in 1916.
Second printings of this poster appear at auction quite infrequently. We know of only two other examples of this first printing, first issue having ever been offered at auction, both in considerably less fine condition than the present example.
Condition: Bright and clean, with only slight overall toning, no evidence of restoration. Minor soiling, a few small spots. Creases along old folds, small 12 mm split through top margin center fold, not affecting text, two tiny (3 mm)tears to top margin at right. Two small holes where center folds meet, not affecting printed text. Unobtrusive penciled "S" to lower right margin. Remnants of two small hinge mounts of Japanese tissue on verso, now affixed to matte at corners with archival mounts on verso. A remarkably fine example.
Provenance: The Byron Reed Collection of Important American Coins and Manuscripts Sold by the City of Omaha to Benefit the Western Heritage Museum (Spink Americana / Christie's New York, October 8, 1996, lot 209); Estate of Stewart Blay.
*Note: Updated with additional provenance information and condition report.
Auction Info
2023 July 8 Historical Platinum Signature® Auction #6275 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
July, 2023
8th
Saturday
Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 8
Lot Tracking Activity: N/A
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