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[Abraham Lincoln Assassination] John Wilkes Booth: Personally-Owned Swagger Stick or Riding Crop....
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Sold on Feb 12, 2022 for:
$87,500.00
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Description
[Abraham Lincoln Assassination] John Wilkes Booth: Personally-Owned Swagger Stick or Riding Crop. 28" long swagger stick with gold-plated handle in the shape of a horse's hind leg, from the hock down. It is a presentation piece engraved "Neal Bryant to J. W. Booth." The wooden replacement shaft is painted black. Neal Bryant and his two brothers ran a minstrel show on Broadway from 1857 to 1867. They were good friends with Booth. The assassin apparently valued the stick highly, as it appears in eleven different photographic poses illustrated in Richard & Kellie Gutman's John Wilkes Booth Himself. There is a small fissure above the horse's pastern on one side, some wear to the plating and minor depressions or bends in the section that includes the engraved presentation and raised floral design. A description by Charles Warwick, found on page 168 of Asia Clarke Booth's The Unlocked Book gives a brief description of how John Wilkes Booth appeared on the day of the assassination: "... he held the reins of his gallant steed gathered firmly in his left hand, while in his right he carried a gold mounted whip, seemingly more for ornament than use."It is hard to imagine a more striking and personal artifact of this infamous assassin of our 16th president.
Provenance: We include a five-page LOA dated May 8, 1978, signed by Virginia H. Kline of Warminster, Pennsylvania. Her aunt, Cora Mitchell, married the youngest of the four Booth brothers, Dr. Joseph Adrian Booth. The riding crop, along with other JWB artifacts (ring, pocket watch, assorted stickpins, cane, watch fob & chain) descended in the family to her. The file of reference material includes photocopies of some of these artifacts, marriage certificates, family trees, and documents related to ownership of the Booth Family plot in Baltimore.
This was one of the centerpiece items in the famed collection of Dr. John Lattimer, most of which was auctioned by Heritage in a single-owner sale in 2008. However, the family retained several prized pieces, of which this was one, and have only now agreed to offer it for sale.
Auction Info
2022 February 12 - 13 Lincoln and His Times Americana & Political Signature® Auction #6251 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
February, 2022
12th-13th
Saturday-Sunday
Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 3
Lot Tracking Activity: N/A
Page Views: 7,287
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