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Abraham Lincoln: John Wilkes Booth Assassination Broadside....
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Sold on Apr 26, 2024 for:
$200,000.00
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Description
Abraham Lincoln: John Wilkes Booth Assassination Broadside. A rare first printing and first issue of arguably the most infamous reward poster in our nation's history! A folio broadside issued by the War Department: Washington, April 20, 1865. Boldly headlined, "$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."
Second printings of this poster appear at auction quite infrequently. First printings such as this one are excessively rare. We offered an example for the very first time at Heritage Auctions in our July 2023 Historical Platinum sale where it achieved a final price of $187,500. The example offered here is fresh to the market, having resided in the same family since the time of Lincoln's assassination.
Condition: Measuring 12" x 24" in original untouched condition, with slight overall toning, no evidence of restoration. Typical old folds and minor edge roughness, with four tiny unobtrusive holes seen in the upper half of the broadside along crease lines. Lettering is bold, likely an early strike with a amply inked plate leaving a few short streaks of residual ink in the central area. In our opinion, enhancing the character of this piece. A remarkably fine example.
Auction Info
2024 April 26 - 27 Americana & Political Signature® Auction #6286 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
April, 2024
26th-27th
Friday-Saturday
Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 17
Lot Tracking Activity: N/A
Page Views: 4,362
Buyer's Premium per Lot:
25% on the first $1,000,000 (minimum $49), plus 20% of any amount between $1,000,000 and $5,000,000, plus 15% of any amount over $5,000,000 per lot.
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