Lincoln’s Legacy: Historic Americana from the Life of Abraham Lincoln

Printed broadside, with three cartes de visite, affixed within designated borders at top, depicting John Wilkes Booth and his accomplices, John H. Surratt and David Herold. Broadside: 23 3/4 x 12 1/2 in. (603 x 317 mm); cartes de visite: each approximately 4 x 2 3/8 in. (102 x 60 mm). Broadside with creasing from old folds; sheet mounted onto paper; scattered light soiling; moderate toning; repairs to verso; cartes de visite toned with surface wear, contemporary inscriptions on versos.

"THE MURDERER OF OUR BELOVED PRESIDENT, ABRAHAM LINCOLN, IS STILL AT LARGE..."

With the attacker of Secretary of State William Seward now in custody but the murderer of President Lincoln still at large, the War Department began to double its efforts to bring the assassin to justice. With more information about the conspiracy coming to light each day, especially now that one of its key players was in chains, the reward amount increased, as did details of the men involved.

As one of the most famous men in America, little additional information about Booth was needed (although for a time any fair-skinned man with curly black hair and a mustache was in danger of arrest). The picture and description of Booth's companion, David E. Herold, however, was considerably expanded from the first reward poster. It now referred to his "instep high" and that he "slightly closes his eyes when looking at a person."

Much higher on the government's priority list than Herold was John Surratt, whose mother Mary had been arrested along with Lewis Powell on 17 April. John Surratt had been the government's first suspect for the attack on Seward. As soon as he heard of the assassination, Surratt fled north to Montreal. He remained there throughout the trial and execution of Powell, Herold, George Atzerodt, and his mother Mary. Aided by former Confederate agents, he escaped to England and then to Italy, where he joined the Papal Zouaves.

In mid-1866, Surratt was recognized by an old friend, and his presence was reported to Ambassador Rufus King. He was arrested on 7 November, but then escaped to Alexandria, Egypt, where he was arrested again and returned to the United States. With military trials for citizens now deemed unconstitutional, Surratt was tried by a jury of Northern and Southern citizens, which resulted in a mistrial, as it could only be proven that Surratt was a member of the Booth-led plot to kidnap President Lincoln. As one of the conspiracy's last surviving members, Surratt went on a lecture tour in 1870 and died in Baltimore in 1916.

POSSIBLY THE MOST FAMOUS REWARD POSTER IN AMERICAN HISTORY.

This broadside is believed to be the second printing, first issue. It was printed from an entirely new setting of type, and it carries three small three-sided printed frames at the top (as seen here), so that photographs of the conspirators might be inserted as they became available. In the description of Booth, the text is the same as in the first printing (but spelled here: "and wears a heavy black moustache"). The physical description of "David C. Harold" is considerably more detailed than in the earlier version, here extending to three lines. A "Notice" regarding other rewards is appended at the bottom. Kunhardt & Kunhardt, Twenty Days, p. 106.

Provenance:

Louise Taper, Beverly Hills, California