Description:

Abraham Lincoln Assassination
Philadelphia, PA, ca. 1865
Early Account of Lincoln Assassination from Philadelphia "True Crime" Publisher
Pamphlet/Booklet

[LINCOLN ASSASSINATION.] The Terrible Tragedy at Washington: Assassination of President Lincoln. Printed Pamphlet. Philadelphia: Barclay and Co., 1865. Original pictorial salmon wrappers. 75 pp., 6" x 9.25". Includes 5 full-page illustrations and pictorial covers. Wear to paper spine and covers; some soiling and foxing on interior pages; light toning.

This early account of the assassination of President Lincoln includes an image of Lincoln on the cover and a quotation from him from Independence Hall in Philadelphia on February 22, 1861: "But if this country cannot be saved without giving up that principle, I was about to say that I would rather be assassinated upon this spot than to surrender it."

Historical Background
The public interest in all details of Abraham Lincoln's assassination on April 14, 1865, led to the production of many newspaper reports, pamphlets, and books. This booklet carried the extensive title of The Terrible Tragedy at Washington. Assassination of President Lincoln. Last Hours and Death-Bed Scenes of the President. A Full and Graphic Account, from Reliable Authority, of the Great National Calamity. Attempt of the Conspirators to Murder Secretary Seward, Vice-President Johnson, and the Whole Cabinet. A Biographical Sketch, with a Correct Likeness of All the Parties in Any Way Connected with the Lamentable Event, To Which is Added An Authentic History of Assassins and the Distinguished Person of the World Who Have Fallen by Their Hands. It was published by Barclay and Company in Philadelphia. Advertisements that it was "to be published immediately" began appearing in local newspapers as early as April 20, 1865. The advertisements proclaimed that Barclay and Company had "a large force of engravers, printers and others constantly engaged in this work since Monday, 17th instant, and will be prepared to fill all orders as soon as received."

The publication includes a description of the conspiracy, including reprints of official telegrams from various government officials, reports from correspondents in Washington, descriptions of the attempted assassination of Secretary of State William H. Seward, speculation about his attacker, eyewitness testimony from Ford's Theatre, Lincoln's funeral and funeral procession in Washington, plans in other cities, the arrest of Lewis Powell and George Atzerodt, and other details. The publication includes a string of stories and rumors that spread quickly in the days and weeks after Lincoln's assassination.

Erastus Elmer Barclay (1822-1888) founded E. E. Barclay and Company in New York in 1840. He specialized in publishing melodramatic "True Confessions" pamphlets and lurid literature. The protagonists of his stories were usually girls who had run away from home and become embroiled in vice in a city. He sold his publications through his own salesmen rather than bookstores. He typically published in bright-colored wrappers and included numerous full-page drawings to enliven the text. Barclay subsequently moved to Cincinnati in 1846 and then in 1849 to Philadelphia, where he remained for the rest of his career, except for a brief return to Cincinnati from 1856 to 1858. When the Civil War erupted, Barclay adapted by making his heroines Union spies or a woman disguised as a man in a soldier's uniform. After the Civil War, Barclay also published songsters, health and cookbooks, and "True Crime" booklets based on actual cases. His son George Lippard Barclay (1850-1886) wrote pamphlets on catastrophes like theatre fires and the adventures of various explorers. Barclay and Company continued for a few years beyond its founder's life and went out of business in the 1890s.

Barclay's practice was to skip pages in numbering, and many of his publications began on page 19. A publication ending on page 64 might have only thirty-eight pages of text. Many copies of this pamphlet, including this one, had the numbered page ranges 21-30, 39-52, 61-74, 85-98, and 101-116, with some unpaginated full-page illustrations.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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  • Dimensions: 6" x 9.25"
  • Medium: Pamphlet/Booklet

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