The Assassination and Death of Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States of America, at Washington, on the 14th of April, 1865. Full Particulars, with a short account of his life.

New York: American News Company 1865. 24 pages. 4 1/2 x 7 1/2 inches. Printed yellow wrappers. Stab stitched. Covers separated at spine lower half. Covers with some soiling, rear cover with granular impressions (as if sand had been impressed into the wrappers). A few penciled scribbles and creasing internally. Corner creasing, with some minor (marginal) loss in a few places. Head of wrapper notes "PRICE 5 CENTS." Mourning border (black box printed around the textblock) throughout. Good. Wraps. [27206]


Monaghan's Lincoln Bibliography (2 vols, Illinois Historical Collections) #372 notes that the first edition of this pamphlet (generally regarded as the first pamphlet printed about the assassination) was issued with only 12 pages. The entry footnote indicates a second edition with 16 pages (presumably with more information as it became available). The present example, Monaghan #373 (unstated but the presumed third edition and apparently printed within days of each other), now has 24 pages and a 5 cent price. The title adds "Full Particulars, with a short account of his life." Our copy with original yellow wrappers duplicating the title page. An advertisement noting a forthcoming title from the publisher about the assassination and it's consequences appears in no less than FOUR places (front and rear inside wrapper, back wrapper, and copyright page). Perhaps in their rush to get to press ahead of others with the best information, in this edition the author's name is mis-spelled "ABBOTT A. ABBOTT" rather than the correct "ABOTT A. ABOTT". This publisher REALLY realizes the impact of what has happened and is in full on production mode.

The news is still raw and in flux, printed before April 26th since assassin John Wilkes Booth (whose name was by then known) hadn't been captured yet. The President has died. The text also prints witness accounts, noting that some of them contradict in small ways earlier accounts. "As soon as the news was published in the New York papers it spread like wildfire, and before breakfast-time the entire city and its environs were fully acquainted with it. Newspapers were impossible to be obtained after eight o'clock at any price. The deepest grief was portrayed on every countenance..." (page 18)

A profound event in American History, here captured in 1865's version of breaking news to the nation. It is remarkablel that so few copies have survived over the years. This is the only copy we've seen with yellow wrappers.

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