1793

"SEVEN DIALS" LONDON MURDER BROADSIDE

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:75.00 USD Estimated At:150.00 - 200.00 USD
 SEVEN DIALS  LONDON MURDER BROADSIDE
In the early nineteenth century, much of the news of England's murders and executions was brought to the masses through penny and half-penny broadsides. These papers were published by a number of printers in the Seven Dials neighborhood of London (presently Cambridge Circus). This broadside, 15" x 19 1/2, describes the crime, confession, and execution of Joseph Brooks. Its headline screams: "TRIAL, SENTENCE And EXECUCTION OF JOSEPH BROOKS , At Newgate, for the Murder of Policeman W. Davey, at Acton". Beneath the title is a large ebgraving showing Brooks' body suspended at a gallows, a minister at his side, as a large crowd looks on before his and from windows in surrounding buildings. The text first graphically describes the execution, in some ways evoking pity for the condemned. It then describes his crime, in which the policeman was killed as he answered his door. Brooks was convicted at his trial, and confessed after the conviction. The text closes with a melodramatic poem written as if it were composed by Brooks. Some chips at the top margin, else very good.

Estimate: $150 - 200.

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Part I: Lots 1-979 - September 27th, 2012

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