Description:

Rare theater broadside advertising an appearance of Lincoln assassin JOHN WILKES BOOTH (1838-1865) in an 1863 production of Shakespeare's Macbeth...at the same time he was plotting Lincoln's murder. The 5 ¼" x 16 ¾" (sight) broadside promotes Booth's appearance at "Willard's Howard Athenaeum" on October 7, 1863. Booth is given top billing: "LAST NIGHT BUT THREE Of the Popular Young Tragedian MR. J. WILKES BOOTH Who, by particular request, will appear in the Great Character of MACBETH!" Booth was supported by actresses Julia Bennett Barrow and Annie Senter Langdon. The broadside is in pristine condition, bright white with bold printing, matted in white and set into a beaded wood frame. Between September-November 1863, Booth played a hectic schedule in the northeast, appearing in Boston, Providence, Rhode Island, and Hartford. Earlier that year, he had been arrested in St. Louis when he was heard saying that he "wished the President and the whole damned government would go to hell," charged with making "treasonous" remarks. By the time he appeared in this play, Booth was already planning to kidnap or kill Lincoln. A few weeks later, he made an unexplained trip to Montreal, which was a center of clandestine Confederate activity. He spent ten days in the city, staying for a time at St. Lawrence Hall, a rendezvous for the Confederate Secret Service, and meeting several Confederate agents there. Lincoln's re-election in November convinced Booth to move forward with his plot.

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November 14, 2018 10:00 AM EST
Elkton, MD, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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$100 $499 $20
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$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 + $10,000