Description:

THE LYNCHING OF ALLEN BROOKS
A particularly disturbing piece of American history, a real-photo postcard, 3 1/2" x 5 1/2" sepia, an unsettling view of the lynching of Allen Brooks, a black citizen of Dallas, Texas, on March 3, 1910. The image shows a large crowd gathered around the Elks Arch at the intersection of Main and Akard Streets, with Brooks'' lifeless body visible suspended from a telephone pole beneath the cast-iron arch at the center of the frame. While the majority of the crowd is facing the victim with their backs turned to the camera, several figures, including two children, have turned to face the photographer. The handwritten caption "Elks Arch, Main & Akard Sts. Taken March 3, 1910", has been added in black ink at upper left. On the verso, the same hand addresses the postcard to a Mr. W.S. Rose of Salado, Texas; this writer, who signs only as "Austin", also provides a brief description of the scene, in full: "Dear Uncle, I suppose you read of what happened here the 3rd. I was working that day but got to see part of it. An ink mark is drawn across my hat on the other side. With the best of wishes, I will say good-bye..." As described, a small black ink line is drawn across the wide-brimmed hat of a figure standing in the left-hand foreground of the image on the verso, one of those who have turned to face the camera. The message is dated "3-6-10", and the card is further postmarked at Dallas with the date "Mar 6, 8:30 PM 1910". A second postmark also appears on the verso at bottom left, and the card further shows some creases and bumps to the corners and edges, with some minor toning and soiling overall, else very good. On February 27, 1910, three-year-old Mary Ethel Beuvens went missing for a period of approximately four hours. She was found in the company of Allen Brooks, a 65-year old African-American laborer who worked in the Beuvens'' home. Both were examined by a doctor, after which Brooks was arrested for attempted rape. On March 3, the day of Brooks'' arraignment, large crowds ransacked first the local jail and then the county courthouse, where Brooks had been hidden in a locked jury room. Forcing their way through locked doors, police, bailiffs and judges, they tied a rope around Brooks'' neck and pushed him from a second-story window. The mob then dragged his lifeless body to the Elks Arch and suspended him from the telephone pole. Many onlookers cut off small pieces of his felt shirt as souvenirs. After Brooks'' body was cut down and taken away, the mob continued to search the prison and stopped several trains, looking for more "elusive negroes" to kill. The judge who was untended to preside over Brooks'' arraignment impaneled a grand jury to try members of the mob, but none were ever indicted.

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April 18, 2018 10:00 AM EDT
Elkton, MD, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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