Murder Of Joseph White. The Following Lines Were Written On The Death Broadside; Murder; White, Joseph Antiquarian & Scholarly

Boston: L. Deming, 1830. Broadside Heavily trimmed. A Murder Broadside Mounted to a Scrapbook Leaf with Images and Other Texts [Broadside]. [Murder]. [White, Joseph (1747 or 1748-1830)]. Murder of Joseph White. The Following Lines Were Written on the Death of Mr. Joseph White, Of Salem, Who was Found Murdered in His Bed on the Morning of the 7th of April, 1830, Aged 82. Boston: [Leonard Deming] Sold Wholesale and Retail, Corner of Merchants' Row & Market Square, [1830]. Broadside trimmed to 8-1/2" x 5-1/2." ten-stanza verse text in two columns, below headline, single-column introductory text and woodcut image of a coffin, text sections divided by rules. Broadside mounted to scrapbook leaf derived from a ledger and surrounded by clipped images of people and animals and an unrelated text, other unrelated texts and animal images to verso. Moderate browning and foxing, chipping and a few tears to edges with minor loss to a few of the surrounding images. $950. * This is one of several different verse broadsides about the murder of Joseph White, a wealthy sea captain in his 80s who lived in Salem. He was murdered by Joseph Knapp with the assistance of Richard and George Crowninshield. It was one of the most famous American cases of the 1830s due to the sensational nature of the crime and the participation and oratory of Daniel Webster, who was one of the trial prosecutors. Initially, the jury could not decide whether the defendants had bludgeoned White to death. A second trial convicted Knapp and Richard Crowninshield, who were sentenced to death. OCLC locates 4 copies (American Antiquarian Society, Harvard Divinity School, Harvard Law School, Peabody Essex Museum). Burt, American Murder Ballads 87.