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Guide to the Collection of New York City newspaper reportage on the Lincoln assassination
M000082
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Collection Title: Collection of New York City newspaper reportage on the Lincoln assassination
Dates: 1865-1866
Bulk Dates: 1865
Identification: M000082
Physical Description: 5 boxes
Language of Materials:
English
Repository:
Sutro Library, California State Library
1630 Holloway Avenue
5th floor
San Francisco, CA, 94132-4030
URL: http://www.library.ca.gov/sutro
Email: sutro@library.ca.gov
Phone: 415-469-6100
Abstract: An artificial archive of 56 issues from six different daily and weekly New York newspapers covering the six weeks after Abraham
Lincoln's assassination on April 15, 1865.
Reaction to the assassination of the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, on April 14, 1865 by stage actor
John Wilkes Booth was a mix of grief, vengefulness, fear, and horror. Lincoln was the first United States president to be
assassinated. His death ushered in an extended period of national mourning. Booth was killed after a 12 day chase and conspirators
Lewis Thornton Powell, David E. Herold, George A. Atzerodt, and Mary Surratt were later hanged for their roles in the conspiracy.
The newspapers in the collection are:
Harper's Weekly, an American political magazine, based in New York City and carried extensive coverage of the American Civil War, including
illustrations. It had a wide readership throughout the United States during the Civil War.
Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper was an American illustrated literary and news magazine that provided illustrations and reporting during the Civil War. It
had a large readership throughout the United States and reportedly, one of its reporters, James R. O'Neill, is believed to
be the only Civil War correspondent to be killed in action.
The
New-York Tribune, an American newspaper, was founded by Horace Greeley in 1841. Over time it achieved a circulation of approximately 200,000
in the 1850s, making it the largest daily paper in New York City at the time.
The New York
Evening Post was a prominent New York City newspaper that was founded by Alexander Hamiliton and other Federalist supporters in 1801.
The
New-York Times was founded in 1851 with offices on "Newspaper Row" across the street from New York's City Hall during the Civil War.
New York Herald's first issue was published in 1835 and was a successful daily newspaper in the United States. The paper was later acquired
in 1924 by its smaller rival, the
New-York Tribune and became the
New York Herald Tribune.
This collection is indexed under the following controlled access subject terms.
Newspapers
Booth, John Wilkes, 1838-1865
Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865
Surratt, Mary, 1820-1865
Assassination
Executions and executioners, 19th century
Journalism
Lincoln Assassination Conspiracy Trial, Washington D. C., 1865.
Presidents
United States history, 1783-1865.
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865
Each item's description comes from the headlines found in that issue that directly relate to the Lincoln assassination. The
headlines are in quotes and typed verbatim. Additionally, the bibliographic information noted in the guide reflects each
publication's volume and issue format.
Many issues in the collection arrived at the Sutro Library unopened. The issues were cut open at the time of processing.
Processed by Kimberly Sims, Library Technical Assistant, and other Sutro Library staff, in 2022.
Copyright has not been assigned to the California State Library, Sutro Library. The library can claim only physical ownership
of the material. It remains the user's responsibility to determine the copyright status of any material provided by the library.
The collection is open for research. Please page materials three business days in advance of your visit by email: sutro@library.ca.gov
.
[Identification of item] Collection of New York City newspaper reportage on the Lincoln assassination, 1865-1866, M000082,
Sutro Library, California State Library, San Francisco, Calif.
There are six different daily and weekly New York newspapers featured in the collection. Each newspaper is a series and inside
each series the issues are arranged chronologically.
Series 1: Harper's Weekly
Series 2: Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper
Series 3: New-York Tribune
Series 4: Evening Post
Series 5: New-York Times
Series 6: New York Herald
This collection consists of 56 different issues from six different daily and weekly New York newspapers, covering the six
weeks after Abraham Lincoln's assassination and was purchased as an assembled collection. Coverage includes the assassination,
the assassin, the funerals in New York and Springfield, and the hunt for the conspirators. One issue from July 1865 covers
the execution of the conspirators and another issue from February 1866 features coverage of a memorial service in Lincoln's
honor.