A Sketch of the Life, Condemnation, and Death of the Three Malefactors
A Murderous Trio of Brothers in Buffalo, New York [Broadside]. [Execution]. Thayer, Nelson [1798-1825]. Thayer, Israel [1801-1825]. Thayer, Isaac [1804-1825]. A Sketch of the Life, Condemnation, and Death of the Three Malefactors, Who Were Hanged at Buffalo, 17th June, 1825, For the Murder of John Love. [Buffalo, NY: S.n.], 1825. 19-1/4" x 12" broadside, edges untrimmed. Text in two columns below headline and woodcut vignette of three caskets. Moderate toning, light foxing, a few small faint dampstains, horizontal and vertical fold lines, minor rust marks and a few tiny tears to right column, two mended on verso with loss to one letter of text and no loss to legibility. $3,500. * Nelson, Israel and Isaac Thayer were brothers. Nelson and Israel, farmers who appear to have been lazy, owed a considerable amount of money to John Love, a wealthy bachelor who boarded with Nelson. Unable to clear their debts, the two older brothers enlisted their younger brother, Isaac, to murder Love. The broadside account concludes: "There is not, probably, a parallel case to this in the history of man. It was truly afflicting, to see three young men, all brothers, thus brought to an ignominious death for a crime committed to gratify a love for idleness and a lust for money. May all others take warning by this solemn example!!!" This rare broadside appears to be an unrecorded variant of a related broadside with similar contents and a nearly identical title (beginning A Sketch of the Life, Condemnation, And Death of the Three Thayers...). No copies located on OCLC, which locates 4 copies of the related broadside (New-York Historical Society, American Antiquarian Society, University of Michigan Clements Library, Cornell).
Price: $3,500.00
Book number 82293