Sep 29, 2022 - Sale 2615

Sale 2615 - Lot 36

Price Realized: $ 1,062
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 700 - $ 1,000
(CALIFORNIA.) A True and Minute History of the Assassination of James King. 26 pages including front wrapper. 8vo, original printed wrappers, minor wear; light vertical fold throughout, minimal dampstaining. San Francisco, CA: Whitton, Towne, & Co., 1856

Additional Details

James King (1822-1856), who styled himself "James King of William" since his childhood in Ireland, was a San Francisco newspaper editor who had been an early member of the city's Vigilance Committee, and became a crusader against the city's criminal elements. He was assassinated by the friend of an accused murderer. In response to King's death, the Vigilance Committee sprang back into existence and lynched the murderer. This telling of the events was compiled by a King sympathizer (credited by Greenwood as Frank F. Fargo). Cowan 1933, page 329; Greenwood, California Imprints 680; Sabin 97098; Streeter sale V:2803.