Mar 20 at 10:30 AM - Sale 2697 -

Sale 2697 - Lot 151

Estimate: $ 800 - $ 1,200
(CRIME.) Wanted for Murder: Charles James, alias "Jelly Roll." Illustrated broadside, 12 x 8½ inches; horizontal folds, wrinkles, minor soiling and toning. Marlinton, WV, circa 1919
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Additional Details

A lumber worker named Bascom McFall disappeared in Cass, West Virginia in December 1918. His body was found in the woods the following April with his throat slashed and his money gone. Three alleged murderers were soon identified. Charles James's wife Sophronia Carter James had recently been convicted of murdering a woman. She later admitted that the victim was a witness to the McFall murder, and that her husband had actually committed the second murder, pinning the rap on her. James was not indicted until 1923.

This poster shows the suspect posed with a pistol, standing with a woman (presumably Sophronia) holding a guitar. It gives his nickname, a physical description including several gunshot wounds, and the charges against him, noting: "He is a bad character and will likely be found around gambling joints or negro dives. Police officers and sheriffs are urgently requested to use every means to ascertain if this man is in their bailiwick."

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