The Most Famous Events in the History of the Vigilance Committee

This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 6/17/2016

Booklet, “A FULL AND AUTHENTIC ACCOUNT OF THE MURDER OF JAMES KING, OF WM., EDITOR OF THE San Francisco Evening Bulletin ... AND THE EXECUTION OF JAMES P. CASEY AND CHARLES CORA, BY THE VIGILANCE COMMITTEE,” San Francisco: J.W. Sullivan, [1856], 24pp., printed in double columns, original pictorial front wrapper, rear wrapper lacking. Front wrapper lightly soiled. An account of a famous and exciting California murder case, showing the violence endemic in the Gold Rush, and the strength of the so-called Second Vigilance Committee. This work was compiled from the columns of the ALTA CALIFORNIA, and thus provides valuable insight on the opinions of the press with regard to the Vigilantes. King, editor of the SAN FRANCISCO EVENING BULLETIN, was brutally shot to death in the street by Casey. King was a member of the executive committee of the first Vigilance Committee (which formed and disbanded in 1851), and his murder spurred the creation of a second Vigilance Committee in 1856. The culprit and another murderer, Charles Cora, were taken from prison, tried by the Committee, and hanged before a crowd of some twenty thousand spectators. Howes notes only a different edition, with a slightly different title and twenty-six pages in length. This copy appears to be a variant of Greenwood's listing, without "Town Talk print" at the bottom of the front wrapper. The front wrapper carries a portrait of James King, taken from a daguerreotype. A rare account of California crime, and of one of the most famous events in the history of the Vigilance Committee.

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