Foreshadowing Spangler’s Fate

Spangler by Lew Wallace

“[Edman Spangler] was the subject frequently of practical jokes by his companions behind the scenes, and in this connection an incident is mentioned that in the eyes of the superstitious might be deemed to have an ominous meaning.  During the winter of 1864-65, when some new scenery was being prepared, the scene painters were in the habit of displaying the names of different employees of the establishment upon the backs of the various slips.  Spangler remarked that his name had been neglected, when one of the painters, as a joke at his expense, hauled out a piece of scenery designed to figure in connection with a prison yard, and which bore a representation of a gallows.  Upon this scene he dashes with a few broad strokes of his brush the name of Edward Spangler.” – Boston Herald, May 17th, 1865

Luckily for Edman Spangler, the bleak future foretold by a Ford’s Theatre scene painter did not come to fruition.  Rather than the gallows, Spangler received 6 years imprisonment, the lightest sentence of all the conspirators tried by the military commission.  He would serve a little over 3 1/2 years at Fort Jefferson, Dry Tortugas before being pardoned by President Andrew Johnson in February of 1869.

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Like father, like son

The Mudd home in 1915

The Mudd home in 1915

“Dr. Samuel A. Mudd, who, not knowing that the President had been shot, reduced the fracture of Booth’s ankle, which the murderer sustained in catching a spur in the flag which draped the President’s private box as he, Booth leaped from the murder box to the stage, was a physician known by everybody in the three rural counties below Washington City. He was a member of one of the most numerous families in that part of Maryland, and it is within reason to say that to-day thousands of his kin are living in the territory through which Booth and Herold fled. The name is a very common one in the southern counties of Maryland, and Sidney Mudd the elder, who long represented that district in Congress was a kinsman, and so of course is Sidney Mudd the younger, who was elected to Congress from that district last fall.
Dr. Mudd for his part in the tragedy was sentenced by military court to Dry Tortugas for life, but in 1869 was pardoned by President Andrew Johnson. Returning to his home, he practiced medicine till his death in 1882 [1883]. His widow died four years ago and the family house, in which Booth’s ankle was set, is dwelt in to-day by Dr. Mudd’s son and his wife and children.” – New York Tribune, April 4, 1915

Sam Mudd, Jr. and family 1915

Samuel Alexander Mudd, Jr. was the fourth child of Dr. Mudd and his wife, Sarah Frances Dyer Mudd. He was born on January 30th, 1864 and, in addition to the Mudd family home, he also inherited his father’s looks:

Sam Mudd Sr and Jr

References:
“Following Trial To-day of Lincoln’s Assassin” – New York Tribune, April 4, 1915

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Assassination Ads and Apps

Last Sunday’s The Washington Post devoted an entire section to the Civil War:

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Inside the 16 page section there were several interesting articles relating to Civil War events that happened 150 years ago. While exploring it my attention was drawn to a couple of advertisements regarding the assassination:

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I like seeing the rarely used wanted poster image of David Herold in the advertisement for Ford’s Theatre walking tour and the small note on the bottom of the Surratt House, “Ask about our popular John Wilkes Booth Escape Route Tours”. They are quite popular, indeed.

In addition to these ads, there was also a Visit Maryland ad that highlighted their Civil War Trails program:

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It also mentioned their new mobile app and so I decide to download it:

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I wanted to see how their tour app of the assassination route compared to the app created in conjunction with Michael Kauffman’s new book, In the Footsteps of an Assassin:

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Sadly, the Booth escape route portion of the Civil War Trails app is, “coming soon”.

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So, as of now, Michael Kauffman’s app is still the only mobile app out there for the assassination route. The app itself is free and called, “MyTourGuide” and then it costs $9.99 to purchase the escape route tour. There are a few mistakes in it, (the Herndon House narration doesn’t work, the locations of some of the sites are a bit off) but it’s a nice start for those who want/have to experience Booth’s escape on their own. Once the Civil War Trails app is updated, I’ll review that one further.

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The Boothbay Theatre Auction

Thanks to the recent offering of books from authors Richard and Kellie Gutman, I purchased the auction catalog from the June 1990 auction of the Boothbay Theatre Museum collection.  The private museum was located in Boothbay, Maine and contained the collection of Franklyn Lenthall, a theatrical producer, director, and teacher.  Here are a couple of excerpts from Lenthall’s introduction in the catalog:

“Since the age of twelve I have had a passion for theatre, and I have always been a scavenger.  When I read Eleanor Ruggles’ “Price of Players,” my acquisitive instinct focused on the collecting of theatre memorabilia and more especially memorabilia relating to the Booth family…

In 1975 [James] Wilmot and I sold the Boothbay Playhouse and moved the collection to the perfect location, a beautiful 18th century house and barn.  When we learned that John K. Corey was born in this house, and that while he was a soldier, was present at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., April 14, 1865, when actor John Wilkes Booth assassinated President Lincoln during a performance of “Our American Cousin,” we felt that instinctively we had chosen the right building for the Boothbay Theatre Museum.  Previously we learned Edwin Booth , America’s greatest actor, had sailed into Boothbay Harbor July 27, 1887, on the steam yacht, “Oneida,” as guest of financier E. E. Benedict.  It was on that cruise that the idea of a club for actors was conceived; thus the existence of “The Players” in Gramercy Park in New York City…”

What follows is just a sampling of some of the Booth related items that were sold at the Boothbay auction.

2.  Painting of Edwin Booth, 1833-1893, by N. Clark, ’88.

2 Edwin Booth painting

Pastel on linen.  Signed “N. Clark, ‘88” lower left corner.  Framed, 27-3/4” x 24” s.s., in excellent condition

Provenance: Professional Women’s League, New York City.

($10,000 – 15,000)

4.  Painting of Edwin Booth, American actor, 1833 – 1893, just after 100th performance of “Hamlet” by Hugo Svenson

4 Edwin Booth Painting

Oil (bitumen) on canvas.  Signed “Hugo Svenson” lower right corner (very faint), and marked by label on center bottom of frame “Edwin Booth.” Framed, 24 ½” x 22 ½” s.s., in good condition.

Provenance: Minnesota Historical Society, Blanche DeBar Booth (Ophelia to Hamlet)

($8,000 – 10,000)

Hugo Svenson has a studio in New York City.  Blanche DeBar Booth, niece to Edwin, played Ophelia in the 100th performance of “Hamlet”.  Edwin presented her with the portrait, and she in turn presented it to the Minnesota Historical Society

5.  Painting of Edwin Booth, American actor, 1833 – 1893, performing “Hamlet” at the age of 30, by Gabriel Harrison, along with cabinet photo of him.

Booth painting

Oil on canvas, full length portrait.  Signed “Gabriel Harrison” and dated 1894 in lower left corner.  (Harrison as an actor himself, though not considered greatly good.) Framed, 29 ¾” x 19 ¾” s.s. General crackling of surface, otherwise good condition.

Provenance: Sankey Lemley, New York City, estate of Gabriel Harrison.

($7,000 – 10,000)

308.  John Wilkes Booth, actor, brother of Edwin Booth, and assassin of President Lincoln, 1839 – 1865 case with two canes.

Booth's cane

One cane given to Booth by Laura Keene, 1826 – 1873, marked on a silver band, “John Wilkes Booth from Laura Keen [sic], 1865.” Ivory handle, 3 ½” x 1”, 32 ¾” long overall.

Provenance: Mrs. E. Harrison Eudy and her mother

($5,000 – 10,000)

313. Edwin Booth, 1833 – 1893, original oval oil portrait by John R. Johnston, one of Baltimore’s most famous portrait artists.

Photo May 02, 8 28 46 PM

Mark on back, “Sitting From Life, Baltimore, 1851,” and signed.  This handwriting has been documented as that of Johnston, who also painted Andrew Jackson and Franklin Pierce, to name a few.  This portrait is believed to be a preliminary oil for a later portrait that was never done.  Two letters of provenance accompany work.  Framed in brass and glass, 13 ½” x 12”.

($2,000 – 3,000)

315.  Fireplace bellows from “Tudor Hall” and used in the original homestead of the Booth family in Belair, Maryland.

Tudor Hall Bellows

Wood, leather and metal, with a painted flower design on one side.  17 ½” high, 7 ½” wide, 2 ½” unextended depth.  In good, well used condition.

Provenance: Florence Williams, American actress, from member of family Elijah Rogers.

($1,800 – 2,000)

316. Five cash books from Edwin Booth’s “Booth Theatre,” and one account pad.

Booth's theatre pad

Contains names of plays and dates, net receipts and expenditures (such as the cost of a carriage for Mr. Booth), and net profits for the years 1869, 1871 – 1874, 1876 and 1877.  Every entry is initialed “J.H.M.,” by J. H. Magonigle, a theatre representative, or “J.A.B.,” by Joseph A. Booth, the youngest child.  Conditions of bindings vary, but interiors are excellent.  Minor child’s scribbling on a few blank pages, not affecting business contents.  Pad of forms marked “Booth’s Theatre” contains date, performance, weather and fascinating remarks about actors and plays, such as “’Black Crook’ at Niblo’s good, Grand Opera House bad, opening night Bryant’s Opera House all the critics present.” The dates begin Sept. 4,1873 and end May 30, 1874, with hundreds of entries.  The pad has some loose front pages, and a few of the last back pages are damp stained.

Provenance: J. A. Booth

($1,500 – 2,000)

320. Edwin Booth, John Wilkes Booth, J. B. Booth, Jr., playbill from the Booth benefit for the Shakespeare Statue Fund, Winter Garden Theatre, NYC.JWB playbill 2

This one-performance-only playbill is probably the rarest of all American playbills.  The statue still stands in Central Park.  The dedication program for the statue is also offered in this sale.  Framed and matted under glass, 20 ¾” x 8 ¾”.

($1,000 – 1,500)

325. Sydney Booth make-up box, marked across front in red, “Sydney Booth,” and “Theatre.”

Sydney Booth box

Contains crepe hair, prepared mustaches, beards and sideburns, 5 shoe lifts, face powder, dry and moist rouge, rosin, rabbit’s foot, two pair scissors, collapsible drinking cup in a leather carrier, a brush, a collapsible coat hanger, a curling iron, hair color, corkscrew, and an 11-pocketed apron with additional make-up in compartments.  Make-up box is plain black leather with intact handle, and attached to inside lid are his only child’s pink leather, lace trimmed baby slippers, 3 ½” x 2 ½”.  Case measures 12” x 15 ½” x 7”. Very good condition.

Provenance: Elizabeth Barton Booth, wearer of the baby boots.

($800 – 1,200)

326. John Wilkes Booth playbill from “Macbeth,” Willard’s Howard Atheneum, Oct. 7, 1863.

JWB playbill 1

Framed under glass, 19 ¼” x 7”. Excellent condition.

($750 – 1,000)

330. John Wilkes Booth playbill from “Richard III,” Willard’s Howard Antheneum, Boston, Oct. 10, 1863.

JWB playbill 3

Mounted in two portions and marked “Positively the last appearance of the popular young tragedian.” Above playbill is an 8-sided picture of John Wilkes Booth with his name mounted underneath.  A faded assassination reward poster with Lincoln’s photo is mounted on reverse. Framed, 25 ¾” x 8 ¾”.

($650 – 850)

603. Costume knee length, leather boots worn by Edwin Booth.

Edwin's boot

Very good condition.

Provenance: Sydney Booth

($750 – 1,000)

604.  Portion of velvet braid stole worn by Edwin Booth as “Richelieu,” with a carte de visite of Booth as “Cardinal Richelieu.”

Booth as Richelieu

In a wooden case with glass cover, 11 ½” x 8”. Excellent condition.

Provenance: Conway Barker, Charles Dominge.

($700 – 1,000)

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Getting Organized

As of this posting, there are 162 posts here on BoothieBarn.  While the blog format of the site is beneficial in displaying posts in an easy to read fashion, I have been finding that it lacks proper organization.  Blog posts are inherently organized chronologically with the newest posts first while older posts are pushed down and then onto subsequent pages.  Currently there are 17 pages of posts, which is only going to grow as time goes on.  Also, since the themes of the posts vary widely from day to day, it is difficult, especially for new readers, to easily find older posts about a certain topic.  Therefore, over the last couple days, I have re-read all my posts, identified the major topics discussed in each, and created a poor man’s Index:Index picGranted, my Index is not organized alphabetically as most indexes.  However, I’m still hopeful that this index will make it easier for readers to find old posts about topics that interest them in a quick and convenient way.  You can access the Index by clicking the word “Index” at the very top of the webpage:

Index menu

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I have a Booth diary!

When I arrived home yesterday, I found a card in my mailbox stating that the mailman tried to deliver a package but, seeing as no one was home, he held on to it.  I knew exactly what the package was.  It was something that I had been anticipating since the first day I saw it online – my replica John Wilkes Booth diary!  I filled out the postal service card to give them permission to leave it on my stoop, and I rushed home today.  I knew from all the emails, pictures, and collaboration between Pasquale and I, that I was going to really like the diary.  Even though I had seen pictures of the diary throughout the entire process and helped Pasquale replicate the inside of the diary page by page, with the actual product in my hand, I am still completely amazed at the craftsmanship and detail in every stitch and every page. I’m extremely excited and it’s time to show off my John Wilkes Booth diary:

So, I’m on cloud nine right now. If you would like to join me, you can order your own diary for $400 + $25 shipping. I know it’s a sizeable amount of money, but trust me, it is absolutely worth it. Pasquale has made a very unique and very detailed replica that is second to none. I’d be happy to photograph any other part of the diary and post it here if it will help you make your decision. For those of you ready to take the plunge, email me at boothiebarn (at) gmail (dot) com and I’ll send you information on how to send money to Pasquale. Update: Pasquale is all out of John Wilkes Booth diaries and will not be making anymore.  Thank you to all who supported his hard work.

I have a Booth diary!!!!!!!!!

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Lincoln Assassination Books for Sale

Looking for a new book on the Lincoln assassination?  Then may I suggest the new book from the dynamic duo of Jim Garrett and Rich Smyth.  Their new book, which they debuted at the Surratt Conference, is entitled, The Lincoln Assassination: Where Are They Now? A Guide to the Burial Places of Individuals Connected to the Lincoln Assassination in Washington, DC.

The book contains the collective work of Jim and Rich, avid cemetery bushwhackers and extensive Lincoln assassination researchers.  This volume is the first of several highly anticipated books from the pair as they delve into not only more graves, but also the relics of the Lincoln assassination.  You could buy the book from Amazon, but why not support Jim and Rich’s favorite museum by purchasing your copy from the Surratt House Museum giftshop?  Call (301) 868-1121 during normal business hours to order your copy today. 

Looking for an old book on the Lincoln assassination? Richard and Kellie Gutman, the authors behind the impeccable book John Wilkes Booth Himself, have started a website offering up for sale several books from their collection.  Their selection of books is extensive and contains many lesser known titles.  Head on over to http://www.johnwilkesboothbooks.com and check out what they have for sale.  I purchased half a dozen books from them last week and Richard mailed them swiftly to my door.

And while not a book in the conventional sense, we already have one very happy purchaser of a replica John Wilkes Booth diary.  Mr. Marsella is still accepting orders if you’re interested in owning a completely handmade replica of Booth’s diary.  The low price of $400 + $25 shipping is exclusively for readers of this blog.  Just email me at boothiebarn (at) gmail (dot) com, if you want one of this unique pieces before they’re gone for good.

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A Trip to Gettysburg with Boothie Results

Today, I drove up to Gettysburg, PA.  While in Gettysburg, I spent some time looking at a few antique stores and a museum.

At one antique store, I found and purchased these two newspapers:

Harper's Weekly - Edwin Booth Sam and Mike - Philadelphia Inquirer

Another antique store had this stereoview card of the room in which Lincoln died, but it was a bit out of my price range:

Lincoln Deathroom

I then went to the Gettysburg Museum of History. Those of you who watch the History channel show, American Pickers, might remember one episode in which the pickers, Mike and Frank, are commissioned by the curator of the Gettysburg Museum of History to find some items for him. The museum is quite remarkable with a large and varied collection of items. In particular interest to me was this shelf of Lincoln and Lincoln assassination related materials:

Gettysburg Museum of History

John Wilkes Booth playbill

John Wilkes Booth playbill


Bells and Songbook - Gettysburg

Bells and songbook from Ford’s Theatre


Piece of towel that was placed around Lincoln's head to stop the bleeding next to one of the few authentic locks of Lincoln's hair.

Piece of towel that was placed around Lincoln’s head to stop the bleeding next to one of the few authentic locks of Lincoln’s hair.


A piece of Booth's splint

A piece of Booth’s splint

There are many other items in the collection worth seeing, including an entire room devoted to JFK and his assassination.  So, next time you’re in Gettysburg, check out the Gettysburg Museum of History.

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