John Brown riding on his coffin to the place of execution [Charlestown, W. Va.] – Historic Print
![John Brown riding on his coffin to the place of execution [Charlestown, W. Va.], 1859 — antique engraving](https://images.jameslantos.com/img/23/234a7d8ec8ad-L.webp)
(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)
Description
Step back in time with John Brown riding on his coffin to the place of execution [Charlestown, W. Va.], an antique engraving rich in period detail. The original is held by the Library of Congress, so what you hang is a true record of its time.
Framed, it is ready for the wall; unframed, it is ready for the frame you choose. Perfect for a home, office, library or classroom wall, and a gift with a story behind it. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Snapshots of the Past has been bringing history to the wall since 2001, for tens of thousands of customers worldwide.
John Brown riding on his coffin to the place of execution [Charlestown, W. Va.]
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Here Brown is shown seated atop his own coffin as he is carried through Charlestown, Virginia, to the site of his hanging. He had been convicted of treason and murder after his October 1859 raid on the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, an attack meant to arm enslaved people and start a revolt. Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper ran this wood engraving by Arthur Berghaus in its December 17, 1859 issue, two weeks after the execution. Its wide circulation helped make Brown a symbol to both abolitionists and his opponents in the years before the Civil War.
| Created / published | 1859 |
|---|---|
| Medium | 1 print : wood engraving. |
| Subjects | Title and other information transcribed from caption card. Illus. in: Frank Leslie's illustrated newspaper, vol. 9, no. 211 (1859 Dec. 17), p. 36. Wood engraving by Arthur Berghaus. Caption card tracings: A/P/P I; West Virginia--Charlestown--1859; BI; Executions--Hanging--1859; U.S. History--1859; Shelf.; Brown, John, 1800-1859. |
| Source | Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division |
| Original scan | 1,536 × 1,361 px · prints to 5 × 5 in at 300 dpi |
| Reference | AMZ-SOTP-HPA-152050 |
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