[LINCOLN ASSASSINATION]. GARDNER, Alexander (1821-1882), photographer. Pair of stereoviews of the Execution of the Conspirators. Washington: Philp & Solomons, ca 1865.

2 stereoviews on yellow mounts, each with Gardner's "Photographic Incidents of the War" paper label affixed to verso, bearing image number and title, including: No. 981. Execution of the Conspirators. THE ARRIVAL ON THE SCAFFOLD. -- No. 983. Execution of the Conspirators. THE SUSPENSION.

Alexander Gardner captured a series of 10 images of the execution of conspirators Mary Surratt, Lewis Powell, George Atzerodt, and David Herold, showing various points in the process. In this lot are two of the images he captured, one before the prisoners hung, and one after.

In the first image featured here (No. 981), the prisoners sit, listening to the death order being read at the center of the gallows as soldiers stand below, preparing to remove the posts holding the platform. A crowd of soldiers line the top of the wall behind the scaffold. In the second image featured here (No. 983), the prisoners are shown hanging from the ropes. Spectators had been asked to leave after the drop, and this is reflected in the now nearly empty wall. Half an hour after they were dropped, the prisoners' bodies were cut down and examined, therefore this image was captured in that specific 30-minute window.

Mary Surratt, at the age of 42, became the first woman to be executed by the United States government on 7 July 1865.

Estate of David O'Reilly, Old Bridge, New Jersey

This lot is located in Cincinnati.