Lot 270
(Lincoln Assassination) John Wilkes Booth (1838-1865) American actor; assassin of President Abraham Lincoln. Rare Book from Booth's library Signed, "John Wilkes Booth / May 10th 1861" on the inside cover. Ironically, the book is a U.S. Army manual with instructions on firing rifles: Rifles and Rifle Practice: An Elementary Treatise Upon the Theory of Rifle Firing, Explaining the Causes of Inaccuracy of Fire, and the Manner of Correcting It. With Descriptions of the Infantry Rifles of Europe and the United States, Their Balls and Cartridges, by C.M. Wilcox (1st Lieut. 7th U.S. Infantry), United States Army. New York: D. Van Nostrand, 1859, 276 pp. Good condition. A fold-out plate in the front of the book shows a rifleman firing his gun, surrounded by illustrations of "most of the Balls now in use in Europe and many that have been experimented with"; two fold-out plates in the back have additional illustrations of bullets and charts showing the results of target practices. The fold-out plates are toned and have some tears, all but one marginal. Green cloth covers have a gilt-embossed, full-length figure of a soldier with a rifle. Covers are soiled and worn, with one ink spot at front right edge, and pages are evenly toned; otherwise a tight copy.
Wilcox concludes his preface to the book with: "It is hoped that this book may prove to be both interesting and useful to the United Stattes Militia and Voluneers, for whose use it was principally prepared." In 1859, John Wilkes Booth joined the Virginia militia that assisted in the arrest of abolitionist John Brown. He undoubtedly received this manual when he joined the militia. On the night of April 14, 1865 he would shoot President Lincoln in the back of the head with a derringer pistol.
Estimated Value $20,000 - 30,000.
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