Property from Joseph Rubinfine, American Historical Autograph🃏s

[JESSE JAMES]

A REPORT OF THE DEATH OF JESSE JAMES, IN THE PLAIN DEALER, VOLUME XXXVIII, NUMBER 80, 4 APRIL 1882

Broadside (19 7/8 x 14 5/8 in.; 505 x 372 mm), 8pp., text printed in five columns; some browning, some chips to marginsꦓ.

"JESSE JAMES | His Body Identified by His Mother" — a report of the death of Jesse James just one day after his murder

"At the Coroners inquest, Mrs. Samuels, mother of Jesse James, testified that it was Jesse. Considerable𝕴 excitement w✨as created by her denouncement of Little Dick."

Jesse James was—and arguably still is—one of the most famous criminals in tﷺhe United States. On 3 April 1882, James was shot and killed by his fellow James-Younger Gang member Bob Ford, who betrayed James for reward money. Detective magazines and pulp novels glamorized the James-Younger Gang, turning the band of outlaws into mythical Robin Hoods, driven to crime by unethical landowners and bankers. In reality, however, Jesse James and his cohort were not so magnanimous, almost always committing crimes and acts of violence for personal gain.