19552 GW Mag 26_Final_singles - Flipbook - Page 47
“Isabella’s astute detective work on the reward poster helps us
better understand a tragic, chaotic moment for the capital city and
the nation,” said Kasey Sease, curator of the Albert H. Small
Washingtoniana Collection. “Her research also spotlights a long
history of collecting artifacts from President Lincoln’s life—
which our museum is part of.”
“The Stain of Innocent Blood”
Albert H. Small, the philanthropist who assembled the
Washingtoniana Collection and donated it to GW in 2011,
purchased the wanted poster in the early 1990s. A native
Washingtonian, Small was captivated by Lincoln’s story, Sease
said. He added items to the museum’s collection that explored
the former president’s time in Washington.
Originally, the posters were released in at least three different
printings, each with subtle changes. The earliest contained only
text. Fewer than 昀椀ve of those are known to exist today. The second
version—like the Small poster—added photographs of the three
conspirators. The next version warned that Booth may have shaved
off the “heavy black moustache” in his photo, which might have
been a publicity shot for his acting career.
All the versions feature a plea from War Secretary Stanton for
the public’s aid in bringing Booth and his accomplices to justice. “Let
the stain of innocent blood be removed from the land,” he wrote.
This printing of
the 1865 poster
features photos of
the conspirators.
The rare historical
artifact is part of the
Albert H. Small
Washingtoniana
Collection.
Herold, whose name is misspelled as “Harold” on the posters, was
captured while hiding with Booth. He was sentenced to death by
hanging. Surratt 昀氀ed to Canada, then Europe and Egypt. His
eventual extradition resulted in a mistrial, and he was released.
Another conspirator, Surratt’s mother, Mary, was tried and hanged,
the 昀椀rst woman ever executed by the U.S. government.
Quartiere found that scant scholarly research has focused on
connecting the artifact to its impact on history. “You’d be surprised
that there’s not much written about the broadside, speci昀椀cally as
far as the printings and their context,” she said. “I’m really excited
to be pushing this research forward and trying to 昀椀nd out more
about this wonderful object in our collection.”
Through months of meticulous “Scooby-Dooing,” as Quartiere
calls her historical sleuthing, she followed the broadside’s paper
trail to reveal how it was central to the largest manhunt in U.S.
history and its aftermath.
“I want to understand the spark that ignited the 昀椀eld of
presidential collecting and the drive to begin collecting presidential
artifacts—especially the strange fascination people have with
assassination or death-related items,” she explained.
Quartiere, whose anthropology degree includes a concentration
in museum studies, is considering a career in curatorial work.
Meanwhile, she’s still searching for clues to some of her unanswered
broadside questions—from exactly how many were printed to
where some of the missing posters ended up. In addition to writing
a blog post on her work, she presented her research at a Small
Center symposium and held a public talk at the Small Center to
highlight the broadside and other “Lincolnalia” artifacts in the
museum’s collection.
After the symposium, members of the Small family approached
her to share that the poster had been one of Albert Small’s most prized
possessions—among his favorite artifacts in the entire collection.
“It is just extraordinary to be in its presence,” Quartiere said.
“I know that sounds nerdy. But in terms of presidential history and
artifact collecting in general, this is a big-ticket item.”
“I want to understand the spark that ignited the
field of presidential collecting and the drive to begin
collecting presidential artifacts—especially the
strange fascination people have with assassination
or death-related items.”
— ISABELLA QUARTIERE, BA ’25,
ANTHROPOLOGY GRADUATE STUDENT
GW Arts & Sciences | ALUMNI & DONORS | 47
