MONTANA HANGING. Invitation to the double execution of William Gay and William Biggerstaf, Lewi...

MONTANA HANGING. Invitation to the double execution of William Gay and William Biggerstaf, Lewis and Clark County, MT, 1895. 1 p, oblong 12mo (77 x 154 mm), on card, with applied photographic printed images of the condemned, with the name of the recipient of the invitation ('G.A. Church') hand-written in ink. Slight toning and curling from shrinkage of photographic paper, right-hand photo (of William Biggerstaf) faded. RARE PRINTED RECORD OF A PUBLIC HANGING, in which one of the two condemned men is an African-American. William Gay had struck gold in the Dakotas years earlier, but was imprisoned for 3 years for shooting a romantic rival. He relocated to Montana and found a coal vein to mine, but his claim was jumped by a local newspaperman, and his retaliation (by burning the newspaper office) resulted in a death sentence. William Biggerstaf was a freed slave who became involved in a fight over a woman and shot his rival. Although he claimed self-defense, he was nonetheless sentenced to hang for murder. The actual hanging did not take place as advertised: both men received stays of execution, but were eventually hanged later (Biggerstaf on April 6, 1896, and Gay on June 9, 1896). This example has the name of Sheriff J. Henry Jurgens printed at the lower right, while other examples are known with his autograph signature in the same place. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing