EXECUTION OF STEPHEN MERRILL CLARK, WHICH TOOK PLACE ON WINTER ISLAND, SALEM, ON THURSDAY, MAY 10, 1821. FOR THE CRIME OF ARSON
[Clark, Stephen Merrill]
Published by [Salem MA, 1821
Used
From
David M. Lesser, ABAA, Woodbridge, CT, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
AbeBooks Seller since 20 October 1997
This specific copy is no longer available. Here are our closest matches for EXECUTION OF STEPHEN MERRILL CLARK, WHICH TOOK PLACE ON WINTER ISLAND, SALEM, ON THURSDAY, MAY 10, 1821. FOR THE CRIME OF ARSON by [Clark, Stephen Merrill].
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Folio Broadside, 10-1/4" x 17-1/2." Woodcut of a coffin beneath the title. Printed in four columns beneath the title, each column separated by a rule, the whole within a black mourning border. Mounted on pale contemporary paper. Light toning and foxing. Very Good. The broadside describes the crime, prints "The Dying Exhortation of Stephen Merrill Clark," The "Commendatory Prayer," "Clark's Confession," and the "Letter from Clark to the Turn-Key." According to the broadside, Merrill became a model prisoner, thanks to his "humane and excellent" treatment by the jail officer and clergy. Thus "his heart became softened and he appeared to throw himself wholly upon the divine mercy." From OCLC 893023656: "Clark's thirteen line address appears in the midst of an account of the execution and the author's views on the propriety of capital punishment in this case in spite of pleas for mercy from Clark's family and friends. The whole followed by: Lines on the death of Clark./ Text begins 'The public execution of Stephen M. Clark, took place in Salem on Thursday last.' The first portion of the account also appeared in the May 12, 1821, issue of the Essex register varying only in the first sentence which reads 'The public execution of Stephen Merrill Clark took place in this town on Thursday last' [internal quotation marks omitted]. Cohen 12138. AI 5281 [5]. Seller Inventory # 39501
Bibliographic Details
Title: EXECUTION OF STEPHEN MERRILL CLARK, WHICH ...
Publisher: [Salem MA
Publication Date: 1821
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Execution of Stephen Merrill Clark, which took place on Winter Island, Salem, Thursday, May 10, 1821 ; For the crime of arson
Published by
N.P., 1821
Used
Paperback
First Edition
Seller: Sequitur Books, Boonsboro, MD, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Paperback. Condition: Fair. First Edition. [Original Broadside of the execution of a teenager by Massachusetts] 46 x 28 cm. Black wide-ruled mourning border. Text printed in 4 columns. Wood cut of coffin, printed under title. Old fold creases. Moderate staining. Some loss at outer margin, but doesn't effect text. After several fires were set in Newburyport in 1820, arson was suspected. Stephen Merrill Clark, a teenager with an ill-reputation was accused by Hannah Downes (a prostitute, who Clark was rumored to have had relations with). After confessing under duress, Clark was sentenced for execution. Clark maintained his innocence through the trial and his father claimed the boy was with him at home the night of the fire. The Revs. Carlile and Cornelius exhorted Clark to repent and call upon divine mercy to avoid the fires of hell after his execution. Before his death he confessed that he committed the act at Hannah's urging because of the treatment the townspeople had given her. He was hung at age 16 for the crime of arson (although only a property crime, no one was injured). Whether Clark committed the five fives he was accused of, is uncertain. The broadside includes the verses: "Be warn'd, ye youth, who see my sad despair: Avoid LEWD WOMEN, false as they are fair. By my example learn to shun my fate: How wretched is the man who's wise too late! Ere innocence, and fame and life be lost, Here purchase wisdom cheaply, at my cost." Ref: Harvard Law School Record, 990148107630203941. Seller Inventory # 2006070005
Quantity: 1 available
EXECUTION Of STEPHEN MERRILL CLARK, Which Took Place on Winter Island, Salem, on Thursday, May 10, 1821. For the Crime of Arson
Published by
(n. p.), 1821
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: Tavistock Books, ABAA, Reno, NV, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Broadside, black wide-rule mourning border, text in 4 columns divided by black vertical single rules. Cut of coffin under title. 17-15/16" x 10-1/2" Clark convicted of intentially setting fire to a stable owned by Mrs Phebe Cross, which in turn consumed the house of one Andrew Frothingham, Esq. The broadside publishes the account of the execution, as initially published in the Salem Gazette of May 11, 1821. That account followed by the "dying exhortation" of Stephen Merrill Clark, the "commendatory prayer" offered by the Rev. Mr. Carlile, the description of the execution as published in the May 12th issue of the Essex register, "Clark's confession," and "Letter from Clark to the turn-key." Rare in the trade. Worn & stained. Loss of upper right corner (no printed areas affected). Paper repair in right margin [a couple words slightly affected, but not the sense thereof]. A Good copy. Now housed in a clear archival mylar sleeve 1st Separate Printing (American Imprints 5281). Seller Inventory # 43598
Quantity: 1 available