Lot 787
W. Champney. "Boston Massacre, March 5th 1770,". Rare 1856 hand-colored print, 22 x 28 in., drawn by William L. Champney, lithographed by J. H. Bufford in Boston, and published by Henry Q. Smith, also of Boston. This scene is quite different from the well-known scene engraved by Paul Revere and reproduced by countless others. In this depiction, the focus is on Crispus Attucks, the Black man who was the first to be killed that day, and is regarded as the first casualty of the Revolutionary War. Here he appears, club in hand, holding the barrel of a British soldier's musket, apparently already mortally wounded. Behind him smoke erupts from the muskets of a line of British soldiers, who are firing into a crowd of club-wielding citizens.
This print is part of a series of Revolutionary War scenes drawn by Champney in the 1850's and might have been produced for the Abolitionist Movement. Done mostly in red, black and gray, the colors are bright and the print is undamaged. Housed under glass in a wooden frame, it has not been examined outside the frame. This is the first example we have offered of this rare print, which a Boston gallery was offering, in lesser condition, at $6,000.
Estimated Value $2,500 - 3,500.
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