This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/16/2019
[Capital Punishment] Snyder, Ruth. Original Wire Photo of Ruth Snyder’s Execution by Electrocution at Sing Sing Prison. An original, first state copy of the historic tabloid photograph, by Tom Howard of the New York Daily News, which was the first image of an electrocution ever captured, and the first image of an execution at Sing Sing Prison. Hand-stamped Jan. 13, 1928 on the verso, with Telephoto/Bell System transmission stamp. 7 x 5”. Old paper clip; slightest creases. Near fine. Prison officials banned photography within the prison’s death chamber but allowed some journalists to attend executions. Employing a novel piece of technology, Howard, who worked for the Chicago Tribune, and on this occasion on assignment for the Tribune-owned Daily News, concealed a miniature plate camera on his ankle to capture the blurry image of Snyder strapped into the electric chair at the moment the deadly shock was sent through her body. The famous image ran on the front page of the Daily News for two consecutive days under the bold banner headline “DEAD!”. Today it is widely considered a transformative image in the history of photojournalism and depictions of violence in American media. Howard’s camera is held at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.