This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 2/25/2023
SCOTT, Samuel C. (1813 – 1841). Samuel C. Scott the Celebrated American Diver. Lambeth [London]: J.W. Peel, ca. 1840. Broadside for Scott’s challenge dive at the Rose and Bell, Bankside, the bill suggesting a wager: that Scott will offer 100 Guineas to “dive with any man.” 15 x 9 ¾”. Right edge ragged, partially mounted to an album page. Fragile. See Learned Pigs & Fireproof Women, Chapter 10. As this bill makes clear, Scott was a well-known diver and made a name for himself by jumping over Niagara Falls, although the distance he fell has been disputed. Regardless, he made a career of high dives of great distances, often swinging from ropes by his feet and neck before plunging into the water as a sort-of warmup performance. Sadly, during one of these pre-dive swings, the noose around Scott’s neck tightened and by the time he was freed from it – the audience thought that his struggles were part of the show – it was too late. Scott died on January 11, 1841, an unwitting victim of his own lack of preparation.