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Lot 296
[OUTLAWS]. SMITH SPORTING GOODS CO., photographer. A series of 4 photographs documenting the last legal hanging in Tucson, Arizona. 1908.
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$12,000 - 16,000
Lot Description
[OUTLAWS]. SMITH SPORTING GOODS CO., photographer. A series of 4 photographs documenting the last legal hanging in Tucson, Arizona. 1908.

4 silver gelatin photographs on cardstock mounts (images with light spotting to upper portions and light mirroring to lower portions; minimal wear to mount edges and corners). Each photograph credited to lower left corner. Images capture four different moments from the hanging, including the group of participants ascending the staircase to the gallows, standing around the perimeter of the platform, walking Hawkins toward the noose, and placing the noose over the convicted man's head while preparing the hood. The crowd of spectators is visible in each photograph. 

The last legal hanging in Tucson, Arizona was the execution of Edwin W. Hawkins on 14 August 1908. He was convicted and sentenced to hang for the murder of Albert Leonhardt, a crime to which he confessed, along with a string of robberies he and his wife were suspected of committing. The men standing with Edwin on the platform include Deputy Sheriff Henry Meyer, Father John Timmerman, and Sheriff Nabor Pacheco.

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