1855
by Trial; Clark, Willard, Defendant
1855. Rare Account of an 1855 New Haven Murder Case, McDade 178 [Trial]. Clark, Willard [d.1855], Defendant. McFarland, H[enry] H., Reporter. Report of the Trial of Willard Clark, Indicted for the Murder of Richard W. Wight, Before the Superior Court of Connecticut, Holden at New Haven, On Monday, September 17, 1855. New Haven: Thomas H. Pease. T.J. Stafford, Printer, 1855. 217 pp. Octavo (8-1/2" x 5-1/2"). Stab-stitched pamphlet, wrappers lacking, removed from a sammelband in a sheep binding. Moderate toning, a few signatures at beginning and end of text block loose, light foxing in places, light soiling to title page and verso of final leaf, residue from wrappers and binding to spine. $750. * Only edition. McDade offers a neat summary of this case: "Clark was apparently infatuated with a girl who married Wight. With no warning he shot Wight through the head while Wight was kneeling to tie a bundle. The crime and trial were in New Haven, Connecticut; Clark was acquitted on the ground of insanity." OCLC does not locate any printed copies, but we found examples at the American Antiquarian Society, the University of Michigan (Medler Crime Collection, Clements Library) and Yale Law School. McDade, The Annals of Murder 178. (Inventory #: 82172)
(732) 382-1800
