Lot 267
(RUTH SNYDER)
Group of 4 photographs of convicted murderer Ruth Snyder, comprising the infamous electrocution scene by Daily News photographer Tom Howard and 3 at her trial.
Silver prints, the images measuring 8x6 to 10 1/2x6 1/2 inches (20.3x15.2 to 26.7x16.5 cm.), each with a hand stamp or notations and 2 with caption slugs attached to prints verso. 1928
Estimate $4,500 - 5,500
From the Collection of John Binder.
Although photographs of the first Sing Sing Execution were strictly forbidden, the Daily News photographer Tom Howard, who is credited with taking the photograph of Snyder in the electric chair, strapped a tiny detective camera to his ankle.
The caption reads: "This is perhaps the most remarkable exclusive picture in the history of criminology. It shows the actual scene in the Sing Sing Death House as the lethal current surged through Ruth Snyder's body at 11:05 PM on the night of Jan. 12th. Her helmeted head is stiffened in death. Her face masked and an electrode strapped to her bare right leg. The autopsy table on which her body was removed is beside her."
