Title:
Boston Corbett's 1863 Copy of The Sailor's Companion - Presented to the Man Who Shot John Wilkes Booth by the New-York Port Society in 1868 - Remarkable Abraham Lincoln Assassination Association Book

Description:
An extraordinary Abraham Lincoln assassination association artifact: Boston Corbett's personal copy of The Sailor's Companion, selected and arranged by J. K. Davis, Chaplain at Troy, New York, and published in New York by Robert Carter & Brothers, 580 Broadway, in 1863. The surviving presentation label affixed inside the front cover establishes a particularly important provenance and dates Corbett's receipt of the volume to less than three years after he shot and mortally wounded President Abraham Lincoln's assassin, John Wilkes Booth.

The book is bound in dark blue cloth with blind-stamped borders and gilt decoration and lettering to the spine. The title page reads in full:

"THE SAILOR'S COMPANION

SELECTED AND ARRANGED

BY

J. K. DAVIS.
CHAPLAIN AT TROY, NEW YORK.

NEW YORK:
ROBERT CARTER & BROTHERS,
580 BROADWAY
1863."

Of exceptional importance is the original New-York Port Society presentation label pasted to the front endpaper. The manuscript portion reads:

"Presented to
Mr. Boston Corbett
by the
New-York Port Society.
March 13th 1868."

The printed portion identifies Rev. Charles J. Jones as "Pastor of the Mariners' Church," at the corner of Madison and Catharine Streets in New York. The label further explains that seamen were supplied with Holy Scriptures and other reading matter through the church. Above the label is an additional period handwritten inscription which appears to read "Charles J. Jones, Pastor." 

The volume exhibits expected age and use, including rubbing and wear to the dark blue cloth binding, wear at the extremities and spine, toning and scattered staining to the interior, and wear around the hinges and endpapers. Importantly, the 1868 presentation label remains present and readily legible, preserving the feature that gives this volume its exceptional historical character.

Historical Context:
The importance of this volume lies in the extraordinary identity of its recipient. Thomas P. "Boston" Corbett was the Union cavalryman who fired the shot that mortally wounded John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of President Abraham Lincoln. The Kansas Historical Society identifies Corbett as the "Killer of John Wilkes Booth" and notes that he became widely known as the "Avenger of Lincoln."

After Booth shot Lincoln at Ford's Theatre on the evening of April 14, 1865, one of the most famous manhunts in American history followed. Corbett, then serving in the 16th New York Cavalry, became part of the military detachment pursuing Booth. In the early morning hours of April 26, the soldiers cornered Booth in a tobacco barn at Richard Garrett's farm in Virginia. When Booth refused to surrender, the barn was set ablaze. Corbett, watching Booth from outside, fired through an opening and struck him in the neck. Booth was removed from the barn and died several hours later. Lieutenant Edward P. Doherty subsequently singled Corbett out for his "untiring" efforts in bringing Lincoln's murderers to justice.

Corbett himself viewed these events through an intensely religious lens. According to his later recollection preserved by the Kansas Historical Society, when Corbett and his fellow soldiers saw a flag at half-staff during the pursuit, they understood that Lincoln had died. Corbett's religious convictions were a defining element of his personality and military service.

That fact makes The Sailor's Companion far more personally evocative than an ordinary book associated with Corbett. He was famously devoted to Scripture. Accounts of his Civil War service describe him reading Scripture to fellow soldiers and conducting prayer meetings, including during his imprisonment at Andersonville. His religious convictions were so pronounced that they became inseparable from contemporary descriptions of the man who killed Booth.

The book itself also predates the Lincoln assassination. Published in 1863, while the Civil War was still raging, it already existed when Lincoln was assassinated in April 1865. The surviving presentation label establishes that the New-York Port Society gave this copy to Boston Corbett on March 13, 1868, less than three years after the death of Booth.

The date creates a compelling post-assassination connection. By 1868, the name "Boston Corbett" was no longer that of an obscure soldier. It belonged to one of the most recognizable participants in the final chapter of the Lincoln assassination. Corbett had been publicly celebrated for his role in Booth's death and subsequently spoke about the episode. His postwar life remained strongly connected with religious activity and preaching. Historical accounts place him working as a hatter after the war while continuing his religious activities; by 1870 he was recorded in Camden, New Jersey, as both a preacher and hatter.

There is an additional and unusually appropriate connection between the book and Corbett's earlier life. J. K. Davis is identified on the title page as "Chaplain at Troy, New York." Corbett had spent part of his youth and early working life in Troy, where he pursued the hatter's trade before the events that ultimately brought him into the Civil War and the Lincoln assassination story. The Kansas Historical Society independently confirms Corbett's connection to Troy and his work there as a hatter.

The unique book therefore brings together several distinct chapters of Corbett's life: Troy, his intense Christian faith, the Civil War era, and his postwar celebrity as the man who killed Lincoln's assassin.

Perhaps most importantly for a Lincoln collection, this artifact is not simply memorabilia concerning someone tangentially associated with the assassination. Corbett was physically present at the climactic conclusion of the Booth manhunt and personally fired the bullet that ended Booth's flight. His commander later praised his efforts, while Corbett himself interpreted the episode through the religious convictions that dominated his life.

The religious nature of this particular artifact consequently has unusual biographical relevance. A period devotional book specifically presented to Boston Corbett in 1868 represents something considerably more personal than a later photograph, commemorative item, or generic relic bearing his name. It is an object intended for his own religious use during the immediate post-Civil War period, when Corbett was living in the aftermath of the event that permanently connected his name with Abraham Lincoln.

Authentication & Encapsulation:

The principal provenance evidence is intrinsic to the book itself: the original New-York Port Society presentation label identifies "Mr. Boston Corbett" as the recipient and is manuscript dated "March 13th 1868." The label further identifies Rev. Charles J. Jones, Pastor of the Mariners' Church in New York.

• Additional Documentation & Provenance: At buyer's request, Historical Autographs Gallery will include an additional "Historical Autographs Gallery Certificate" signed by our company founder Luke Pascal at no cost.

Closing Appeal:
Few personal artifacts could more effectively unite Boston Corbett's two defining historical identities: the deeply religious Union veteran and the soldier who brought John Wilkes Booth's flight to its fatal conclusion. Published during the Civil War in 1863 and specifically presented to "Mr. Boston Corbett" by the New-York Port Society on March 13, 1868, this devotional volume survives as an intimate artifact from the life of the man remembered as the "Avenger of Lincoln." Its period presentation label, religious content, Civil War publication date, and direct association with Corbett create a remarkable convergence of Lincoln assassination history and personal provenance. For an advanced collection devoted to Abraham Lincoln, John Wilkes Booth, the assassination conspirators and pursuers, or important Civil War association books, this is an exceptionally evocative relic connected directly to the man whose shot ended the hunt for Lincoln's assassin.

Shipping Notice:
For insurance purposes, items sold over $600 may require signature confirmation upon delivery. Higher-value items, likely over $1,500, are shipped via FedEx 2-Day with Direct Signature Confirmation. FedEx provides the most flexibility when requiring a signature, allowing you to make special delivery requests directly through their tracking system. This ensures both security and convenience for the buyer.