IMPORTANT LABOR FLIER ADVERTISING MAY 4, 1886 EVENT AT "HAYMARKET" WHERE BOMBING OCCURRED.
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Winning Bid:
$420.92
(Includes 15% Buyer's Premium)
Bidding Ended:
Tuesday, November 15, 2016 10:00:00 PM (20 Minute Clock Begins At Tuesday, November 15, 2016 10:00:00 PM)
Item Description
6.75x10". Printed in English and German and reading in part "Good Speakers Will Be Present To Denounce The Latest Atrocious Act Of The Police, The Shooting Of Our Fellow Workmen Yesterday Afternoon." These were quickly produced on May 3, 1886 after striking McCormick Harvesting Machine Co. workers were shot during a rally demanding the 8 hour day near the Chicago, IL plant. Two varieties exist. The first included text "Workingmen Arm Yourselves And Appear In Full Force!" and was pulled when August Spies refused to speak if they were distributed. All but a few hundred of the first flier were destroyed and it's estimated that some 20,000 of this second variety were produced and distributed. The rally's final speaker was British Socialist Samuel Fielden. As Fielden was finishing his address around 10:30pm, Police Inspector John Bonfield arrived and ordered the crowd to disperse. As a mass of police advanced a homemade bomb was detonated in their path killing six officers. Ensuing gunfire and chaos left four workers dead and an estimated 70 people and 60 officers wounded. The weeks that followed saw crackdowns on laborers and raids of union halls as police attempted to root out the bomber. Many workers suspected that agents of the notorious Pinkerton agency, known for its violent strikebreaking efforts, were responsible. A subsequent trial of eight anarchists on charges of conspiracy, including Spies, produced seven sentences of death by hanging. Spies last words were 'The Time Will Come When Our Silence Will Be More Powerful Than The Voices You Strangle Today.' No actual bomber was ever brought to trial and their identity remains a mystery to this day. While the initial moments after the Haymarket Affair set the 8-hour-work movement back, in the face of repression laborers united across nationalities and political backgrounds. The Knights Of Labor nearly doubled membership in the summer of 1886. By 1889 Samuel Gompers and the AFL rallied international support for a single day of demonstration for the 8-hour workday and choose May 1 in part to commemorate the workers who lost their lives at the Haymarket. International May Day events have taken place ever since and the Affair remains among the most critical moments in labor history worldwide. Less than .5" archival tape repair at top center between the words "Attention Workingmen." A .25" horizontal tear on extreme right edge about one third of the way up from bottom and moderate toning consistent w/age at edges. VF. Despite the large number printed few have survived and the present example has a "Chicago Historical Society" stamp on front. A truly outstanding and important artifact that is the first we've been able to offer in our 49 years. Ted Watts Collection.
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