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PINKERTON, Alan (1819-1884).
American detective.
Manuscript document signed ("Alan Pinkerton"), as Sheriff of DeWitt County, Illinois, September 2, 1856, being an arrest warrant for two brothers accused of stealing clothing. 1 page, 8 x 7 in., with remnants of two wax seals along the bottom, mild toning, else fine.
Born in Glasgow, Pinkerton settled near Chicago in 1842. He had a natural knack for sleuthing and while working as a barrel maker uncovered and captured a gang of counterfeiters following which he was elected to the post of county sheriff. In 1850 he organized the first detective agency in the United States and solved a string of heists at the Adams Express Company, recovering a large sum of money along the way. He handled security for Abraham Lincoln on his trip to Washington for his inauguration and during the civil war organized the secret service activities of the Army of the Potomac. It seems he is the first lawman in the collection who might be considered somewhat modern in that, for one thing, he never spent time in jail. Nobody's perfect.
Provenance: Ronald J. Atlas collection.
American detective.
Manuscript document signed ("Alan Pinkerton"), as Sheriff of DeWitt County, Illinois, September 2, 1856, being an arrest warrant for two brothers accused of stealing clothing. 1 page, 8 x 7 in., with remnants of two wax seals along the bottom, mild toning, else fine.
Born in Glasgow, Pinkerton settled near Chicago in 1842. He had a natural knack for sleuthing and while working as a barrel maker uncovered and captured a gang of counterfeiters following which he was elected to the post of county sheriff. In 1850 he organized the first detective agency in the United States and solved a string of heists at the Adams Express Company, recovering a large sum of money along the way. He handled security for Abraham Lincoln on his trip to Washington for his inauguration and during the civil war organized the secret service activities of the Army of the Potomac. It seems he is the first lawman in the collection who might be considered somewhat modern in that, for one thing, he never spent time in jail. Nobody's perfect.
Provenance: Ronald J. Atlas collection.