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LL/56910
Tom Howard
1928
Execution of Ruth Synder

Silver print
Swann Galleries - New York
Courtesy of Swann Galleries (Auction, Dec 8-10, 2014, #2370, Lot 74)
 
Although photographs of the first Sing Sing Execution were strictly forbidden, 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."
 
LL/56910


 

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