The Riot at New Haven between the Students and Town Boys, on the night of March 17, 1854. New Haven: Richard’s Book, Magazine, and Newspaper Depot, 1854.

A dark piece of Yale ephemera documenting a deadly town-gown clash. A disturbance at a theatrical performance quickly deteriorated into a two-day battle between local students and New Haven residents, culminating in the stabbing death of a local man named Pat O’Neil and the students barricading themselves in the South College Hall as the frenzied crowd of townies tried to use a cannon to hit the building. This sensational pamphlet collects newspaper coverage of the event, including the coroner’s investigation and legal aftermath. See B.M. Kelley, Yale: A History, p. 218.

Octavo (187 x 105mm). 47pp. Disbound with original printed wrappers retained (a little dampstained, wrappers a bit shipped with some tears at edges. Provenance: “E. Tracy” (slightly cropped signature on wrapper) – old shelf label on first leaf.