A Narrative of the Facts Relative to the Murder of Richard Faulkner.

Rare Account of a 14-Year-Old Murderer [Murder]. Bell, John Any Bird [1816-1831]. A Narrative of the Facts Relative to the Murder of Richard Faulkner Taylor, In the Woods Between Rochester and Maidstone, On Friday the 4th of March, 1831, With the Proceedings on the Coroner's Inquest: The Highly Interesting Evidence of James Bell, Not Adduced on the Trial, Comprising a Complete and Circumstantial History of the Diabolical Affair, Together with the Trial of John Any Bird Bell for the Murder: Including the Confession of the Prisoner, And an Account of His Behaviour After Condemnation: Also an Abstract from the Very Excellent Discourse of the Rev. J. Winter, Being the Condemned Sermon Preached at the Chapel of the Gaol on the Sunday Previous to the Execution: To Which is Added, A Sketch of the Prisoner's Life. Rochester [England]: Printed and Sold by S. Caddel; And May be Had of Every Bookseller in the County, [1831]. 42 pp. Lithograph portrait frontispiece of John and James Bell. Octavo (9" x 5-3/4"). Stab-stitched pamphlet in recent wrappers incorporating front cover of original printed wrappers, untrimmed edges. Negligible light edgewear and a few minor creases, light soiling and a few faint spots to original wrapper. Moderate toning to interior, light soiling and wear to outer edges of several leaves, light foxing to a few leaves, early owner signature, J.S. Bullard, dated August 1831, to head of title page. $500. * The fourteen-year-old Bell confessed to killing Richard Faulkner Taylor [1817-1831], thirteen, presumably for the small sum of money Taylor was carrying home. Any Bird Bell's name is sometimes given as James, probably a result of confusion with his younger brother, James Bell. The younger brother, apparently a witness to the crime, testified against him at trial, where he was convicted of murder. Bell was the youngest person executed in England in the nineteenth century. (Death sentences were often given to children and teenagers, but they were usually commuted.) He was also the first person hanged by William Calcraft [1800-1879], who went on to become one of the most prolific British executioners and something of a celebrity. An online search of Rochester genealogy resources locates a J.S. Bullard who was a solicitor's clerk during the 1830s. OCLC locates 4 copies (British Library, 2 copies, Library of Cong.…