Today, I’d like to show you some of the coverage from the Harry Thaw trial in pictures.
One of the best ways to get a feel for what people thought and felt when any event in history was happening is to go back to the newspaper reports… before things get romanticized.
Evelyn Nesbit before all her troubles in 1901 Otto Sarony photographer (LOC)
Quick summary: Harry Thaw was put on trial for murdering architect Stanford White in 1906 over his previous relations with Thaw’s wife, Evelyn Nesbit. White had groomed Nesbit when she was a young model of fifteen years old—and he was 48.
A terrific illustration of Evelyn
I’m including a small bit of Evelyn’s testimony. Her description of what White said to her the day after he attacked her sounds a lot like a modern story of a certain powerful Hollywood producer.
Evelyn on the stand
Evelyn on the stand (LOC)
White gave Evelyn $25 a week after attacking her, which is roughly equivalent to $875 in 2022. I wonder how readers–most who had a fraction of this sum per month–processed this information when they read it in 1907.
The woman on the left is Edna Goodrich, the girl who introduced Evelyn to Stanford White
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After the trial, everything went to ruin. You can read more about it in the posts I link to at the end, but in short: Harry Thaw was locked up in a mental institution. Evelyn never was really healthy or happy again. And Stanford White’s beautiful work–because he was a fine architect–was slowly destroyed.
Madison Square Garden was up for sale in 1911
One stroke of luck: Evelyn was photographed by the magnificent Arnold Genthe in 1913 (LOC)
Evelyn in 1915. She was greatly changed. (LOC)
Harry Thaw escaped from the mental institution. He was soon recaptured and eventually released. He divorced Evelyn, denied paternity of her child, and was later tried for another, more scandalous crime.
In 1940, Paso Robles Hotel, designed by White, burned down. “Only the chimneys remained today of the famous Paso Robles Hotel, built in 1889 by Stanford White, New York architect, and once the home of Pianist Ignace Jan Paderewski. It burned to the ground last night. The excitement brought death through a heart attack to Desk Clerk J. H. Emsley. The hotel was famous for its mineral baths, its rambling construction (it covered nearly two blocks) and its fireplace in every room.”
Paso Robles Hotel ablaze
I’ve written more in-depth posts about Evelyn Nesbit, Harry Thaw, and Stanford White. Have a look!
- Evelyn Nesbit: A Star is Born
- The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing
- Evelyn Nesbit’s Broken Wings
- Stanford White, Old Sins, and Madison Square Garden
- Harry K. Thaw’s Madness and Mundanity
old spirituals 