A rare copy of Paul Revere’s historic engraving of the Boston Massacre is coming up at auction in Virginia this fall. There are only 29 surviving copies of the 1770 artwork, which became a powerful propaganda tool in promoting the cause of the American Revolution.

The engraving on offer from Virginia’s Early American History Auctions comes from the collection of J. William Middendorf, a retired diplomat known for serving as Secretary of the Navy and in several ambassador posts under Republican administrations.

The work is coming to auction on the occasion of Middendorf’s 100th birthday, on September 22. The ambassador—who is also publishing a new book—is selling a selection of about 100 engravings, documents, and other collectibles and examples of Americana from his collection, which ranges from the colonial period through to the Civil War.

“He is one of the foremost collectors of historic Americana,” the auction house’s president Dana Linett told me.

Prior to the sale, which will take place some time next month, Middendorf had loaned the Revere engraving to the Harvard University Library in Cambridge, Massachusetts. But Harvard’s loss will be someone else’s gain, as the auction represents a rare opportunity to snap up one of the few copies of the print still in private hands.

“There were approximately 200 that were printed at the time, but that was in 1770 and the number that are surviving are a tiny fraction [of that],” Linett said. “Most of the existing examples are already owned by museums and institutions, with only a small number available to collectors.”

The Bloody Massacre Perpetrated in King Street Boston on March 5, 1770, as Revere christened the copper engraving, was based on an illustration by Henry Pelham.

An incendiary depiction of the events meant to rally supporters to the revolutionary cause, it shows British soldiers lined up and firing on the crowd of colonists. Crispus Attucks, the sailor of African descent who was the war’s first American casualty, is lying dead on the ground in the foreground.

Linett called it “the most important engraving in American history,” noting that “it is in every American history book—often on the cover.”

The auction house expects the sale to take place toward the end of next month. Linett is predicting a hammer price of $250,000 to $300,000. It’s perhaps a somewhat conservative estimate, considering the most expensive copy of the engraving sold for $429,000 at Doyle New York in November 2021, according to the Artnet Price Database.

That eclipsed the previous high, set that January when Middendorf sold another copy from his collection at Christie’s New York for $412,500. (The auction house also sold a $352,800 copy in May 2022.)

“It being such an important and nice condition example, it may well bring in excess of that,” Linett admitted. “We sold one about two years ago that had major restorations.
It looked very nice with the expert conservation that was done, but due to it being repaired it brought less than this example will bring. This one is in original condition.”

Middendorf originally purchased the engraving at Christie’s in 2011 for $116,500.