Harropian Books

[Boxing] Image of Jack Johnson Standing over Jim Jeffries in 1910 World Heavyweight Fight in Reno, Nevada

[Dana Studios?] : Uncredited Photographer

n.p. 1910. Glass Plate. An amazing image, capturing an historical moment in the World of Heavyweight Boxing in Reno, Nevada, on July 4, 1910. Taken just seconds before the fight was called in the 15th round when, some say, Jeffries' corner would not let him return to the fight for fear that Johnson would knock him out. Also of note, is that in the ringside seats in the background, there appears to be Johnson's wife Etta, with her veil up, watching the fight from underneath one of her large hats. A single glass plate, measuring 3.25" x 4.25" wide, masking tape strips run across upper and lower edges w. "12 x 16" written in pencil and the in-negative photo caption "The end came in the 15th round. Jeffries was battered, weak but game. Johnson shot a hard left to the stomach and, for the first time in his career, Jeffries was knocked down. Groping for the ropes, he pulled himself up was knocked down twice again before Tex Richard (left), who was referee as well as promoter, stepped in and stopped the fight." Very Good. Item #4078

"John Arthur Johnson (March 31, 1878 – June 10, 1946), nicknamed the "Galveston Giant", was an American boxer who, at the height of the Jim Crow era, became the first African-American world heavyweight boxing champion (1908 - 1915). Widely regarded as one of the most influential boxers of all time, his 1910 fight against James J. Jeffries was dubbed the "fight of the century". According to filmmaker Ken Burns, "for more than thirteen years, Jack Johnson was the most famous and the most notorious African-American on Earth". Transcending boxing, he became part of the culture and history of the racism in the United States. In 1912, Johnson opened a successful and luxurious "black and tan" (desegregated) restaurant and nightclub, which in part was run by his wife, a white woman. Major newspapers of the time soon claimed that Johnson was attacked by the government only after he became famous as a black man married to a white woman, and was linked to other white women. Johnson was arrested on charges of violating the Mann Act - forbidding one to transport a woman across state lines for "immoral purposes" - a racially motivated charge that embroiled him in controversy for his relationships, including marriages, with white women. Sentenced to a year in prison, Johnson fled the country and fought boxing matches abroad for seven years until 1920 when he served his sentence at the federal penitentiary at Leavenworth. Johnson continued taking paying fights for many years, and operated several other businesses, including lucrative endorsement deals. He died in a car crash on June 10, 1946, at the age of 68. He is buried at Graceland Cemetery in Chicago. On May 24, 2018, Johnson was formally pardoned by U.S. President Donald Trump." wiki.

Price: $325.00 CAD  other currencies