[Wilson, John, and Michael Martin]:

$500 · Offered by William Reese Company

THUNDERBOLT AND LIGHTFOOT [caption title]. These two sensational pamphlets were prompted by the 1847 death of Dr. John Wilson who, under the name of "Captain Thunderbolt," was one of the most notorious British highwaymen of the 1810s. Actually an Englishman named John Doherty, Thunderbolt was known for the speed of his robberies, his courtesy to his victims, and his refusal to steal from women. During his celebrated criminal career, he teamed with an Irishman named Michael Martin, whom Doherty dubbed "Captain Lightfoot." About 1818, both emigrated from England to the United States and parted ways. Doherty took the name of Dr. John Wilson and lived a quiet existence for twenty-nine years as a doctor in Brattleboro, Vermont. Martin, who continued his life of crime, was caught in Springfield, Massachusetts and hanged in 1821. Wilson's true identity was not disclosed until after his death. The characters of "Thunderbolt" and "Lightfoot" were appropriated by Hollywood in 1974 for a caper film starring Clint Eastwood and Jeff Bridges.

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