American Historical Ephemera and Photography

Please Post. $25,000 Reward. Typed kidnapping reward notice issued by the New Jersey State Police seeking information as to the whereabouts of Charles Lindbergh, Jr., the son of American aviator Charles Lindbergh. 26 May 1932. 1p, 8 x 10 1/2 in. (creasing at folds, hole at top from posting). Partial watermark at bottom left center.

Letter reads in part, "In accordance with the proclamation issued by Governor Harry A. Moore, at Trenton, N.J., May 24th, 1932, not exceeding $25,000 reward will be paid to any person or persons who shall furnish the Governor of the State of New Jersey or any person administering the government at this time being...with information which shall result in the apprehension and conviction of the kidnaper or kidnapers of Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Jr...Information or report of arrest should be forwarded to: Colonel H. Norman Schwarzkopf, Superintendent, New Jersey State Police, Trenton, New Jersey."

Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Jr., 20-month-old son of the famous aviator and Anne Morrow Lindbergh, was kidnapped on March 1, 1932, from the nursery on the second floor of the Lindbergh home near Hopewell, New Jersey. The child’s absence was discovered and reported to his parents, who were then at home, at approximately 10:00 p.m. by the child’s nurse, Betty Gow. A search of the premises was immediately made and a ransom note demanding $50,000 was found on the nursery window sill. After the Hopewell police were notified, the report was telephoned to the New Jersey State Police, who assumed charge of the investigation. Additional ransom notes were issued to the family. On May 12, 1932, the body of the kidnapped baby was accidentally found, partly buried, and badly decomposed, about four and a half miles southeast of the Lindbergh home. In September 1934, a German immigrant carpenter named Richard Hauptmann was arrested for the crime. After a trial that lasted from January 2 to February 13, 1935, he was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to death.