The Finger of Mr. Broliman

Object Status:

Unlocated

Primary Source Reference:

Pennsylvania Packet (Philadelphia), 29 June 1790

Notes:

This macabre entry records the trigger finger of one Broliman, a former British soldier in the Seven Years' War, who was despondent and wanted to end his life. He did so by murdering a total stranger, Robert Scull, in Philadelphia on 27 Aug 1760 so as to ensure his execution, which followed. Peale related the tale at length for its moral lessons, both in the Accessions Book and in the many newspapers throughout America that carried his account of this acquisition. The account appeared in newspapers in Sep 1760 in Philadelphia, New York (pictured here), Portsmouth, N.H., Boston, and New London, Conn. See H. U. Hall, "A Link with the Old Peale Museum," University of Pennsylvania, The Museum Journal, 16 (1925): 64-69 / https://www.penn.museum/documents/publications/journal/16-1/linke_with_…

This object was also recorded in the Accessions Book in an entry of 31 Jan 1810, which identifies the donor as a Mr. Plumstead and the date as July 1790 (pp. 46-48).