Potter & Potter Auctions
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Cabinet of Curiosities

Sat, Sep 27, 2025 12:00PM EDT
Lot 293

SEAMAN, William (1925 – 1997). “Death Pulls Boy's Coaster W...

Estimate: $200 - $300

Bid Increments

Price Bid Increment
$0 $5
$30 $10
$100 $25
$500 $50
$1,000 $100
$2,000 $200
$5,000 $500
$10,000 $1,000
$20,000 $2,000
$50,000 $5,000
$100,000 $10,000
SEAMAN, William (1925 ? 1997). ?Death Pulls Boy's Coaster Wagon" (aka ?Wheels of Death"). [Associated Press, May 17, 1958]. Black and white photograph of a dead child under a sheet in the middle of a street, with a policeman writing notes and a doctor walking away ? in the foreground is the boy's smashed wagon. Minor occasional toning, faint wrinkling. Fine. On the verso is a clipping of the partial newspaper clipping with ?May 17 1958" stamped in red and ?Tragedy" in blue ballpoint in an unknown hand. Beneath that is the remains of a later (?) yellow sticker with ?Photograph for Enquirer" in reverse. The caption on the clipping states: ?Death Pulls Boy's Coaster Wagon / A doctor, too late to help, walks away and a policeman takes notes by the covered body of Ralph Senne [Fossum], 9, after the boy was hit by a truck and killed at Minneapolis. Ralph had been riding his coaster wagon ? AP Wirephoto." A truly heartbreaking photo, for which Seaman was awarded the 1959 Pulitzer Prize for Photography. 6 ? x 7 ?".