Courtroom Collapse

One interesting area of the paper money field is advertising notes. These advertisements that look like money have been used for most of the nation’s history to raise public awareness of merchants and their products, and sometimes to offer financial incentives. The idea was to create a design that resembled money and would catch someone’s attention long enough to convey a sales message that would result in additional business for the issuer.

Baldwin the Clothier

The story revolves around a major Virginia clothier in Richmond, Thomas S. Baldwin & Co., popularly known as “Baldwin the Clothier.” Baldwin had been associated with another clothing partnership for over 20 years before the Civil War. After suspending operations due to the war, Baldwin bounced back and reopened his business in Richmond in October 1866. The firm issued an attractive advertising note printed in green and black. The firm’s headquarters at the corner of Tenth and Main Streets in Richmond and a portrait, presumably of Baldwin, appear on the front. The back features a rather ornate green design that provides promotional details about the company and its business philosophies. This note was purely promotional and offered no specific financial inducement

Mayoral Contest

So, that is a nice story but, candidly, not all that interesting. What is interesting is how the firm ended, at least under the name of Thomas S. Baldwin & Co. As fate would have it, Baldwin decided to attend a hearing on April 27, 1870, in the courtroom of the Court of Appeals located in the state capitol. An important decision regarding a highly controversial mayoral contest was about to be handed down. The courtroom and gallery were packed with ordinary citizens, elected officials, businessmen, and other interested parties. At 11 a.m., just as the court was about to be brought to order, a girder supporting the gallery gave way under the immense weight of the crowd and collapsed, spilling the gallery’s occupants onto the floor below. This sudden and massive weight, in turn, caused the floor of the courtroom to collapse, sending people, building materials, and debris down another 20 feet onto the floor of the House of Delegates chamber below. 

Horrific Accident

According to newspaper accounts, the immediate death toll was around 56 people. Hundreds more, including Baldwin, suffered injuries ranging from cuts and bruises to severed limbs, concussions, and blunt-force trauma. This horrific accident stunned the city and was one of its most deadly disasters. In total, the calamity claimed 62 lives and caused 200-250 injuries.

Baldwin, who had initially been listed as “very seriously hurt,” died the next day on April 28. His death was a loss that his business could not absorb, and the company was sold to William Ira Smith on May 10. Newspaper ads reveal that Smith ran his company out of the same building that Thomas S. Baldwin & Co. operated out of and retained key personnel. The business remained at this location only until April 1871, probably solely to sell off the old firm’s inventory rather than move it. Smith declared bankruptcy in 1877.  

Ill-Fated Event

Had it not been for his fateful decision to go to a high-profile public event at the state capitol, who knows how long Baldwin would have remained in business. Perhaps he would have issued other enticing advertising pieces under the guise of bank notes.

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A version of this article appears in the June 2025 issue of The Numismatist (money.org)