A rare first printing of the playbill to "Our American Cousin" at Ford's Theatre on April 14, 1865, sold for $106,250 at RR Auctions on Saturday.
The historic item comes from the show in which President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth.
This version is distinguished from a less valuable second variant, which was printed the morning of the show. Hearing Lincoln would attend the play, stage manager John B. Wright told the printer he wanted a new program so they could reflect the song "Honor To Our Soldiers," supposed to debut the next evening, would be moved up one night.
"We have been in this business since 1976, and we have never had the opportunity to sell a Laura Keene playbill," said Bobby Livingston, referencing the British actress, whose troupe was performing that night.
After the shots were fired, Keene herself made her way up to the president's box, where Lincoln's head limply laid in her lap.
The winning bidder is only the third to own the piece since its creation, as the playbill comes from a family of theatre collector John H. Brown, who bought it from Wright himself.
The market has been admittedly challenged by the many fakes and replicas that came in the 40 years after the assassination, which still might look authentic based on aging and paper. But RR bolstered this piece's case with affirmation of its authenticity from the renown Lincoln assassination author and collector James L. Swanson, who compared the first edition he owns to the one being sold.
The provenance also included a report from Lincoln assassination expert Dave Taylor, who compared the font, spacing and tone to a verified genuine article in the Huntington Library in San Marino, California.
RR, which also sold a version of the Lincoln assassination wanted poster in this auction, sold two front-row tickets believed to be used the night of the assassination, for $262,500 to Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay.
Darren Rovell is the founder of cllct.com and one of the country's leading reporters on the collectible market. He previously worked for ESPN, CNBC and The Action Network.