2106

John Dillinger

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Autographs Start Price:NA Estimated At:1,000.00 - 2,000.00 USD
John Dillinger

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Auction Date:2013 Jun 19 @ 18:00 (UTC-05:00 : EST/CDT)
Location:5 Rt 101A Suite 5, Amherst, New Hampshire, 03031, United States
ALS - Autograph Letter Signed
ANS - Autograph Note Signed
AQS - Autograph Quotation Signed
AMQS - Autograph Musical Quotation Signed
DS - Document Signed
FDC - First Day Cover
Inscribed - “Personalized”
ISP - Inscribed Signed Photograph
LS - Letter Signed
SP - Signed Photograph
TLS - Typed Letter Signed
A black leather briefcase used by Dillinger and his crew in the robbery of the American Bank and Trust Company in Racine, Wisconsin, on November 20, 1933. Briefcase measures 16.25 x 12, has two dividers inside, and two leather closing buckles on the outside as well as a lock. Upper portion of the back of the lock is stamped “Grand Metal Prod. Patent Pend.” This bag was taken from Dillinger gang member Harry Pierpont in Tuscon, Arizona in 1934, and is accompanied by a handwritten letter from Tuscon Police Captain Frank Eyman which reads, in full: “Brief case taken from Harry Pierpont of the Dillinger gang Tuscon 1934 had 134,000 from the Riley Bank in Racine Wisc. Handcuffs and black jack with 2 mach guns and 2 45. Auto.” The letter is matted and framed with a vintage photo of Dillinger’s guards in Arizona, as well as seven superfluous coins, to an overall size of 26 x 18. Also accompanied by a photocopied letter of provenance from two previous owners. The first entry, dated February 4, 1972, is by Grant O. Tevis who states that the briefcase was given to him by Captain Eyman in 1935, and then went to the possession of Larry D. Lewis. Second entry on the page, dated July 21, 1981, is from Felix Andreoni and states: “I obtained this briefcase in an auction in New York. I believe to be the fourth owner of this briefcase third only to Dillinger.” Also included is an original news clipping detailing the robbery. In very good condition, with some scattered crazing and a few small tears to bag, as well as expected age wear, and toning and edge chips to the captain’s letter.

When firemen arrived on the scene of a fire at the Hotel Congress in Tucson, Arizona, they found a group of men on the third floor uncharacteristically concerned with the safety of their luggage. At the urging of the men inside, the heavy bags were lowered out the window to safety, and the firefighters were handsomely tipped for their service—an act that brought great attention to the scene. After a short time, it became clear that the men were John Dillinger, Harry Pierpont, Charles Makley and Russell Clark. Attempting to lie low in Tucson after robbing the First National Bank in East Chicago, Indiana (leaving officer William O’Malley dead), the Dillinger gang members were quickly apprehended, all in the hands of the law by January 25, 1934. Frank Eyman, Captain of the Tuscon Police, stopped Pierpont in a routine check of out-of-state cars, arrested him, and confiscated this briefcase. All extradited back to the states that held their warrants, the gang was officially disbanded; taken to Indiana for O’Malley’s murder, Dillinger was held at the ‘inescapable’ Crown Point jail, from which he escaped on March 3, beginning the final chase that would end in his death four months later. This case—carried in the hands of the outlaws, holding their hard-won spoils—backed by an irrefutable chain of provenance, is one of the most desirable relics from the notorious gang's history. Oversized.