CAPONE, Alphonse ("Al"). Autograph letter signed twice ("Al Capone", "Al"), to Bill Sells ("Friend Sells") Chicago, 14 January 1925. DAYS AFTER AN ATTEMPT ON HIS LIFE. CONSEQUENTIAL LETTERS FROM CAPONE'S PRIME ARE VIRTUALLY UNOBTAINABLE.
Sale 1097 - Fine Printed Books & Manuscripts, Including Americana
Lots 1-410
Nov 8, 2022
9:00AM CT
Lots 411-717
Nov 9, 2022
9:00AM CT
Live / Chicago
Estimate
$10,000 -
$15,000
Sold for $53,125
Sold prices are inclusive of Buyer’s Premium
Lot Description
CAPONE, Alphonse ("Al") (1899-1947). Autograph letter signed twice ("Al Capone", "Al"), to Bill Sells ("Friend Sells") Chicago, IL, 14 January 1925.
2 pages, 8vo, with original addresses envelope, creased, a few short tears.
DAYS AFTER AN ATTEMPT ON HIS LIFE, CAPONE WRITES: "NO DOUBT YOU WILL BE SUPPRISED [sic] TO HEAR FROM ME. WELL PAL, THINGS HAVE BEEN SO DARN EXCITING"
On January 12, 1925, North Side Gang members Hymie Weiss, Bugs Moran, and Vincent Drucci, attempted to kill Al Capone at a South Side, Chicago restaurant. They fired at Capone's car, missing Capone, but injuring his chauffeur. The ambush left him shaken but unhurt. Twelve days later, on January 24, Weiss, Moran, Drucci, and Frank Gusenberg ambushed Chicago Outfit leader Johnny Torrio, shooting him and his chauffeur, Robert Barton, several times, but as Moran was about to kill Torrio, his gun misfired. After Torrio recovered, he resigned, naming Al Capone the leader of The Chicago Outfit. He moved to Italy with his wife and mother, and on giving Capone control of the criminal empire, which grossed some $70 million per year, he told him: "It's all yours, Al. Me? I'm quitting. It's Europe for me."
Following the attempt on his life, Capone writes a quick note to Bill Sells (who he calls "Friend Sells") to let him know he’s alright: "No doubt you will be supprised [sic] to hear from me. Well Pal things have been so darn exciting that I haven't even had time to change clothes. Well Sells old boy how are you doing and how is the Mrs and your dear little Slugger are you going to make a champion out of him if you are I'll be his manager. And tell him I have got a big rocking horse so write me and let me know how the best way to ship it. Well Pal have no more to say only give my best of wishes to your dear wife and all of your brothers try and make a trip later. Your Pal & Friend Al Capone 7244 Prairie Ave. PS: Let me no [sic] if I can do anything for you. Al."
CAPONE LETTERS ARE EXCEEDINGLY SCARCE: According to online records, only 4 Al Capone letters have sold at auction in at least the last 50 years, none of which was written during Prohibition or his years with the Chicago Outfit. CONSEQUENTIAL LETTERS FROM CAPONE'S PRIME PERIOD ARE VIRTUALLY UNOBTAINABLE.
This lot is located in Chicago.
Chicago-area gangsters in the Prohibition era had close ties to Wisconsin – in addition to being an important avenue for bringing bootlegged liquor to Chicago and the Midwest, it was a refuge where they could escape for rest. “They love[d] to vacation in the Wisconsin Northwoods… The hoods of the Depression era enjoyed escaping to and from Wisconsin when the situation demanded… Enjoying gangster holidays of sorts in the Northwoods during the summers from 1925 to 1931 was ‘Scarface’ Al Capone whose refuge, ‘The Hideout,’ is in Couderay, Wis., 50 miles southwest of Manitowish Waters” (Chicago Tribune, “Northwoods’ Gangsters of Old: From Fishing Holes to Bullet Holes,” 2 March 1987).
William and Lowrene Sell, owners of Sell Improvement Company, a realty and insurance company, also owned and operated Sell’s Resort in Manitowish Waters from the 1920s to 1950s, where, in the early 1920s, Al Capone and his associates were regular guests. According to family lore, Capone was adored by those who knew him, and Lowrene would allow him to take over her kitchen to make his famous gravy. The Sells and Capone developed an intimate friendship over the years, as evidenced by correspondence retained by the family. Taking the Sells into his confidence, Capone maintained a correspondence with them over the years, asking for advice on finding bootleggers and real estate in the Northwoods, and even writing his friend two days after the 1925 assassination attempt to let them know he’s alright. The family kept the correspondence and related items for several generations, but offer it for sale now for the first time.
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