Interesting series of three letters concerning the gun used by Harvey Bailey—known as the 'Dean of American Bank Robbers'—to escape from prison in 1933. Includes two letters signed by J. Edgar Hoover, each one page. The first is to Smoot Schmid, dated October 26, 1936, in part: "I made inquiry concerning…our conversation recently at Dallas… at which time you asked that the gun used by Harvey Bailey in effecting his escape form the Dallas County Jail be forwarded to you. I am pleased to make an exception to the usual rules in a matter of this kind…and I have issued instructions to the effect that this gun be transmitted to you." The second letter is a carbon copy of a letter by Schmid's widow, Signe Schmid, written to Hoover, dated September 12, 1963, in part: "My husband passed away suddenly on June 30 of this year…I came across the letter you has written him regarding the gun which Harvey Bailey used to escape from the Dallas County Jail…You were good enough to send it to him, although this was unusual procedure. I have the gun in my possession, and would like you know if you want it returned." Hoover's response of September 19, 1963, is included, thanking Schmid for her "kind offer to return the revolver," but informing her that there is no need to return it. A handwritten note at the bottom by Signe Schmid reads, "The above gun given to Ted Hinton, Jan. 25, 1968." The three are stapled together at the top. In overall very good condition, with blocks of irregular toning to one Hoover TLS and moderate creasing, edge dings, and pin holes to the other Hoover TLS. Bailey, who had hauled in over a million dollars from bank robberies in the 1920s, had bribed a jailer to smuggle in a pistol and two saws to aid in his escape from the Dallas jail on September 4, 1933. Despite his initial success, he was recaptured the same day. The final disposition of the gun discussed here is especially interesting, as it was ultimately given to Ted Hinton—a Dallas County deputy sheriff who had been a member of the posse that killed Bonnie and Clyde.
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