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Notorious criminal (1890–1963) who, while imprisoned, became a self-educated authority on birds and earned the nickname 'The Birdman of Alcatraz.' Two letters to Fred E. Daw, Stroud's longtime friend and the president of the Chicago Bird Club:
- ALS signed twice, "Robert Stroud," one page both sides, 8 x 10.25, December 21, 1958, from "Alcatraz, Calif." Stroud writes concerning his efforts to seek parole, beginning: "This is to wish you a Merry Christmas and pass the latest news on to you." He goes on to complain about delays in reviewing his parole petition: "This is a completely phoney contention, that is done to avoid ruling on the petition itself, because they can technically say 'Oh! We have not turned him down, the parole board is considering the case, and they have got sufficient under control.'"
- TLS, signed "Robert Stroud," three pages, 8 x 10.25, May 14, 1940, from "Leavenworth, Kansas." Stroud writes on some of his studies, in part: "Now to the sick babies. I cannot be certain from what you say, but I think that if you will look up that series of articles I wrote for the American Canary when Wick had it, back in the fall of 1933 you will find one headed Fowl Paralysis, and from your description of the condition, I think that is what killed those babies. In this disease the neck is always twisted to the right, sometimes so much so that the beak points upwards. If that is true, you have come to the only person who can help you, for I devoted a number of years to the study of this disease and am the only person who has worked out it mode of transmission. It is caused by some kind of an animal parasite that lives in the ground. Whether it is a worm or a protozoan, I do not know, but I know that the birds get it by eating green food from ground contaminated with bird droppings. It is a common disease of poultry, has been studied extensively by Durant, but he was not able to figure out the cause or the mode of propogation. The disease is often present in old birds that show no simptoms of illness, excepting that they sleep with their head hanging between their feet. It also causes blindness in old birds, and the birds affected with it often develope asthmatic symptoms. The condition is not directly transmitted from the infected birds to their young or to the birds associated with them, so long as the general surroundings are kept clean. I do not know how this condition could have so suddenly affected so many birds in that locality, unless you Fallows have had a few cronically affected birds and have made a practice of throwing waste seed and droppings into the yard and have them been taking green food from that same ground."
In overall fine condition.
From the personal collection of a lifelong collector, teacher, and traveler with a passion for world history. His collecting years ranged from the 1970s to the present day, meaning that several of the premier pieces have not been on the market in decades.
