Christmas card sent by Raymond Hamilton to Smoot Schmid, 4.5 x 3.5, signed on the reverse in fountain pen, "Raymond Hamilton." The gold-bordered card depicts an idyllic winter scene and bears a printed holiday greeting, "Heartiest greetings for Christmas and sincere good wishes for the New Year." Includes the original mailing envelope, postmarked at Cooper, Texas, December 22, 1934, addressed in Hamilton's hand, "Smoot Schmid, Sheriff Dallas Co., Dallas, Texas." In fine condition, with a smudge to a portion of the address. Bonnie and Clyde busted Hamilton out of the Eastham Prison Farm during a raid to free their gang members on January 16, 1934. Although he had been recaptured three months later on April 25th, the slippery Hamilton escaped a second time on July 22nd, making him one of the most wanted men in the South. Taunting Dallas Sheriff Smoot Schmid, the gutsy Hamilton mailed him this Christmas card at the end of December while still on the run. Hamilton successfully evaded law enforcement for nearly a year before finally being captured in April 1935, with Schmid leading the seven-man team of arresting officers. After Hamilton's execution in May, Schmid and his men shared a $500 reward for the arrest.
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