Boldly penned ALS, one page, 6.5 x 10.25, postmarked August 25, 1941 (Hurley, Wisconsin). Handwritten letter to his family physician, Dr. Kenneth Phillips, in full: “Here is your friend Al Capone, writing you this letter from here, first hope it will find you & the rest of your dear family all in perfect health. Dr., I'm leaving here the 1st of Sept, then staying at my mother's house in Chicago until the middle of Oct then I'll be back there at our home. I have something nice for you which will bring back home for you. Dr. please send me 2 boxes of them red pills for bowels movement. Send to this address its the address I'll be until I leave. 7244 Prairie Ave., Chicago, Ill.” In fine condition. Encapsulated in a PSA/DNA authentication holder. Accompanied by the original mailing envelope addressed in Capone's own hand. Hurley, Wisconsin, was where Capone’s older brother, Ralph Capone, retired after his release from prison in 1934.
The recipient, Kenneth Phillips, was the primary physician for both Al and Mae Capone when they lived in Miami, Florida. Phillips, who had been with the family since 1927, first treated Mae for her syphilis before also tending to her husband, whose neurosyphilis, a consequence of the disease going untreated, significantly impacted Capone's mental capacity. In 1942, after mass production of penicillin was started in the United States, Capone was one of the first American patients treated by the new drug. Though it was too late for him to reverse the damage to his brain, it did slow down the progression of the disease.
The Marc and Mary Perkins Collection.
