The 30 Minute Rule begins October 14 at 7:00 PM EDT. An Initial Bid Must Be Placed By October 14 at 6:00 PM EDT To Participate After 6:00 PM EDT
Collection of 13 original vintage glossy press photographs, ranging in size from 3.5 x 6.75 to 10 x 8, chronicling the life, assassination, investigation, and funeral of notorious Jewish-American gangster Benjamin ‘Bugsy’ Siegel (1906–1947), one of the founders of the National Crime Syndicate and the visionary force behind the development of the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas. Spanning from 1940 through 1959, with the overwhelming emphasis on the dramatic events surrounding his murder on June 20, 1947, the collection offers a comprehensive visual record of one of organized crime's most infamous killings.
The centerpiece of the archive comprises a remarkable sequence of original wire service photographs documenting Siegel's assassination and its immediate aftermath. Included are haunting images of Siegel's body as found on the divan in Virginia Hill's Beverly Hills home moments after he was fatally shot through the living room window; a close-up view of the slain gangster; detectives examining the bullet holes left in the wall by the fusillade that killed him; his body outside the Coroner's Office; and his silver-plated bronze casket being carried by pallbearers following his sparsely attended funeral. These are complemented by contemporary investigative photographs linking the murder to other developments, including the seizure of more than $1 million in counterfeit currency believed by authorities to have possible connections to the case.
Also included are several pre-assassination portraits of Siegel, including candid and courtroom images dating from 1940–1942, as well as later contextual photographs of the people most closely associated with the murder. Among these are a press photograph of Virginia Hill returning from Paris following Siegel's death, and Allen Smiley, the only person known to have been in the house with Siegel at the time of the shooting, being escorted by federal authorities later in 1947.
Many of the photographs bear their original wire service captions, publication stamps, editorial markings, and date stamps on the reverse. In overall fine condition, with scattered light marks and some photos with evenly trimmed edges. An exceptional, highly visual archive documenting the rise, violent death, investigation, and enduring legend of one of the twentieth century's most infamous organized crime figures.
