American organized crime boss (1899–1947), who, through his charisma, political savvy, and sheer ruthless ambition, emerged as the most powerful and influential criminal figure of the Prohibition Era. Very rare hand-tinted matte-finish 4.75 x 7 photo of a tan, healthy-looking Capone with a cigar in his hand as he stands before a palm tree at his Miami Beach estate, signed and inscribed in ink on the reverse, “To My Dear Mother, Your dear Son, Alphonse, XXX.” After a colorful—and bloody—“career” in crime that had begun while Capone was still a teenager, the slippery gangster finally ran out of luck when he was tried and convicted for tax evasion in 1931. While Capone was initially sent to the federal prison in Atlanta, Attorney General Homer Cummings, determined not to let his prize catch enjoy the special privileges afforded by his celebrity, shipped Capone to Alcatraz. Capone, who as a tenant of “The Rock” earned the dubious sobriquet “Wop with a Mop,” would later ruefully admit to the warden, “It looks like Alcatraz has got me licked.” Transferred to Terminal Island in 1938 and paroled in the following year, Capone retreated to his Miami Beach estate, where the photo was taken. The house visible behind Capone was originally built in 1922 for Clarence Busch of the Anheuser-Busch brewing empire; Capone purchased the property in 1928. Defeated after his prison term and suffering from increasingly debilitating complications related to syphilis (which he had evidently contracted years before), Capone spent his final years at the palatial residence and died there at the age of 48. Light soiling to both sides (somewhat greater to signed side and touching writing, but having no effect on contrast or legibility), a scratch to emulsion at bottom edge, and light edge wear with a few tiny bends, otherwise fine condition. While all autograph material from Capone is elusive, signed images—let alone one with such striking visual presence, or with an inscription and personal association of such significance—are of the greatest rarity. Knowledgeable collectors will certainly recognize that the present item is, without question, one of the choicest Capone items ever to come to market. Auction LOA John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and R&R COA.
