The Birdman of Alcatraz. Imprisoned for murder at age 18, Stroud spent over 54 years in jail (47 of them in isolation!) where he became a self-educated authority on canaries and bird diseases, publishing Stroud's Digest of the Diseases of Birds in 1942. Also a self-taught legal scholar, Stroud wrote an exhaustive history of the federal legal system. ALS signed 'Robert Stroud number 594,' one lined page both sides, 8 x 10.25, November 20, 1945; he also writes his name on the top of the first page. Interesting, lengthy discourse with great bird content, and with great detail on feathers. In part: 'Concerning that blood transfer, I do not think it could work. To make the transfusion the blood from the cardinal would have to be drawn up into a syringe containing some Ringers solutions with enough citrate to stop clotting. Then it would have to be injected into the canary as the canaries blood was withdrawn...Breast feathers and back feathers are entirely different in structure...if the epidermis is stripped from the back of one bird and from the breast of another without disturbing the cleonus (the under layer) and the epidermis from one grafted onto the other.' In fine condition. RRAuction COA.
