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Lot #2076
Joe Chambless Signed Fingerprint Card and Original Vintage Mug Shot Photograph

The father of two Barrow Gang associates

Estimate: $200+
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Description

The father of two Barrow Gang associates

Two items related to the 1934 arrest and processing of suspected Barrow Gang affiliate Joe Chambless: an original vintage glossy 5 x 4 mug shot photo; and an original Department of Justice fingerprint card, 8 x 8, signed in the lower right by Chambless. The opposite side of the card lists the institution as the Wichita Falls Police Department, a received date of October 5, 1934, and notes the crime as "Investigation—Released." Additionally, the card features a physical description and brief criminal history consisting of an "Internal Revenue" charge in June 1934. In overall very good condition, with deep vertical crease through center, horizontal crease towards bottom, and rusty paperclip impressions to top left center of photo; and a horizontal crease to card. Chambless was the father of Mary O'Dare Pitts and Odell Chambless. Pitts dated Barrow Gang member Raymond Hamilton and, for a short time, was a fringe member herself, in spite of the disapproval of both Bonnie and Clyde. Odell Chambless dated the sister of Hamilton, Lillian McBride, and was an integral reason for the death of Deputy Malcolm Davis on January 6, 1933. Davis was shot and killed by a shotgun-toting Clyde Barrow when the latter stopped at the McBride house to confirm plans for an upcoming prison break of Lillian’s brother, Raymond. Davis and three other police officers were staking out the residence for the expected arrival of Odell Chambless, the culprit in a recent Fort Worth bank robbery.

Auction Info

  • Auction Title: Gangsters, Outlaw & Lawmen
  • Dates: #503 - Ended June 23, 2017