Hand-drawn mockup of an advertising poster for a Bonnie and Clyde-themed show presented by Charles Wiley Stanley, 15.25 x 22, featuring a portrayal of the cigar-smoking Bonnie Parker with a revolver at her waist, with over-the-top text billing the event: "Not for 18 years did anyone dare bring it to the screen, Shocking, Unusual, Unforgettable, Crime Confidential, on our stage, C. Wiley Stanley, The Crime Doctor, Presenting: Untold Secrets of Gangland." In very good to fine condition, with soiling, light staining, and four edge tack holes.
Stanley, a carnival operator and member of the National Anti-Crime Association (NACA), first exhibited the Bonnie and Clyde ‘Death Car’ in his hometown of Abilene, Kansas, in September 1934, just months after Bonnie and Clyde were killed. He began touring the nation with the bullet-ridden vehicle, satisfying the public’s curiosity while using it as a device to lecture on why ‘crime doesn’t pay.’ He spun the death car into a cottage industry, billing himself as the ‘Crime Doctor’ and profiting off associated products. An interesting piece representing the influential pop culture legacy of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. From the collection of David Gainsborough-Roberts.
