Midwestern armed robber and contract killer during the Prohibition era (1893-1940) who is considered a prime suspect in the infamous St. Valentine's Day Massacre of 1929. ALS signed “F. Dane,” one page both sides, 8.5 x 11, March 15, 1939. Written from Marquette State Prison, a letter to Charlotte Crossman, in full: "'Twas nice to hear from you after so long a time, and good to hear you are back in circulation again. I know full well how stubborn those colds are at times. I was indeed happy to hear from your mother. She has always been so thoughtful. Have read in the Palladium about your severe sleet storm and now we seem to be getting our real winter. There seems to be mountains of snow and we are in the midst of a blizzard at this time. The noon radio said it would subside by midnight tonight. Have not heard from Mrs. Plummer for several months and did not know she had been on a cruise. That is precisely what I would like to do, but I would like to make it a good long one and see all the foreign ports. Especially am I interested in visiting England, France, Italy, the Holy Land and all the Far East ports. How does that sound? I'll bet you wonder if I'm full of strong coffee or something. Well anyway I can dream, can't I? I'm still very busy in the leather craft and find it more interesting as time goes by. I'm very interested in knowing if you have found a new position in or nearer Benton Harbor. You must have had a time driving during the sleet storm. I'm sorry Miss. C. to have neglected writing for so long, but I have been catching up on a bit of my correspondence. The very recent news of Europe is indeed appalling, and I wonder just how far Hitler will go with his bulldozing the small countries over there. I'm real sure he will eventually cause war, and as bad as it is I wonder if it would not be best. Again thanks for your nice letter and hope you are feeling well. My regards to your mother and Stephen and best wishes to you." Burke incorporates his alias signature into the upper address field, "F. Dane." In fine condition. Accompanied by two original mailing envelopes addressed to Charlotte Crossman in Burke's own hand (one for this letter, and one postmarked December 17, 1937), as well as photocopies of a newspaper article detailing Burke's funeral and the invoice for Burke's funeral expenses submitted to Mrs. Jennie Crossman.
