Manuscript DS, signed “Al Capone,” one page, 8.5 x 11, March 14, 1930. Eastern State Penitentiary document by which Al Capone gives several of his personal effects to his brother, in part: "To Captain Herbert Smith, Warden, please deliver to my brother Ralph Capone property belonging to me as follows: one (1) Watch, one (1) Watch Chain, one (1) Match Holder." Signed at the conclusion by Al Capone, and countersigned below by Ralph Capone to verify receipt of the valuables. Also signed by a witness, Joseph G. Smith. In fine condition.
Notorious Chicago gangster Al Capone got his first taste of prison life in Philadelphia in 1929, following an arrest outside a movie theater for carrying a concealed weapon (an unlicensed .38 revolver). Capone entered a guilty plea and the courts served up the maximum sentence—one year. Entering Philadelphia's Eastern State Penitentiary on August 8, 1929, the celebrity inmate was given special treatment and allowed a luxurious cell: newspapers reported on the fine furniture, beautiful rugs, tasteful paintings, and fancy radio that filled the space. On March 17, 1930, just three days after signing the present document, Capone was released for good behavior after serving nine months of his sentence. Shortly thereafter, Capone was listed as the 'Public Enemy Number One' on the unofficial Chicago Crime Commission's widely publicized list.
His brother Ralph—who was deemed 'Public Enemy Number Three'—ran the family's legitimate non-alcoholic beverage and bottling operations in Chicago, but was also reportedly involved in illegal gambling and prostitution. In 1950, the United Press described Ralph Capone as 'one of the overlords of the national syndicate which controls gambling, vice, and other rackets,' but whether or not he was a 'real boss' remains a matter of dispute. To have two signatures of the brothers Capone on a single document—and one relating to Al Capone's first incarceration—is remarkable and exceptionally desirable.
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