Description
JOHN DILLINGER DEATH MASK AND COPIES OF THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION REPORTS REGARDING THE DEATH MASK CREATION
JOHN DILLINGER DEATH MASK OF FAMOUS AMERICAN BANK ROBBER AND GANGSTER,
taken from Dillinger's face as he lay in the Cook County Morgue, July 22-23,
1934, 10 x 5.75, hairline crack at bottom edge and chip at hairline, otherwise in fine condition. Hook
in the back for removal from mold. Also
included is a 13 page copy of the Federal
Bureau of Investigation report regarding
the controversy surrounding the creation of the Dillinger Death Mask and a copy
of the Chicago Coroners Certificate of Death. This
is a nice combination of three items for the serious crime memorabilia
collector.
SOME KEY FACTS REGARDING THE DILLINGER "DEATH MASK"
The origin of the "Death Mask" of John Dillinger has been discussed by many over the years and copies are still found at auctions. There are actually two FBI reports on this matter revealing the facts surrounding obtaining the mask. The FBI received one original of two made at the morgue and this mask was shipped by the Reliance Dental Manufacturing Company in January, 1935. These facts, and more, are revealed in copies of two FBI reports of the preliminary investigation regarding the origin of the mask, included in this collection.
The death mask here offered has a strong sense of definition in the features of Dillinger’s face, including the impression at the corner of the right eye, caused by the bullet which had entered Dillinger’s neck and had come out at that point. This group of four items comes from the holdings of a Brown County, Indiana crime memorabilia collector.
John Herbert Dillinger (June 22, 1903 – July 22, 1934) was an American gangster in the Depression-era United States. He operated with a group of men known as the Dillinger Gang or Terror Gang, which was accused of robbing 24 banks and four police stations, among other activities. Dillinger escaped from jail twice. He was also charged with, but never convicted of, the murder of an East Chicago, Indiana, police officer who shot Dillinger in his bulletproof vest during a shootout, prompting him to return fire; despite his infamy, it was Dillinger's only homicide charge.
FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover developed a more sophisticated Bureau as a weapon against organized crime, using Dillinger and his gang as his campaign platform.
$900 (ON SALES AT JUST $700) #10625 (Also see other John Dillinger items in our inventory)
