Al Capone Letters Include Request For Bootlegger’s Name

Chicago – On November 8 and 9, Hindman is pleased to present its Fine Printed Books & Manuscripts, including Americana auction. The sale features a scarce 19th century bird’s-eye view map of Chicago, a group of letters written by Chicago’s most notorious gangster, Al Capone, and a remarkable collection of documents signed by three centuries of world leaders including nearly every American president.

The Patrick Atkinson Collection of Signed Books & Manuscripts will be a focal point of the second session on November 9. Mr. Atkinson meticulously curated an impressive collection of books and documents signed by nearly every American president, from George Washington to Joe Biden, as well as other world leaders. Among the highlights from the collection is a 1958 first edition, first printing of Martin Luther King Jr.’s Stride Toward Freedom. The Montgomery Story signed by King and inscribed with his non-violence credo: “The strong man is the man who can stand up for his rights and not hit back” (lot 494; estimate: $8,000 – 12,000). 

Other highlights from the Atkinson collection include a 1785 letter signed by George Washington to his land agent (lot 411; estimate: $6,000 – 8,000); a partly printed document signed by President Thomas Jefferson and his Secretary of State, James Madison (lot 413; estimate: $4,000 – 6,000); and a signed first edition of Mahatma Gandhi’s Young India 1919-1922 (lot 486; estimate: $4,000 – 6,000).

Informed by Atkinson’s years living in the Dakotas, the collection also features several Dakota rarities including works by and about George Armstrong Custer, works in the Dakota language and manuscripts chronicling early settlements in the Dakotas.
Highlighting the auction is a monumental map of Chicago, printed in 1857, prior to the Chicago fire (lot 704; estimate; $50,000 – 70,000). The view, after James T. Palmatary, is incredibly scarce: it is one of only five known copies, and just the second in private hands. The map is remarkable not only for its scarcity and size, but also for its incredible detail. The only other copy of the map offered at auction in at least a century sold at Hindman in 2017.