WHAT: A father-to-son letter from crime boss Al Capone to Albert Francis “Sonny” Capone, his only child, written in pencil from Alcatraz and signed with his prison number, brought $62,500 recently in an sale at RR Auction in Massachusetts. The chatty letter provides a rare look at a softer side of the gangster. Presale, the auction house expected it to sell for about $50,000.
MORE: Contents are remarkable, with the father advising his son, at college, “...don’t let nothing get you down.” He also told him about his love for music, about learning to play a tenor guitar and banjo and his love for the mandola, being in a prison band, and losing more than seven pounds in Alcatraz. He wrote about his daily routine and games in the prison yard, and ended with, “I will be with you in less than a year.”
SMART COLLECTORS KNOW: Artifacts related to American gangsters, especially Prohibition-era baddies with swashbuckling notoriety — in the same sale, seven sepia candids of Bonnie and Clyde sold for $3,063 — are always popular. When/if they reveal an unusual side, so much the better.
HOT TIP: The buyer was a Chicago area collector who was, by request, unidentified.
BOTTOM LINE: Signed “Love & Kisses, Your Dear Dad Alphonse Capone #85 (his prison number),” the letter reveals a sentimental, tender side of the infamous gangster.
