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Machine Gun Kelly & Kathryn Kelly Original MUG SHOT Photo '33

Sorry, this is sold out , but contact us for similar alternative we may have.
kevin@cvtreasures.com
Machine Gun Kelly and Kathryn Kelly
ORIGINAL Mug Shot Photographs, 1933


The first we have ever seen in over 30 years collecting!  Offered are a pair of EXTREMELY RARE Vintage 1933 ORIGINAL Mug Shot Photographs of Machine Gun Kelly and his wife Kathryn Kelly. These were originally issued by the Memphis Police Department Bureau of Identification's Detective Division in 1933 and would be the ones they would distribute only to authorities of law enforcement for their files. Each measure 3.5" x 5.5" and are actual "photographs" of double-weight thickness made off the negative on double-weight stock. And because they were made from the original negatives, the clarity has unbelievably SHARP (blows those cheap modern repros away) !

The reverse has the Memphis Police identifications. They are in about excellent condition with just some modest handling. A pair of photos in relation to one of the most infamous criminals of the prohibition era. RARE, 100% Vintage and Original !

BIO:
George Celino Barnes (July 18, 1895 – July 18, 1954), better known as "Machine Gun Kelly", was an American gangster during the Prohibition era. His nickname came from his favorite weapon, a Thompson submachine gun. His most famous crime was the kidnapping of oil tycoon and businessman Charles F. Urschel in July 1933 for which he, and his gang, collected a $200,000 ransom. Their victim had collected and left considerable evidence that assisted the subsequent FBI investigation that eventually led to Kelly's arrest in Memphis, Tennessee on September 26, 1933. His crimes also included bootlegging and armed robbery.

 Kelly married Kathryn Thorne, who purchased Kelly’s first machine gun and went to great lengths to familiarize his name in the underground crime circles; she also helped plot some small bank robberies.

Nonetheless, Kelly’s last criminal activity proved disastrous when he kidnapped a wealthy Oklahoma City resident, Charles F. Urschel and his friend Walter R. Jarrett. Urschel, having been blindfolded, made note of evidence of his experience including remembering background sounds, counting footsteps and leaving fingerprints on surfaces in reach. This proved invaluable for the FBI in their investigation, as they concluded that Urschel had been held in Paradise, Texas, based on sounds that Urschel remembered hearing while he was being held hostage.

On October 12, 1933, George and Kathryn Kelly were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. The trial was held at the Post Office, Courthouse and Federal Office Building in Oklahoma City.