Autograph letter signed by Robert "Birdman of Alcatraz" Stroud (1890-1963), to his sister Marmie E. Stroud. Alcatraz, California, 9 September 1955. 2 pages, 4to. 

A fine autograph letter signed by convicted murderer Robert Stroud (1890-1963) from the infamous Alcatraz Prison. Coming from an abusive house, he became a pimp by the time he was 18. In 1909, he shot and killed a man who attacked his mistress. Originally sentenced to 12 years, but his sentence became life imprisonment after he stabbed and killed a prison guard in 1916. While incarcerated at Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary, he became a renowned ornithologist, rearing and selling birds. When he was relocated to Alcatraz in 1942, he was not allowed access to his birds. 

Importantly, here he mentions the publication of The Birdman of Alcatraz by Thomas E. Gaddis, published by Random House in 1955. In part: "Fred told me that George Sandy had died the first part of August and that Random House in N.Y. had published the book of my life."

The popular book was turned into a film by the same with Burt Lancaster playing Stroud. 

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