Rare handwritten letter to his friend Charles Fletcher, smuggled out of the jail by his wife, signed by him in 1883 while he awaited trial for robbery and murder Rare ALS: "Frank" with "Direct to Mrs. Frank James" to left of signature, 1 page, 7¾x10½. In Jail at Gallatin, Missouri, 1883 April 7. To his friend, Charles Fletcher. In part: "I should of written you before this but all my mail had to be inspected by the Sheriff. But as my wife is now with me and can smuggle this through the linens and she can receive letters…hence this letter. I am getting on as well as one could suppose in Jail…You have so proved yourself, I hope you will be so situated as to be able to attend my trial in June. I am expecting to be acquitted if justice prevails I will be undoubtedly. My wife sends kindest regards to you and family. Hoping to hear from you soon…." Frank and Jesse James had been Confederate guerrillas under the leadership of William Quantrill during the Civil War. They joined Cole Younger and others in 1866 and formed a gang of which Jesse was usually regarded as the leader. At first, they specialized in bank robberies, but in 1873 they held up a train.

Stock Certificate signed: "Robt Morris" as President of Delaware and Schuylkill Canal Navigation and U.S. Senator, 1p, 9¾x8. Philadelphia, 1792 August 4. Certificate No. 1084. In part: "Be it hereby certified, by the President, Managers, and Company of the Delaware and Schuylkill Canal Navigation, That John C Moller of [left blank] is entitled to one Share of Stock, in the said Company, numbered Ten Hundred and Eighty four transferrable (sic) in the presence of the Treasurer, by the said John C Moller or his attorney...." Also signed by the Treasurer of the company. Docketed (unknown hand) on verso, transferring Moller's stock to David Dunbar on January 7, 1793 and to other shareholders in 1793, 1794, 1795 and 1803. In the 1790s, Morris and other Philadelphians promoted the Delaware and Schuylkill Canal Navigation company, which was eventually made unnecessary by the establishment of the Schuylkill Navigational Company and the Schuylkill & Susquehanna Canal Company, the latter being supplanted by the Union Canal Company. The canals had been proposed to transport coal from the Allegheny region to eastern markets.

MARY SURRATT'S HAIR Historic Hair Strands from Mary Surratt, The Lincoln Assassination Conspirator. Illustrations on front and verso of the card include: an "Image of Mary Surratt taken from a contemporary CDV owned by Samuel Curtis"; a copy of an entry from the original diary kept by Samuel Curtis, referencing the hair (the entry originally accompanied the hair but cannot be read from this page); and a reproduction of the envelope that contained the hair, bearing the writing of Curtis. Surratt's execution on July 7, 1865 is also depicted in two reproduced photographs, taken both before and after the hanging. There are also reproductions from other Curtis entries: April 9, 1865, mentioning Lee's surrender; April 15, referring to Lincoln being shot; and April 20, "the boys went to the city of Washington to see the remains of our late President Lincoln." All of the above are reproduced on the front and verso of the page showing the hair. Curtis was a member of the 8th Regiment that was present at the execution of four conspirators in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln at the Old Penitentiary in Washington, D.C. Mrs. Mary Surratt, who kept the boarding house where John Wilkes Booth devised his assassination plot, was among those hanged. She is reported to have been the first to die.

10¼x13 rare, stunning image of the ill-fated star, signed "for the lovely hair", from the estate of Hollywood hairdresser Wally Wallace! Exceptional item from Farmer, who is rare in any format! Photograph signed: "For the lovely hair/Frances F.". B/w, 10¼x13. FRANCES FARMER (1913-1970) had a reputation as a talented, but demanding and rebellious, actress who battled the studios, alcohol and other addictions and mental illness. At the time of the release of her film Son of Fury, costarring Tyrone Power, in 1942, the 29-year-old actress was arrested and convicted of drunk driving. Inundated with negative publicity, she traveled to Mexico. However, by leaving the U.S., Farmer was found in violation of her probation. Put on trial and deemed mentally ill, Farmer was committed to a mental institution where she underwent shock treatments, hydrotherapy baths and reportedly received a trans-orbital lobotomy. Over the next few years, her physical and mental health deteriorated; she developed a debilitating dependency on alcohol and suffered from a series of nervous breakdowns. Her best films included Come and Get It (1936) and Son of Fury (1942). A film about her life, Frances, starring Jessica Lang, was released in 1982.

The former outlaw assigns all rights, including the Dalton name, to his stepdaughter. TLS: "Emmett Dalton", 1p, 6x8. Hollywood, California, 1936 March 9. To his stepdaughter Jennie Gilstrap Perrier, Skiatcok, Oklahoma. In full: "I hope this finds you well and happy. My shoulder is getting worse. Your mother Julia and I borrowed from your oil money when you were young to make my first picture, and also to pay Double Day to print the book When The Daltons Rode. We have never repaid you. I am making assignment of all my rights, title, and interest including the Dalton name, to your mother Julia. This I am giving to you for the money I owe you, upon her passing, and any interest in my brother Frank Dalton's name that I used in the motion picture. There are no other Dalton heirs, and all in perpetuum rights are yours." 2 file holes at upper blank margin. Lightly soiled, light stains at right margin. Overall, fine condition. Accompanied by an unsigned Marriage License and Certificate of Marriage for Emmett Dalton and Julia A. Lewis, 1p, 8½ x 14. Bartlesville, Oklahoma, 1908 September 1. 2 file holes at upper margin. Lightly soiled, else fine condition. With Final Decree from the state of Oklahoma signed by the Judge of the County Court, 1p, 8½ x 14.

Rare sepia-toned photo of a middle-aged Younger, one of Quantrill's Raiders during the American Civil War, and a member of the James-Younger gang. Inscribed photograph mount signed "To/W. A. Bell./Yours Truly/Cole Younger". B/w sepia-toned, 4¼x7¼ photo affixed to an 8x12 sheet of brown cardstock. Younger (1844-1916) was one of Quantrill's Raiders, a notorious band of American Civil War guerillas, as well as a member of the James-Younger Gang with Frank and Jesse James. Younger, a Missourian, joined William Quantrill after Union-supported bandits from Kansas killed his father. He participated in Quantrill's raid on Lawrence, Kansas, one of the worst atrocities of the war, in which about 180 people were killed. After the war, Younger became an outlaw with brothers James, John and Robert, later joining the James brothers, who had also been members of Quantrill's Raiders. He may have felt forced into crime; a new state constitution passed after the Civil War severely curtailed the rights of former Confederate sympathizers. Younger robbed trains and banks and murdered policemen and civilians from at least 1868 until Sept. 7, 1876. On that day, the James-Younger Gang tried to rob the First National Bank in Northfield, Minnesota.

Typed 1980 appointment letter signed by Saddam in red ink Rare Typed DS: "Saddam Hussein" in red ink, as Head of the Revolution's Supreme Council, in Arabic, 1 page, 8x11. Baghdad, Iraq, 1980 May 22. Not translated. "Decided" that Lieutenant Colonel Ali Omran Mosa be appointed to a civilian post at the Ministry of Transportation. Saddam Hussein (b. 1937) joined the Pan-Arab socialist Baath Party in 1957 and fled Iraq. He was wounded two years later, after attempting to assassinate Prime Minister Kassim.  Returning to Iraq after Kassim's overthrow in 1963, he rose rapidly in the Baath revolutionary apparatus and by 1968 was a Vice President with broad authority over the secret police.  Saddam seized full power in 1979 and conducted a ruthless purge of opponents inside and outside the Baath Party.  He dealt brutally with political, ethnic and religious opponents, real or imagined, throughout his reign.  In September, 1980, four months after signing this order, Saddam Hussein began an eight-year war with Iran which began well but soon turned into a stalemate costly in lives and money.  It was partly to recover from the resulting financial crisis that Saddam invaded Kuwait in 1990.

The criminal signs documents in jail; he later becomes a lawman and kills John Wesley Hardin. Manuscript DS: "J.H. Selman", 1p, 7¾x5¼. Shackelford County, Texas, 1880 September 10. In full: "Personally appeared before me John Selman who on oath says that the allegations in the foregoing petition he believes to be true." Also signed: "W.C. Pace/CDCSC". In full: "Sworn to and Subscribed before me this 10 day of Sept AD 1880." On verso is related unsigned manuscript. In part: "The petition of John Selman would show that petitioner is illegally restrained of his liberty by H.C. Jacobs sheriff of Shackelford County Texas…." Selman lived on both sides of the law. His career included cattle rustling, robbery and murder -- and arresting cattle rustlers, robbers and murderers. Three months before this document was signed, he was arrested in Fort Davis, Texas just two days after his second marriage. His brother and fellow outlaw Tom Cat Selman had been lynched when they were taken into custody, but John was transferred back to Shackleford County for trial. He had lived there several years earlier and had connected with gunfighter John Larn. Together, they rustled cattle and robbed.

Photo of a large crowd taken outside at a 1927 MGM convention, signed by 27 MGM stars, including Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo, Norma Shearer, Jackie Coogan and Lon Chaney, Sr. Important Historical Photograph signed: "Greta Garbo", "Lon Chaney", "Norma Shearer", "Joan Crawford", "Conrad Nagel", "Dolores Del Rio", "Johnny Mack Brown", "Jackie Coogan", "Billy Haines", "Eileen Percy", "Claire Windsor", "Tom O'Brien", "Tim McCoy", "Louise Lorraine", "George K. Archer", "E.M. Saunders", "Dorothy Sebastian", "Roy D'Arcy", "Harry Carey", "Sally O'Neil", "Helene Chadwick", "Bert Woodruff", "Karl Dane", "Gwen Lee", "Tom Connors" and "Frank Currier". Sepia, 10x8½. Lightly soiled at blank margins. Mounting remnants on verso (no show-through). Fine condition. Accompanied by a 6x8original printed menu, unsigned. Fine condition.

These incredibly rare documents are a handwritten, dated and signed account of Nazi Germany's forced labor and mass deportation operations by Germany's chief of slave labor recruitment. They were written by Sauckel for his lawyer during his trial before the International Military Tribunal in Nuremburg after World War II. They are important documentation of the 20th century's worst war and of some of the worst atrocities ever recorded in human history. They are also a typical example of the defense used by many defendants in the postwar Nuremberg trials: they were only following orders. This defense failed to sway Sauckel's tribunal; he was found guilty of war crimes and later hanged. Historically Important Autograph Manuscript signed twice (at top of first page and at bottom of last page): "Fritz Sauckel", in pencil, as war crimes defendant, 26 pages, 8x10½. IN GERMAN WITH 1945 ENGLISH TRANSLATION WITH FOOTNOTES AND COMMENTS. Nuremburg [Germany], 1945 July 15. This text was provided by Sauckel to his attorney as a means of fully describing the organization of the forced labor department, and Sauckel's duties and responsibilities.

Income tax form filled out and signed in text by the mobster, stating how much net income he filed taxes on in 1929 and listing his parents as dependents Document Signed in Text: "Joseph Doto" New York State Income Tax Resident Return form, 1929. Adonis has written his name, address, and some of his income information in pencil. 8½x11. Joey Adonis (1902-1972), born Giuseppe Antonio Doto, was an American mob boss and businessman. In 1927, with other underworld figures, he formed the Seven Group to control the illicit alcohol trade. Called the "Broadway Mob", they controlled the flow of bootleg liquor to the top clubs in Manhattan. In 1944, Joe Adonis relocated his activities to New Jersey and used as his headquarters Duke's Bar and Grill in Cliffside Park, Palisades, New Jersey. In the 1940s, Duke's restaurant was the meeting place for the Bosses, including Adonis, Albert Anastasia, Frank Costello and Meyer Lansky. Adonis was also involved in controlling gambling in sections of New York and New Jersey. In 1951, he pleaded guilty to violating New Jersey's gambling laws and served a two-year prison term. Rather than encounter New York's indictment against him for violating its state gambling laws, as well as perjury charges brought against him by the U.S.