MELVIN H. PURVIS - AUTOGRAPH ENVELOPE SIGNED CIRCA 1943 - HFSID 174198

MELVIN H. PURVIS
Air mail envelope hand-addressed by FBI agent Melvin Purvis to his wife in 1943, while he was a lieutenant colonel in the U. S. Army
Autograph envelop signed"Melvin Purivs" in blue ink. Also signed "Lt. Col. Melvin Purvis" with his serial number in blue ink in unknown hand. Pencil notations near top edge in unknown hand. 6½x3¾. Prepaid 6¢ U. S. air mail envelope. Postmarked from a U. S. Army Post Office, Nov. 14, 1943 and Charleston, South Carolina, Dec. 5, 1943. Addressed to "Mrs. Melvin Purvis", Mrs. Melvin Purvis, Florence, South Carolina."Mrs. Melvin Purvis" was Marie Rosanne Willcox Purvis, whom Melvin married in 1931. Purvis (1903-1960) became a national hero after leading the law-enforcement teams that trapped and killed notorious bank robbers John Dillinger and Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd in 1934. By 1935, however, Purvis had been forced to resign as the head of the Bureau's Chicago office by J. Edgar Hoover. As the Director of the FBI from 1924 until his death, the powerful and egotistic Hoover, resentful because Purvis received the bulk of the publicity in the Dillinger and Floyd episodes, relieved his one-time "golden boy" of most of his important duties. "Little Mel" (he stood just under five feet tall) was effectively driven out of the Bureau at the age of 31. Lightly toned and creased. Normal postal stamps, which touch signature and address. Torn open at right edge. Otherwise in fine condition.