Dillinger is arrested

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

Dillinger is Dead, as Marco Ferreri said. This month, Dillinger is once again on our movie screens, as the character of Public Enemies. Heritage Auction Galleries is fortunate to benefit from this renewed interest to put on sale on July 25 in Dallas a gun that was confiscated by the police to him during an arrest.

John Dillinger, leader of a gang of bank robbers, is as famous in the history of the United States of America as Al "Scarface" Capone, who was his contemporary.

Dillinger's output is impressive. From his starting point in July 1933 until January 1934, his record of bank robbing is monthly. On January 25, in Tucson, Arizona, he was arrested. The fire had broken out in the hotel where his gang was staying, and a fireman had identified one of his followers. Then the .41 Remington gun of Double Derringer model which is the subject of this article was caught in his sock.

The auction house joins to it some official records (incomplete because there are thieves everywhere) of the arrest of Tucson, and the whole is estimated 35 K$. The catalog tells us that the police officer had presented this material as a gift to a pretty widow.

As for Dillinger, he managed to escape but was killed by police on 22 July 1934.

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

The real adventures of Dillinger interested fans of historical memories. The result, 95 K$ premium included, exceeds what I had imagined. It must be said that the sale was made at the right time compared to current cinema news. Congratulations to Heritage.