Description:

Melvin Purvis
New York, NY, November 17, 1943
Melvin Purvis Twice Signed Autograph Letter After Birth of Second Son, with PSA LOA
ALS

A lengthy, twice-signed autograph letter signed by Melvin Purvis, head of the FBI responsible for catching Pretty Boy Floyd, Baby Face Nelson & John Dillinger. 4pp, measuring 7" x 10.5", New York, dated November 17, 1943. Signed twice as "Lt Col Melvin Purvis" and "Melvin." Addressed to his wife, Rosanne. A homesick Purvis, serving as Deputy Provost Marshal General of the European Theater of Operation, writes a loving letter to his wife shortly after the birth of his son, Philip (born September 28, 1943). The letter has flattened mail folds and faint toning throughout. Boldly signed. Accompanied by a PSA/DNA LOA.

Reading in part:
"…I am worried to death about Melvin's nose. Was it broken and how did he do it, and is he all right, and will his nose be all right?...Aunt Susie said i[n] one letter you thought it was broken and in another letter she said you felt that it was not. Please let me know. In one way of reading it I felt it might not have been broken at all but I must know so please tell me quickly. I hope it wasn't - but it drives me crazy not to get all the truth…I am thinking of you as I am always - and of the time when I can come home to you and hold you close in my arms. Being close to you forever will be the only thing that can ever take me away from this nightmarish period of my life. I can stand anything, my Rosanne, except not having you close by me…You are my life, my everything. After I come back I shall consider everything in the light of how it might affect my being close to you. Nothing can or ever will take me away from you again. And while I am so miserable now I feel somehow that something will happen to bring me back to you before long.

…I knew I would long for you and ache to see you and hold you in my arms, but I have to tell you now that I did not realize it would hurt this bad. Maybe it is something to say that I am Deputy Provost Marshal General of Natousa. Maybe it is an honor worth seeking but the price I pay in longing for you is mighty high and higher than I could have conceived. I remember your saying you had rather have me with you without honor than to have me away from you with it…

Please tell me what you are calling Philip Alston Wilcot Purvis…I have called him little Philip in my letters to you. I have been thinking about it a great deal and right now I believe I like Philip Alston…tell me more about him, the color of his eyes and everything. I would give anything to see him…Your Mother writes that the baby looks a little like me and a little like you. I just want him to be sweet like you, that's all…"

Melvin Horace Purvis II (1903-1960) joined the FBI as a field agent in 1927, and was appointed head of Chicago FBI offices in 1932. Under Purvis's leadership, the FBI captured three of the city's most notorious gangsters: Baby Face Nelson, John Dillinger, and Pretty Boy Floyd. Purvis resigned from the bureau in 1935, possibly because of a conflict with J. Edgar Hoover. He married Marie Rosanne Willcox in 1938 and the couple had three sons together. When the Second World War broke out, Purvis joined the Army as a captain. Near the end of the war he was made deputy director of the War Crimes Office, and following V-E day, was sent to Germany to investigate the suicide of Adolf Hitler.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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  • Dimensions: 7" x 10.5"
  • Medium: ALS

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