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Dillinger gang's escape, fake guns


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Ran across this looking for the Marie Barrow/Bonnie Parker red bean recipe.

Short version: ( memory)

I had an article in the local paper, written about me & my collection, about 15 years ago, about Dillinger-Bonnie & Clyde & my collection. This gal called me said she had a couple of toy guns, that her Aunt gave her, said relating to John Dillinger, could I take a look at it- SURE ! Her Great Uncle, SA Smith, was at the Biograph when Dillinger was shot.

She brought them over in a round tin candy box. Lucky for her & I, I'd seen them before in my old edition of "Uncle Sams Gang Smashers " Wow.

These were the two guns , carved out of soap stone, the Pierpont & Mackley did in prison, to try to escape.

Pierpont's is the revolver ( top) , bottom is a small auto thing. Pierpont's was extremely well made, the handles covered with cereal box cardboard.

Both never made it of course, Pierpont & Mackley that is. ( read up on it )

Picture was taken on my kitchen counter, where a good eye can see where I do a lot of boring gun photos.

I gave this photo to Helmer, that he published in one of his Dillinger books.

 

OCM

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This is where the old & ever-going story goes that Dillinger carved a pistol out of a bar of soap to escape with, continues. Like most the rest of the urban legend stories that we read about.

Yes, I was a bit stunned when ( Cindy) opened up the candy tin. " Do you know what you have...."

Us historians are lucky, this could of gone in the trash or in a Flea Market.

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As far as I know, she still has them- She & her husband moved out of town last I heard. She looked at them as little family treasures. It's still unclear how her Great Uncle ended up with them, other then being part of the Biograph party. I think he may of been one of the Chicago Dillinger Squad they had formed. I've seen pictures of him , in one of the books or something. Maybe on Larry's site ?

Her mother thought they were just toys- Luck have it she put together her Uncle-Chicago-Dillinger and me. Imagine how many things like this have been tossed due to lack of knowledge about them. Lot of these old outlaw artifacts, stories etc., rely on verbal provenance.

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