Lot 391

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Description:

Birdman of Alcatraz, Robert Stroud Re: Bird Blood Research!

Two page autograph letter signed on a single leaf of lightly lined paper, 8" x 10.25". Dated "April 1, 1946", and signed by Robert Stroud as "Love Bob, /Robert Stroud #594". Near fine with expected folds"

Stroud writes to his sister "Miss Marie E. Stroud" from the Notorious Alcatraz prison in California AKA "The Rock". The letter offers superb content discussing his bird research and a possible new development in the field of blood. Stroud, a self-made scientist and researcher managed to perform, test and analyze many medical discoveries while in prison using highly limited equipment. In the letter offered here, Stroud continues his investigative blood research and application which is shown in part below in addition to his conversation regarding his ailing health:

"I received your letter of the 25th this evening and am glad to hear from you and to know that you are well. I am feeling a lot better the last few days due to some new medicine I am taking. It gives me a lot of relief and makes the colon work a lot better, but of course it is only a paliative[sic], and can't correct the condition. The doctor told me Saturday that he would exray[sic] me tomorrow. I am anxious to learn just what is wrong.

…. I would like to know how things are going with the book, the sales should be very good by now. I want him to check up on some books that are supposed to be ordered in January, too. I got permission for them last November. Of course they may not be available, but it don't think that is the trouth[sic]

If you get good healthy birds I think those chicks will pay you a better profit on your time and labor than the garden does. It is nice to have your own vegetables, but it is even better to have your eggs and meat when you want them, and if you get more than you use, you can always sell the surplus.

I think I told you of those tests I have been working out for bird blood. Well, I showed them to one of the technicians working here and he was much impressed and seemed to think they might be of value for him on blood. So I gave them to him to check over, if he finds them O.K. for the purposes designed, it will be a big thing, since the process they have now require a lot of blood and a lot of work and expensive equipment, while mine are simple and make use of the ordinary blood cell counting equipment that every doctor or hospital has already…."

BIOGRAPHY:

Robert Franklin Stroud (January 28, 1890 – November 21, 1963), known as the "Birdman of Alcatraz", was a convicted murderer, American federal prisoner and author who has been cited as one of the most notorious criminals in the United States.[1][2][3] During his time at Leavenworth Penitentiary, he reared and sold birds and became a respected ornithologist, although regulations did not allow him to keep birds at Alcatraz, where he was incarcerated from 1942 to 1959. Stroud was never released from the federal prison system; he was imprisoned from 1909 to his death in 1963. In 1920, while in solitary confinement at Leavenworth, Stroud discovered a nest with three injured sparrows in the prison yard. He cared for them and within a few years had acquired a collection of about 300 canaries. He began extensive research into birds after being granted equipment by a prison-reforming warden. Stroud wrote Diseases of Canaries, which was smuggled out of Leavenworth and published in 1933, as well as a later edition (1943). He made important contributions to avian pathology, most notably a cure for the hemorrhagic septicemia family of diseases, gaining much respect and some level of sympathy among ornithologists and farmers. The impact of his cure can not be overstated as it reached into agricultural based uses for those raising poultry. Before his discoveries, the hemorrhagic septicemia family of diseases was invariably fatal and highly contagious. After a long series of experiments, he discovered that the tolerance of sick birds for oxygen-liberating compounds was greater than that of mammals. He also learned that chemicals of the citrocarbonate type would replace the alkaline balance lost in avian septicemia. His findings even allowed him to develop and market medicines for various bird ailments while in prison.Stroud ran a successful business from inside prison, but his activities infuriated the prison staff, and he was eventually transferred to Alcatraz in 1942 after it was discovered that Stroud had been secretly making alcohol using some of the equipment in his cell. Stroud began serving a 17-year term at Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary on December 19, 1942, and became inmate #594.

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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