French Author, Rene Belbenoit Autograph

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Author RENE BELBENOIT autographed original title page from his book "Hell On Trial" has signed and also written "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year December 1939" , measures 5x8. This autographed item originates from a collection of autographs of early 20th century authors I recently purchased, many of which have already been sold on e-bay. Belbenoit was a French prisoner on Devil's Island who successfully escaped to the USA . He wrote a book, Dry Guillotine , about his exploits . born in Paris on April 4, 1899, Belbenoit served with distinction in the French army.After the war in 1920, he stole some pearls from his employer and was sentenced to eight years of hard labor in the French penal colony in French Guiana, sometimes imprecisely referred to as Devil's Island. The fact that Belbenoit had had a veteran's pension let him avoid the harshest work.Two weeks after his arrival, Belbenoit tried to escape for the first time with another man. They took a raft to Dutch Guiana but were captured and shipped back to the penal colony.During his incarceration, Belbenoit begun to write his memoirs. He kept them in a bundle of wax cloth. He got some money by selling roasted chestnuts and captured butterflies. He also met a writer Blair Niles and sold her one of his manuscripts.Next Christmas Belbenoit again attempted escape with nine others who had stolen a log canoe. The canoe capsized on the Maroni River on the side of Dutch Guiana and they had to try to escape to the jungle. After three days they decided to return. During a trip three of the men died violently. Eventually local Indians who sheltered them gave them to Dutch authorities who sent them back to the French.In the following years, Belbenoit tried to escape two more times and was transferred from island to island.In 1931, when Belbenoit sent a copy of his writings about the prison conditions to a new governor Siadous , he was transferred to the prison archive. When Siadouis was transferred back to France, Belbenoit was sent back to the island of Royale and put into solitary confinement for two years.In 1934 Belbenoit was officially released - but that just meant he became a libéré , a free prisoner who was still not allowed to return to France. He made a living by capturing and selling butterflies and making items out of natural rubber and selling them. During the years of his imprisonment he had lost all his teeth.When a visiting moviemaker gave him $200, Belbenoit decided to try to escape once more. On March 2, 1935 he and five others took to the sea with a boat they had bought. When his companions began to argue after three days at sea, he had to pull a gun to force them to continue. On the same day they reached Trinidad. British authorities decided not to give them back to the French. On June 10 they continued their trip.Sixteen days later they ran aground on the beach on Colombia and local natives stole their clothing. They reached Santa Maria, w the local general fed them but also notified the French consul and took them to the local military prison.However, some of the local authorities separated Belbenoit from the others and with the cooperation of local prison authorities, a sympathetic local newspaperman helped him to escape in exchange for writing about prison conditions. Belbenoit traveled slowly north and stole a number of native canoes to continue his journey. In Panama he spent about two months with the Kuna tribe and later sold a large collection of butterflies in Panama City. In La Libertad, El Salvador, he hid in a ship that took him to California. The year was 1937.In 1938 his account, Dry Guillotine , was published in USA. Belbenoit had written it in French and had it translated. It went through 14 printings in less than a year.The book attracted the attention of the US immigration authorities and Belbenoit was arrested. He received a visitor's visa but in 1941 was told to leave the country. Belbenoit traveled to Mexico and a year later tried to slip back into the USA but was again arrested in Brownsville, Texas. He was sentenced to 15 months ... read more

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