G-MAN MELVIN PURVIS Resigns F.B.I. Agent 1935 Newspaper

Pricing & History

Sold for
Start Free Trial or Sign In to see what it's worth.
Sold Date
Source eBay

G-MAN MELVIN PURVIS Resigns F.B.I. Agent 1935 Newspaper is a complete, genuine historic old newspaper with the following title, date and description: ALBANY EVENING NEWS, Albany, New York, July 12, 1935 * Melvin Purvis resigns * FBI agent - G-Man This 24 page newspaper has two column headlines on the front page that include: * 'G' Men Arrest Ex-Convict As Kidnap 'Misery Chiseler' and more. (see) Tells of the resignation of famous G-Man head Melvin Purvis. Other news of the day throughout. A few binding slits along the spine, otherwise good. wikipedia notes: Melvin Horace Purvis, Jr. (October 24, 1903 – February 29, 1960) was an American lawman and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent. He had the nickname "Little Mel" because of his short stature. Purvis received his law degree from the University of South Carolina and had a brief career as a lawyer. Purvis was a member of the Kappa Alpha Order while attending the University of South Carolina. He joined the FBI in 1927, and headed the Division of Investigation offices in Birmingham, Alabama, Oklahoma City, and Cincinnati. In 1932 he was placed in charge of the Chicago office by Bureau of Investigation Director J. Edgar Hoover. He was a well-educated, brave man, known to be a crack shot. He captured more public enemies than any other Agent in FBI history, a record that still stands. Purvis led the manhunts that tracked such outlaws as Baby Face Nelson and Pretty Boy Floyd, and most famously John Dillinger, which ended in Chicago on July 22, 1934. However, after Purvis became a media figure for this feat, J. Edgar Hoover claimed that Purvis had been demoted and that Agent Samuel P. Cowley had been put in charge of the Dillinger case. Cowley was later shot by Baby Face Nelson and Purvis visited him in hospital shortly before he died. Purvis was praised for his actions but reportedly incurred the wrath of Hoover, who had previously supported him, as Purvis sought and achieved publicity for his own role, overshadowing Hoover and the rest of the FBI. In a book co-authored by Purvis's son Alston Purvis, Hoover is portrayed as jealous of the attention given to Purvis after Dillinger was killed. However, at least one of Purvis' official accounts of his exploits was later called into question. The account of the death of Pretty Boy Floyd, which indicated that Purvis and his agents had killed him with no assistance from local law enforcement, was later discounted by the local East Liverpool, Ohio officer Chester Smith, who Hoover later claimed shot Floyd first. Smith further stated that Purvis and his agents never fired until after Floyd had been questioned by Purvis, at which point Purvis ordered Agent Herman Hollis to shoot Floyd, who was by then lying on the ground. That claim was discounted later by FBI Agent Winfred E. Hopton, who claimed in a 1976 Time magazine article that local law enforcement did not arrive until after Floyd had died. However, local authorities all agreed that Chester Smith did in fact shoot Floyd. Neither claim has been clearly proven one way or the other. Purvis resigned from the FBI in 1935 and afterward practiced law. In 1937 he became engaged to the actress Janice Jarratt, but they never married. He later would marry Marie Rosanne Willcox and have three sons. He bought radio station WOLH in Florence, South Carolina, and during World War II he served in the army as a colonel. In 1936, Purvis published a memoir of his years as an investigator with the Bureau; the book was entitled American Agent. Authors Curt Gentry and Anthony Summers, in their respective 1990s biographies of Hoover, assert that Hoover, who was initially supportive of Purvis, was jealous of Purvis's fame after the Dillinger escapade, and tafter demoted him, leading to Purvis leaving the FBI. An informative video regarding the rare newspapers hobby is shown at the bottom of the listing! Please Note: All of our offerings are 100% authentic! We do not offer reprints or reproductions of any kind. They are guaranteed to be original! See below the photo f... read more

Items in the Price Guide are obtained exclusively from licensors and partners solely for our members’ research needs.

Flag item for content or copyright

If this item contains incorrect or inappropriate information please contact us here to flag it for review.

If you are the originator/copyright holder of this photo/item and would prefer it be excluded from our community, contact us here for removal.