Estes KEFAUVER - original signed letter TLS - 1952 - MAFIA crime investigator For Sale

An original signed letter from Senator Estes Kefauver on United States Senate Judiciary Committee headed paper, written in April 1952 during his landmark investigations into organised crime that brought the American Mafia to national public attention.

Item Details

Author: KEFAUVER (Carey Estes, American politician, U.S. Senator for Tennessee, presidential candidate, chairman of the Senate Special Committee to Investigate Crime in Interstate Commerce, 1903–1963).
Title: Original typed letter signed by Estes Kefauver.
Date: 2nd April 1952.
Paper: United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary headed stationery.
Recipient: Addressed to \"Dear Mr. Bland\" (autograph collector Peter Bland).
Signature: Signed in blue ink by Estes Kefauver.
Format: Single typed letter, verso blank.
Size: 26.5 × 20.2 cm.

Condition

Very Good condition. Folded for posting as originally mailed, with light creasing from handling. A clean and attractive example with a clear blue ink signature. Please ask if you require a more detailed condition report, or view the gallery images closely.

Description

An original signed letter from Estes Kefauver, dated 2nd April 1952, written on official United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary stationery during one of the most significant periods of his distinguished political career.

At the time this letter was written, Kefauver had become one of the most recognisable politicians in America through his leadership of the celebrated Kefauver Committee, the Senate investigation into organised crime in interstate commerce. Beginning in 1950, the televised hearings attracted enormous audiences and introduced millions of Americans to the scale and influence of organised crime, exposing the operations of criminal syndicates and helping to popularise the term \"Mafia\" in the public consciousness.

The committee\'s dramatic hearings represented a turning point in American law enforcement and political history, revealing extensive links between organised crime, gambling, corruption and interstate criminal networks. Kefauver\'s calm but determined leadership transformed him into a national political figure and helped propel his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1952.

Although he won several presidential primaries, Kefauver was ultimately unsuccessful in securing the nomination. Four years later he was selected as the Democratic vice-presidential candidate alongside Adlai Stevenson, before continuing his influential Senate career, later chairing the Senate Antitrust and Monopoly Subcommittee.

Letters signed by Kefauver from the period of the organised crime hearings are especially desirable, closely associated with one of the earliest and most influential congressional investigations into American organised crime. The historical context gives this letter particular appeal for collectors of political history, criminology and twentieth-century Americana.

The letter is further enhanced by its excellent provenance, having originated from the renowned autograph collection of Peter Bland, whose collection included correspondence from many of the twentieth century\'s leading political, scientific and cultural figures.

Notes

A scarce signed letter from Estes Kefauver written at the height of his famous Senate investigations into organised crime, combining strong historical importance with outstanding provenance.

An excellent acquisition for collectors of American politics, organised crime history, presidential candidates, U.S. Senate memorabilia, Mafia history, twentieth-century historical autographs and political correspondence.

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