Helter Skelter
"It was so quiet, one of the killers would later say, that you could almost hear the sound of ice rattling in the cocktail shakers in the homes way down the canyon." So goes the first line of the 1974 book by Manson Family prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi (and Curt Gentry), Helter Skelter: The True Story of The Manson Murders.
It's a haunting notion-as haunting as the crimes themselves proved to be on the American psyche for decades after those nights in 1969. Documented not only in the book quoted above but in the movies on television and film they inspire and inform to this day, those crimes are a part of our lexicon, a shorthand for the broken extremities of our society, a real part, like or not, of the American experience, of American history itself. The 10 lots featured in this auction are from later in that history, from when the perpetrators were still incarcerated or had been for decades to pay for their crimes.
Charles Manson Twice-Signed and Handwritten Photograph Postcard (JSA)
Offered is a photograph postcard dated "15 NOV 1999" signed and handwritten by Charles Manson. Manson has actually signed the piece twice when including his "third person" signature in the return address. The postcard is addressed to a pen pal and fan "S.J." in Missoure. This is known to be Shawn Jackson, who is pictured on the front of the postcard. In the text Manson says "Keep fath & I will explain all in time if there is such a thing - I'm lazey [sic] & do nothing." It's almost as if Manson had a moment of exhaustion from reading his own blathering! Accompanied by an LOA from James Spence Authentication. Manson has incorporated a swastika into both of his signatures. Near Mint condition with expected wear from mailing.