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 Postcard (JSA)
Offered is a postcard with a 1996 copyright date (so mailed no later than that year), twice-signed and handwritten by Charles Manson. The postcard is addressed to "Jackson," Shawn Jackson, known pen pal and fan in Missouri. Manson has signed on the front of the postcard in his return address and included a swastika in his signature. He also signed the reverse and wrote all the text, which includes "Regards & git [sic] well to Steve Drasil 4 me." Drasil was a person later involved in Manson's scheme to sell his signed personal checks from prison, one of which is in this auction. Manson goes on to turn down a visit from his fan, saying it's "Not worth the trouble." He does request a "20 million credit line....& 5 lawers [sic] to sue a few dozen people." Accompanied by an LOA from James Spence Authentication. Near Mint condition with expected wear from mailing.