Skip to main content
Home› Item #730952
Anna Sage "The Woman in Red" in 1935...
6 photographs · click to enlarge ⤢ Open zoom view

Anna Sage "The Woman in Red" in 1935...

Item # 730952 ·

CHICAGO SUNDAY TRIBUNE, September 29, 1935

  • re. John Dillinger's assassination
  • Anna Sage - Ana Cumpănaș
  • "Woman in Red" deportation

The front page has a one column heading: "U.S. to Deport Dillinger Case Woman in Red"with subheads. A photo of her with her son is on the back page with heading. (see images)
 When it comes to gangsters, organized crime, and the nefarious activities born out of the Prohibition and Great Depression eras, no city is more in the forefront of our minds than Chicago - and what better newspaper can be found than the Chicago Tribune, self-proclaimed to be "The World's Greatest Newspaper".
Complete with all 32 pages, rag edition in very nice condition. A few small binding holes along the spine.

Background: Anna Sage, born Ana Cumpănaș, became infamous as the "Lady in Red" after betraying bank robber John Dillinger to federal agents outside Chicago's Biograph Theater on July 22, 1934. Facing deportation for running houses of prostitution—a charge classified as "moral turpitude"—the Romanian brothel owner struck a deal with FBI Special Agent Melvin Purvis to set up Dillinger in exchange for a cash reward and assistance in securing permanent U.S. residency. On the night of the ambush, Sage accompanied Dillinger to see the film Manhattan Melodrama wearing an orange skirt and white blouse that glowed bright red under the theater's neon lights, allowing agents to identify and fatally shoot the outlaw as he fled. Despite her crucial help, federal immigration authorities ruled in 1935 that her cooperation could not override mandatory deportation statutes, leading to her receiving a $5,000 reward before being formally deported to Romania in April 1936, where she remained until her death in 1947.

Category: The 20th Century
Price
$58
100% Authentic: Original printing, never a reproduction.