A Knight of Another Sort: Prohibition Days and Charlie Birger

DeNeal, Gary

Published by Interstate Printers & Publishers, Inc., Danville, Illinois, 1988

About this Item

Signed presentation copy of Gary DeNeal s historical account of Southern Illinois Prohibition-era gangster Charlie Birger, one of the most notorious bootlegging figures of the 1920s Midwest. Birger operated in the coal-mining region of Franklin County, Illinois, where gang violence, labor conflicts, and organized crime intersected during national Prohibition. The book reconstructs Birger s criminal empire, his rivalry with the Shelton Brothers gang, and the political corruption surrounding bootlegging operations in southern Illinois. Birger was ultimately convicted for arranging the 1927 murder of West City mayor Joe Adams and was executed by hanging on April 19, 1928 the last public hanging in Illinois. This copy is warmly inscribed by the author to "Jim Atz" and dated February 8, 1989, and includes the original Springhouse correspondence letter from DeNeal as well as a newspaper clipping discussing the historic execution rope associated with Birger. Such association material enhances the book s relevance to collectors of Midwestern crime history and Prohibition-era Americana.

Seller Inventory # C1130BkSf

Bibliographic Details

• Title: A Knight of Another Sort: Prohibition Days and Charlie Birger
• Publisher: Interstate Printers & Publishers, Inc., Danville, Illinois
• Publication Date: 1988
• Binding: Hardcover/Hardback
• Condition: Fine
• Signed: Inscribed by Author(s)