John Dillinger's Death Mask

On Loan to the ISPHF Museum is the Death Mask of John Dillinger. John Herbert Dillinger, born June 22, 1903, was an infamous American gangster active during the Great Depression. He operated with a group of men known as the “Dillinger Gang” which was accused of robbing 24 banks and four police stations, among other crimes in the Midwest. Dillinger escaped from jail twice. On July 22, 1934, police received word Dillinger and two female companions were at the Biograph Theater in Chicago, Illinois watching a movie. Federal agents, led by Melvin Purvis and Samuel P. Cowley, moved to arrest Dillinger as he exited the theater. He drew a Colt Model 1908 Vest Pocket and attempted to flee but was killed.

Death masks may be mementos of the dead or be used for creation of portraits. The main purpose of the death mask from the Middle Ages until the 19th century was to serve as a model for sculptors in creating statues and busts of the deceased person. Not until the 1800s did such masks become valued for themselves. Death masks were usually reserved for famous people and in Dillinger’s case, infamous ones, too.