DALLAS, TX.- Heritage’s March 28 Historical Manuscripts Signature® Auction encompasses a wide range of interests from American presidents, science and the arts, and the American Civil War. But a compelling argument can be made that the most fascinating lot in the auction is the remarkable Meyer Lansky Archive.
Over a span of 10 years beginning in 1972, Lansky — who along with Charles “Lucky” Luciano was instrumental in building the U.S.’ National Crime Syndicate — wrote a little over 600 letters to his secret Israeli love, Zali de Toledo. With topics including Lansky’s effort to get permission to return to Israel, Israel’s and the United States’ political and military challenges, the hypocrisy of those who painted him as a criminal, and personal matters such as his ongoing romantic affair with de Toledo and family news, the letters in this lot offer an unprecedented window into the mind of the mob’s most renowned financial genius.
“I kept the letters and cherished them for a long, long time, but I’m 82 years old now, and I thought to sell them to a collector so that they will keep them and cherish them too,” says de Toledo of her decision to sell her archive. “It’s also my case to show the world that [Lansky] was not the kind of person they wanted to show he was. He was a deep thinker and a very loving man.”
Forty years de Toledo’s senior, the notoriously private Lanksy met her while she was working as a waitress in Tel Aviv’s Dan hotel lobby. Their friendship quickly blossomed into a love affair that spanned his time in Israel and lasted until his death. Their romance was the subject of her 2020 memoir, They Called Him a Gangster. She says they stole time away together as often as they could during his two years in Israel, until he was forcibly expelled.
The letters reveal Lansky’s complex personality, often demonstrating his stringent code of ethics, family values, and most importantly his Jewish identity.
“The letters are his uncensored opinion of what was going on in Israel and in the United States over the course of a decade,” says Sandra Palomino, Heritage Auctions Director of Historical Manuscripts. “After reading them, I came away thinking there was merit to his oft-made claims that he was being persecuted. Every claim and complaint lodged in these letters can be verified by the historical record. I was also moved by his desire to return to Israel. Lansky was never convicted of any crimes, so his wanting to live out his remaining years there was sincere, not just a move to evade the law.”
The first few months of Lanksy’s correspondence include a record of the court dates he faced regarding charges of contempt related to a case involving the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas. The inconsistencies evidenced in his treatment and his ongoing legal challenges are also topics, as are the business advice and philosophic musings Lanksy felt compelled to share with de Toledo.
“He took me out of waitressing; he held me to study, get educated, get better jobs, and see the world,” she says. “[I want] to show that the man they called a murderer and head of prostitution rings was a darling man, a very honest man, very loyal to America and very loyal to the Jews. He never bragged about [what he did].”
Lansky delivered his letters via the addresses of acquaintances and never named de Toledo in his correspondence, out of respect to his wife, preferring to address her as “My Pal” or “My Indian.” Tried and convicted only in the media, Lansky died with just $57,000 in his bank account, leaving his ill son penniless.
“I hope [the new owner] will cherish the letters like I did,” says de Toledo. “I am parting [with items] from my past, from my love, from my mentor, from the man I always looked to for advice, who was always there to help me. He was 40 years older than me, but he discovered a partner in me to talk about philosophy and life and everything. He wrote it all down in his letters, and he kept me going.”
Also included in the auction is the fresh-to-market archive of Christian Rath, the military officer who carried out the execution of the Lincoln Conspirators. Rath, the provost marshal in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, details his thoughts and emotions before, during and after the 1865 trial.
Rath’s letters to his wife capture the human side of history, first with Rath as a Union officer leading his men into battle, then as provost marshal, and finally as the man tasked with jailing and executing the Lincoln Conspirators. Stored by his family and passed from one generation to the next, what was originally meant for an audience of one has been transformed over the years into a rare look into the final chapter of the Lincoln assassination saga.
On the topic of Lincoln, another gem on offer on March 28 is an Abraham Lincoln carte de viste by photographer Matthew Brady boldly signed “A. Lincoln.” Other highlights in the auction include a Warren Buffett letter to a retired Dean Witter branch manager illustrating Buffett’s unmatchable code of ethics; a jubilant campaign typed letter signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt and 12 additional presidents, including Barack Obama and Donald Trump; and a polygraph copy of Thomas Jefferson’s address to the Cherokee Nation, signed and dated three days after the Treaty of Washington — this is the first time this particular copy is offered at auction.
