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Contributing Institution:
Library and Archives at the Autry
Title: Louis Victor Eytinge Collection
Creator:
De Ford, Miriam Allen
Creator:
Eytinge, Louis Victor
Identifier/Call Number: MS.595
Physical Description:
0.4 Linear Feet
4 folders
Date (inclusive): 1915-1917
Abstract: Louis Victor Eytinge (1878-1938) became a lucrative business man while serving a life sentence in the Arizona state prison.
He was the son of Ida Seebohm, a music teacher from Dayton, Ohio and Harry Eytinge. From 1907-1937, Louis Eyinge was in and
out of prison for forgery and fraud. This collection consists of published material and correspondence about or by Eytinge.
Most of the material was created from 1915 to 1917, although some items are undated.
Language of Material:
English
.
Louis Victor Eytinge (1878-1938) became a lucrative business man while serving a life sentence in the Arizona state prison.
He was the son of Ida Seebohm, a music teacher from Dayton, Ohio and Harry Eytinge. Louis Eyinge spent most of his life in
and out of prison for forgery and fraud. In 1907, Eytinge was also convicted and sentenced for a murder that some experts
claimed was impossible for Eytinge to commit.
Sometime before 1907, Eytinge was an inmate in the Ohio Penitentiary where he contracted tuberculosis. He was sentenced there
for forgery and was released on 1907 March 1.
En route to Arizona, Eytinge met and befriended John Laitch, a barber from Cheboygan, Wisconsin, who was also headed West
for a healthier climate. On 1907 March 17, Eyinge rented a buggy and the two men travelled to the desert for a picnic. Eytinge
returned alone from the outing. Laithc's body was found a week later and Eytinge was accused of murder.
While in the Arizona Penitentiary, Eytinge recovered from tuberculosis and set up a successful mail order business for goods
produced by convict labor. Eytinge promoted this merchandise by writing and distributing sales letters. Sales letter writing
became Eytinge's second business endeavor that earned him over $5000 a year.
During Eytinge's incarceration, he also wrote articles for the
Saturday Evening Post, edited issues of
Postage: The Magazine of Direct Mail Advertising, wrote the screenplay
Man Under Cover, and authored books on business and Arizona's criminal problems.
Eytinge eventually appealed his case and was released in 1923 January 1. In 1927 Eytinge was in jail again for forgery. He
was released a short while later but ended up back in prison for swindling by 1933 December 30. He was released in 1937. Eytinge
died 1938 December 17.
References:
Anonymous, "Genius Whose Brain is Astonishing Business World in Jail for Life Crime Science Says is Impossible"
Information World: a Monthly Journal of Cashable Knowledge, 1917 April, pages 11-14.
Frank, Sadie A. "The Man Who Came Back."
Success. May 1923, page 17.
Love, Frank. "Prisoner No. 2608 Couldn't Go Straight."
Sun [Yuma] 5 Janurary 2006. Retrieved from Access World News. Database. 22 July 2013.
Young, Roz. "Eytinge's Life One Big Crime."
Dayton Daily News 8 June 1991. Retrieved from Access World News. Database. 22 July 2013.
This collection consist of published articles about Louis Victor Eytinge, correspondence from Eytinge to Joseph Amasa Munk,
a booklet written by Eytinge titled
Collecting the Coin, and two copies of the
Postage: The Magazine of Direct Mail Advertising. Most of the material was created or published 1915-1917, although some items are undated.
Appointments to view materials are required. To make an appointment please visit
https://theautry.org/research-collections/library-and-archives and fill out the Researcher Application Form.
Louis Victor Eytinge Collection, 1915-1917, Braun Research Library Collection, Autry Museum of the American West, Los Angeles; MS.595; [folder number] [folder
title][date].
Copyright has not been assigned to the Autry Museum of the American West. All requests for permission to publish or quote
from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Research Services and Archives. Permission for publication is
given on behalf of the Autry Museum of the American West as the custodian of the physical items and is not intended to include
or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.
Donated to the Library by Joseph Amasa Munk, between 1917 and 1927.
Processed by Glenna Schroeder, circa 1977-1981. Finding aid updated by Anna Liza Posas 2013 July 22. Final processing of collection
and publication of finding aid made possible by a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).
J. A. (Joseph Amasa) Munk Papers, 1834-1928, Braun Research Library, Autry Museum of American West, Los Angeles; MS.209.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Postage (Magazine) Collecting the CoinArticles
Advertising
Forgery
Prisoners
Fraud
Correspondence
Arizona -- History