Nathan Frandino

SACRAMENTO CA (Reuters). It was Christmas Day 1946 and Al Capone’s wife took four of his granddaughters along with him to a walk on the dock of their mansion in Palm Island, Florida.

The picture is of “papa,” the name he used to be, enjoying freedom from Alcatraz after he had been released for seven years.

This photograph is one of 174 belongings to Capone’s family, which will be up for bidding in Sacramento (California) on Friday.

These items include personal photos, firearms, pocket watches, jewelry and furniture as well as kitchenware and cooking ware.

Al Capone’s platinum and diamond Patek Philippe pocket watch is listed for $25,000 to $50,000, while his favorite Colt .45 pistol is estimated to fetch $100,000 to $150,000. An old hand-colored, silver print by Al Capone and his son Sonny Capone is likely to fetch $10,000-15,000.

Diane Capone, 77, the second of Al Capone’s four granddaughters, said the decision to sell the items was based on her and her sisters getting older, as well as the increasing threat of wildfires to their homes in Northern California.

Brian Witherell, consignment director at Witherell’s Auction House, said nearly 1,000 bidders have registered for the auction from every U.S. state and 11 countries.

He said, “The most interesting items are those that can be associated with Al Capone and his guns or his extravagant jewelry.”

Diane Capone stated that she hopes the items would reveal her grandfather’s human side, rather than the brutal violence for which Chicago was notorious in the 1920s.

She said that the item best exemplifies these sentiments is Al Capone’s personal letter to Sonny Capone from Alcatraz, which was valued between $25,000-50,000.

She said, “It is such a beautiful letter and it conveys a side to this man that most people don’t know about.” These aren’t the words and ideas of a brutal gangster. These are the words and thoughts of a loving father.