Lengthy white 10.25" x 8" lined paper signed and written in black ink by notorious criminal, "Birdman of Alcatraz" Robert Stroud. Letter is dated August 11th, 1955, less than ten years before his death in 1963. In very good condition, with some signs of scattered wear, including some creasing and pen marks. Accompanied by typed transcription of letter. One passage reads, "French is in many respects the most beautiful language in the world. If read or spoken correctly, it has a rhythm that you could march or dance by. And for me, it is the perfect language for expressing thoughts since without knowing it, I have always thought like a Frenchman. That is, straight to the point. Spanish is the easiest of all the latin languages for an English speaking person, and Italian probably the hardest, but once one gets the idea of language, I doubt if any language is very hard. Latin, ancient Greek and Hebrew are the classic languages. But probably more people know Latin than any other. Though now days, few know it well. But no classic latin has been written for 18 hundred years, and it is the classic latin that is the beautiful language."