unique and unusual cast plaster oversized john dillinger death mask created from an original mold. the mask is completely intact with a uniform light gray paint finish. at least four known molds were made at various points in the basement or "cool room" of the cook county hospital morgue in the 36 chaotic hours following the arrival of dillinger's corpse. the first (and poorest) was obtained by kenneth "doctor" coffman (whose resume would have described him as a photographer, sculptor, illustrator, publicist, sign painter and criminologist) who bluffed his way past police early on, waving an irrelevant letter from forensics expert calvin goddard, and simply poured plaster over the corpse's face. after that, harold may of the dental reliance company and a dentist colleague, dr. jerome f. nachtman, probably with help from a police friend, used a fast-drying rubbery compound call reprolastic to spread on dillinger's face, after which plaster was poured over it and the combination soon removed. his cop friend had the less noble idea of peddling copies of the mask at the century of progress world's fair then entertaining the city. that idea had to be abandoned because it would have required permission of the dillinger family, and after several copies were made, the original plaster mold was used for backyard target practice. about the same time, professor a. e. ashworth of the worsham college of embalming science called several of his students who joined him at the morgue to also make a mask. with photographers taking pictures, he used a plaster and cotton technique, only to have his mask confiscated by one sergeant alfred mulvaney--probably the same cop who had shepherded the dental reliance man through the crowds, and who didn't want any masks competing with their copies at the world's fair. professor ashworth insisted on getting a receipt for his mask, and that it be stored in a secure place. at this point an attractive young embalming student named marj mcdougal stepped in, "made eyes" at officer mulvaney, and insisted on accompanying him to a safe on an upper floor so professor ashworth could feel assured that the mask was properly secured. by the time marj and the cop returned, another mask had been quickly made, concealed in a smock, and smuggled out by another student, but it seems to have disappeared. the mask preserved by mulvaney evidently made its way to the northwestern university crime lab originally opened by major calvin goddard following the st. valentine's day massacre. when the lab was sold to the chicago police department in 1938, its chief technician kept most of the goddard materials and helped set up the state crime lab in wisconsin. upon the technician's death, he left most of the goddard collection to his brother--including the death mask with its mold--and these eventually were purchased by a wisconsin collector who sold the goddard mask and its mold at auction. the wound below the right eye is the exit wound from the fatal shot to the back of the neck, believed to be fired by agent charles winstead. according to the autopsy report, the bullet struck the lower back of the neck, smashed a vetebra, ripped through the spinal cord and lower portion of the brain before exiting beneath the right eye. two bullets grazed dillinger near the left eye as he fell to the ground. he was also shot in the left side (non-fatal). two errant shots did manage to wound two female bystanders-one in the ankle, the other in the thigh, probably from richochets off the pavement after grazing the outlaw.