Unique DS, one page, 10.75 x 21, June 9, 1934. An invitation to the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (Shriners) to hold their 60th Imperial Council Session in Los Angeles, California. The printed text reads: “We, the undersigned members of the motion picture industry, extend to the Shriners of North America a most cordial invitation to hold your 1935 Imperial Council Session in Los Angeles, and we assure you that we will do everything within our power to make your visit most delightful. The charm, romance, and thrills of Hollywood beckon you. May Allah be your guide.” The document is signed in fountain pen by 53 actors and actresses, including some of the most prominent stars of the day: Clark Gable, Alan Hale, Otto Kruger, Monty Blue, Diana Wynyard, Charles Laughton, Madge Evans, Robert Young, Maurice Chevalier, Hedda Hopper, Louis Calhern, Guy Standing, Ricardo Cortez, Victor McLaglen, Helen Twelvetrees, Joan Crawford, Antonio Moreno, Frances Drake, Richard Arlen, Robert Woolsey, Leslie Howard, Barbara Stanwyck, Fredric March (traced over), Harold Lloyd (signing as “Ceremonial Master”), Elissa Landi, Stan Laurel, Charley Chase, Eddie Cantor, Mae West, Bert Wheeler, Grace Bradley, Gary Cooper, Carole Lombard, ZaSu Pitts, Evelyn Venable, Lee Tracy, Helen Mack, William Gargan, Richard Cromwell, Will Rogers, Oliver Hardy, Maureen O’Sullivan, Henry Wilcoxon, Mona Maris, Bing Crosby, Anita Louise, Joe E. Brown, Frank Morgan, and El Brendel. Several of the signers, including Gable, Lloyd, Rogers, Brown, and Hardy, were actually Shriners. The Shriners usually scheduled their Imperial Sessions several years in advance, and ultimately held their Imperial Session in Los Angeles in 1938. The entire document has been backed with linen. Framed to an overall size of 13.25 x 23.5. In good condition, with a number of the signatures lightly overlapping one another, a few signatures a shade or two light but fully legible, allover wrinkling, horizontal creases, light soiling, a few stains (one to top margin; another to Elissa Landi, somewhat affecting legibility), lower 3″ clipped and rejoined to upper portion of sheet, and clipped lower right corner (including Frank Morgan) rejoined (marginal losses, not touching writing) to linen backing. Most of the signatures are clear and dark. A most notable and unusual gathering of vintage Tinseltown legends! PSA/DNA Auction LOA and R&R COA.
