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Iconic original Oscar awarded to cinematographer Clyde De Vinna for the 1928 film White Shadows in the South Seas, directed by W.S. Van Dyke and starring Monte Blue and Raquel Torres. The award trophy measures 12.5˝ tall with a base diameter of 5.5˝, and is engraved on a plaque on the base: "Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences First Award 1929." Embedded on the underside is a golden disc, further engraved: "AMPAS, 1929 Academy First Award to Clyde De Vinna for Distinguished Achievement in Cinematography of White Shadows of the South Seas." In very good to fine condition, with some rubbing and tarnishing to the Oscar statuette.
This award was presented as part of the second annual Academy Awards, held at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles on April 3, 1930, honoring films released between August 1, 1928, and July 31, 1929. It was the first ceremony to be broadcast on radio as a public event, and set the standard for future Academy Awards ceremonies—today an integral part of American arts and culture.
The MGM film White Shadows of the South Seas, released on November 10, 1928, was one of the first films to use a pre-recorded soundtrack: notably, it marked the first time that theatergoers heard the roar of Leo the Lion over the MGM banner at the beginning of the film. Based on Frederick O'Brien's 1919 travel book of the same name, the movie was shot on location in Tahiti, some 4000 miles from Hollywood, a rarity for the time. The Tahitian landscape was sumptuously captured by cameramen Clyde De Vinna, Bob Roberts, and George Nogle—bringing to screen dramatic views of an exotic locale for which De Vinna earned this Oscar.
Oscars are arguably the most coveted of all Hollywood collectibles, and as the Academy lays claim to any awarded after 1950 they are very rarely available to the general public. As the most well-known and recognizable award in all of entertainment, an Oscar is the pinnacle of any pop culture collection.
