Signed book: Complete Life of Frank Sinatra. First edition, first printing. NY: Pocket Magazines, 1955. Softcover, 4 x 6, 66 pages. Signed and inscribed in fountain pen on the last page “Dear Rita—Thank you for your nice letter and best of everything to you, Frank Sinatra.” Sinatra added a second, ballpoint signature to the same page at a party at the Villa Capri restaurant on August 14, 1955. At the same event, the book was also signed vertically in ballpoint on a different page “James Dean,” and signed elsewhere by Dean Martin, Milton Berle, and one other. The Villa Capri, located in Hollywood, was a favorite hangout of both Sinatra and Dean. In the 1997 book James Dean: The Biography, author Val Killey notes that on one evening, “Frank Sinatra and Humphrey Bogart amused themselves by razzing Dean, ordering milk and crackers for him and telling him to comb his hair with a comb instead of a wet rag....” Accompanied by a reprint photo and several photocopied photos (obtained from the James Dean Gallery in Fairmount, Indiana) taken at a gathering at the Villa Capri, at which Dean (with date Ursula Andress), Sinatra, Berle, and other notables were present. The fatal accident in which Dean wrecked his Porsche occurred a month after the signatures were obtained, on September 30, 1955. Dean ate his last meal at the Villa Capri on the previous evening, after telephoning a friend whom he hoped would join his Salinas racing entourage. The restaurant closed shortly thereafter, at the expiration of its lease; a new incarnation of the restaurant (partly owned by Sinatra) opened in 1957. In very good condition, with creases and wear to covers (chip to front cover; covers separated from text block), light wear to Sinatra’s page, and slight rusting to staples. Dean’s signature is clear, bold, and unaffected by any faults. PSA/DNA Auction LOA and RRAuction COA.
