Large and well-maintained lifetime collection of thousands of items, encompassing many genres of entertainment from early film, the stage, musicals, opera, and other artists. Collection consists of signed photos (ranging from cabinet photos up to oversized portraits), signatures, playbills, sheet music, letters, programs, unsigned portraits (including Bull and Vandamm), movie stills and publicity photos, as well as some books, with a majority of the collection housed in approximately 80 binders and albums, with much of the remainder neatly separated into labeled boxes. Names include: Julie Andrews, George Arliss, Fred Astaire, Ray Bolger, William Boyd, Joe E. Brown, Yul Brynner, Billie Burke, Claudette Colbert, Joan Crawford, Marlene Dietrich, John Drew, Julian Eltinge, Maurice Evans, Henry Fonda, Joan Fontaine, Margot Fonteyn, Fay Frances, John Gielgud, Ruth Gordon, Betty Grable, Alec Guinness, Jack Haley, Rex Harrison, Helen Hayes, Paul Henreid, Katharine Hepburn, Charlton Heston, Walter Huston, Jeremy Irons, Van Johnson, Al Jolson, Madeline Kahn, Gene Kelly, Deborah Kerr, Dorothy Lamour, Harry Lauder, Gertrude Lawrence, Jack Lemmon, Ida Lupino, Mary Martin, James Mason, Lauritz Melchior, Ethel Merman, John Mills, Anna Neagle (2), Patricia Neal, Ramon Novarro, Maureen O’Hara, Peter O’Toole, Laurence Olivier, Lily Pons, Eleanor Powell, Tyrone Power, Vincent Price, Richard Rodgers, Buddy Rogers, Vivienne Segal, George Bernard Shaw, Phil Silvers, Kate Smith, Stephen Sondheim, Barbara Stanwyck, James Stewart, Dorothy Stone, Laurence Tibbett, Rudy Vallee, Mae West, and Ruby Zwerling.
Also included are postcard portraits of stars of the opera and Broadway stage; a copious amount of playbills and programs from various productions including: Gypsy, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Funny Face, Porgie and Bess, The Gay Divorcee, Anything Goes, and This Is the Army; as well as unsigned portraits by such noted studios as Clarence Sinclair Bull, Vandamm, Mishken, and Richee.
Due to the enormous size of the collection please be advised that extra shipping charges will apply. Also due to the vast number of items, a few secretarial/and or printed signatures may be included. The sheer overwhelming volume of items precludes a list, and interested parties are strongly advised to view the collection in person at our offices, as this collection is sold as is, and no returns will be accepted. Collection rates in overall very good to fine condition. Such painstakingly preserved collections of this size and scope are seldom offered, and with thousands of pieces, there are undoubtedly still many discoveries that lie within. RR Auction COA.
