Interesting archive of material from the personal collection of John Lovejoy Herrmann, a photographer for Paramount Pictures who served as cinematographer on Richard E. Byrd’s second Antarctic Expedition of 1934. The archive is highlighted by two fabric American flags, 3 x 2 and 17 x 11.5, the smaller of which includes an ALS from Herrmann on his Paramount Antarctic Bureau letterhead, addressed from the Little American exploration base on January 25, 1935: “Greetings from the Paramount Penguin Theatre and the South Polar Region.” The larger flag is accompanied by a mailing envelope that is annotated in pencil, “John Herrmann gave Sam this flag—It was with Byrd when he flew over the South Pole.” Also included: a 5.25 x 4.25 postcard signed on the front by Herrmann and Carl Petersen, featuring an ANS from Herrmann on the reverse, addressed from Little America on February 3, 1934; a vintage matte-finish 8 x 10 publicity photo of Herrmann with his Paramount camera, signed and inscribed in fountain pen; an original color 24 x 18 “Authorized Map of the Second Byrd Antarctic Expedition,” published in 1934 by the G. F. Corps; an 8.25 x 10 etching of Richard E. Byrd with facsimile signature; a vintage 1934 copy of The South Pole Picture Book; two issues of South Pole Radio News; and newspaper clippings related to Herrmann’s eventual return from the Antarctic. In overall fine condition, with cover detached from South Pole Picture Book. The letters are accompanied by their original mailing envelopes hand-addressed by Herrmann.
