Album of portrait photographs of early Hollywood Silent movie stars, including signed Charlie Chaplin.
New York; Los Angeles: Ca. 1914 - 1918. Hardcover. An important album of 39 original large portraits of some of the greatest stars of silent film, including Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks Jr, Norma Talmadge, Theda Bara and Billie Burke, all compiled by a young Australian girl from Melbourne named Ivy Lever.
The Charlie Chaplin portrait (5 x 7") is boldly signed in the right side of the image, "Sincerely, Charles Chaplin", fills the entire photo, and is on textured matte paper. Chaplin, one of the most important figures in the history of film, is pictured here in a tuxedo, looking away from the viewer to his left. The portrait is by Witzel, LA (signed in white in the lower left). A very young Charlie Chaplin is pictured. Having started his career at just 19, Chaplin was signed to the Fred Karno company which brought him to the US. Chaplin began appearing in film in 1914 for Keystone Studios in California.
The Douglas Fairbanks portrait, signed "Very Sincerely, Douglas Fairbanks", portrays the actor smiling broadly into the camera, wearing a suit and tie, and perhaps in his forties. The portrait stamped in white by Apeda, NY (3 1/2 x 4 1/2"). Faint horizontal crease.
The film stars represented here include: Pauline Frederick, Peggy Hyland, Norma Talmadge (starred in the 1910 Vitagraph film, 'The Household Pest', then signed with D.W. Griffith, and starred in hits including 'The Wonderful Thing' (1921), 'The Eternal Flame' (1922) and 'The Song of Love' (1923), Violet Mersereau, Vivian Martin, Mae Marsh, Milton Sills (starred in historical dramas, most notably 'The Sea Hawk'), Alice Joyce, Bessie Love (discovered by D.W. Griffith, became a popular leading lady & starred in MGM's first all-talking picture, 'The Broadway Melody'), Olive Thomas, Alma Rubens, Carlyle Blackwell, George Walsh, Mabel Normand, Earle Williams, Rosemary Shelby, Bessie Barriscala, William Duncan, Lillian Walker, Pearl White, Kathlyn Williams, Jack Gardner, Mary Miles Minter, Bert Lytell, William S. Stark (or Hart), Wallace Reid, Theda Bara (considered the first sex symbol of the film era, pictured here in a large white feather hat, embracing her white Russian wolfhound), May Allison, Blanche Sweet, Harold Lockwood, Enid Bennett, Dorothy Dalton, Louise Glaum, Billie Burke (best known for her role as Glinda the Good Witch of the North in MGM's 'The Wizard of Oz'), Madge Evans, Louise Huff and Jack Pickford.
The Los Angeles photograph studios in these photographs include: Carpenter, Witzel, Evans, and Hartsook. New York photograph studios include: Lumiere, James Hill, National, H. Tarr, Apeda, and Sarony.
Witzel Studios was founded in Los Angeles by photographer Albert Walter Witzel (1879–1929) in 1909 and became one of the foremost portrait studios, in demand from Hollywood studios who needed publicity images of their stars. Witzel's photographic style, using dramatic poses and atmospheric lighting, set the standard for Hollywood studio photography. These portraits were taken at its height; the firm folded in 1929.
Ivy Lever, the young Australian girl who assembled this album, received one especially kind signed photograph from the child star Madge Evans, who addresses the photograph to "my first Australian friend", and who writes on the verso that she plans to come to Melbourne to visit relatives there, including her mother's uncle, a Francis Hatton.
The photographs of these 39 silent film stars are large, ranging in size from 4 x 5 1/2" to 8 x 10". Most are boldly hand signed in the image, in ink; while others are signed by auto pen. Laid down, very good condition.
Small folio album, 10 x 12", contains 39 photographs. Maroon gilt cloth, the title "Photographs" in gilt at the front cover. Album corners and spine ends slightly rubbed; some light scattered fox spotting to margins of album pages.
A very nice period piece, with portraits of some of the great names in silent movies. Very good condition. Item #26223
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