BILLIE DOVE: BEAUTIFUL FILM ACTRESS, GIRLFRIEND OF FLORENZ ZIEGFELD : RPPC

POSTCARD 1 (SOLD)

POSTCARD 2 (SOLD)

POSTCARD 3 (SOLD)

These vintage real photo postcards feature actress Billie Dove. Billie Dove (1903-1997) was an American actress. Her parents were Swiss immigrants. During her teenage years, she worked as a model to support her family. Florenz Ziegfeld hired her as a teenager to appear in the Ziegfeld Follies Revue. She was not a particularly talented dancer or singer, her beauty and acting ability were her major assets. In the early 1920’s she moved to Hollywood and began appearing in silent films. It has been written that Ziegfeld’s wife, actress Billie Burke, helped facilitate Dove’s transition to films. Apparently, Burke was trying to separate Dove from her husband because the pair were having an affair. It did not take long for her to become one of the more popular actresses of the 1920’s. Among her better known films was “The Black Pirate” (1926) with Douglas Fairbanks, and “The American Beauty” (1927). Dove was a ravishing beauty and was very photogenic. She married director, Irvin Willat, in 1923. The marriage had a six year duration. She then had a three year romance with Howard Hughes. Dove’s other interests included being a pilot, painter, and poet. After her last film, “Blondie of the Follies” (1932), Dove retired from films. It is thought that she retired because she was distraught about her role in her last film being “trimmed” by her co-star’s (Marion Davies) influential boyfriend (William Randloph Hearst). Hearst was upset because Miss Davise’s acting was overshadowed by Dove’s acting. Mr Hearst owned Cosmopolitan Productions which produced the movie. After retirement, Dove married oil executive Robert Kenaston in 1933 and the couple remained together until Kenaston’s death in 1970. She had a brief third marriage to an architect. It is interesting to note that jazz singer, Billie Holiday, borrowed Billie Dove’s first name when picking out her own stage name. Miss Holiday was an admirer of Miss Dove. The IMDb lists 50 movie credits for Billie Dove between 1921 and 1962.

Postcard 1 is a profile portrait was published by Cinemagazine – Paris Edition (no.313). (SOLD)

Postcard 2 was published as by Ross Verlag as part of a series (No.3687/1).  Billie Dove looks beautiful in this portrait taken by Defina. The logo for First National Pictures can be seen in the image’s lower right corner.  (SOLD)

Postcard 3 features Billie Dove looking beautiful in this provocative portrait. The card is risque, considering Dove’s pose and revealing tight dress. Billie Doves portrait seen on this postcard was taken by Defina. This card was published by Ross Verlag’s Italian Edition (Bellerini & Fratini, Florence, Italy). Casa Editrice Bellerini & Fratini was one of the most renowned Italian publishers. The firm began publishing film postcards in the early 1920’s and later became a distributor for Ross Verlag. As of 1918, the firm was still in existence.  (SOLD)

POSTCARD 1

POSTCARD 2 (SOLD)

POSTCARD 3

Published in: on October 1, 2025 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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BEAUTIFUL ANGLO-GERMAN FILM ACTRESS LILLIAN HARVEY

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POSTCARD 1  (SOLD)

harvey 2

                                                      POSTCARD 2 (SOLD)

harvey 5

POSTCARD 3  (SOLD)

harvey 4

POSTCARD 4

harvey 5

POSTCARD 5  (SOLD)

harvey6

 POSTCARD 6

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 POSTCARD 7

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is lillian-harvey-10194_0001.jpgPOSTCARD 8  (SOLD)

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is lilian-harvey-50162_0003.jpgPOSTCARD 9

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is 5722_0001.jpgPOSTCARD 10

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                                                                                          POSTCARD 11  (SOLD)

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POSTCARD 12  (SOLD)

Real photo postcard #1 features Anglo-German actress and singer, Lillian Harvey (1906-1968). Her acting base was in Germany. Harvey was born in Hornsey, England to an English mother and a German father. During World War I her family was “trapped” in Magdeburg, Germany and Harvey was sent to live with her Swiss aunt. After the war she finished school in Berlin and than studied voice and dance at the Berlin State Opera. In 1924 she earned a role as a revue dancer in Vienna. This was followed by her first movie role which was in an Austrian film named “The Curse”. Thereafter, she starred in multiple silent films. Her first leading role was in “The Passion” (1925). Because of her voice training, Harvey was able to make the transition into “talkies”. She and actor Willy Fritsch became the “dream couple” of German movies. The pair acted together in eleven movies. In the 1930’s Harvey’s films appeared in both German and English and she became popular outside of Germany. She went to Hollywood and made four movies for the Fox Film Corporation (this postcard is from that period). In 1935, Harvey returned to Germany. She appeared in several more films and soon she was under the watchful eye of the Gestapo. Harvey had many Jewish friends in the film industry  and she was supportive of them. By 1939, Miss Harvey was forced to leave Germany, leaving behind valuable real estate holdings. She went to France where, in 1940, she made two movies for director Jean Boyer. In 1943 she was stripped of her German citizenship because she had performed for French troops. When southern France was occupied by the Nazis in 1942, she emigrated to the United States. During the war she did some theatre acting and also worked as a homeside volunteer nurse. After the war, Harvey relocated to Paris. She went on a world tour as a singer and in 1949 made appearances in West Germany. She spent her retirement on the French Riviera (Antibes) where she had a souvenir shop and raised snails for escargot. Harvey was married one time. Her four year marriage to theater director Hartvig Valeur-Larsen ended in divorce. Eventually she settled down with her female partner Else Pitty Wirth (1907-2007). Interestingly, the two women are buried together in Antibes. The imdb gives Harvey 54 acting credits between 1925 and 1940. Interestingly, Lillian Harvey’s name is mentioned in Quentin Tarantino’s film  “Inglorious Bastards” (2009). One of her songs is played on a phonograph and in addition one of the characters in the film mentions liking Harvey’s performance in a film and Joseph Goebbels becomes angry and insists her name never be mentioned in his presence. Click on the link below to hear the Lillian Harvey/Willy Fritsch duet used in the Tarantino movie. The 1936 song is titled “Ich Wollt Ich War Ein Huhn” (I Wish I Was A Chicken). Now would be a good time to discuss this postcard portrait of Miss Harvey. She is looking quite decorated in this photograph. She is wearing a garland of leaves in her hair, a very ornate necklace, a number of large bracelets, two giant rings, and a jeweled clasp on her dress near her cleavage. Note her very notable eye lashes. She is wearing a somewhat provocative dress and it is clear that the aim of the photographer is to emphasize Miss Harvey’s sexiness. The photographer and Miss Harvey succeeded in accomplishing this goal. The postcard was published by the German firm Ross Verlag and was part of a series (no. 8679/1). The postcard credits Fox films.                                                 SOLD                                                                                                                                                                          

The second postcard (postcard 2) features Miss Harvey in a risque costume. She is showing a “lot of leg” which is quite provocative for her time. It is likely that this image captures her in one of her film roles. The postcard was published by Argenta, which was located in Munich, Bavaria.                                                                                                                  SOLD        

The third postcard (postcard 3) presents Miss Harvey is a sexy pose. Note her dark gloves and large hoop earrings. The postcard was published by Ross Verlag and is part of a series (no. 4288/1). Note the advertising logo for the German film company UFA, located on the bottom right hand corner of the image. (SOLD)

The fourth postcard (postcard 4) showcases Lillian Harvey’s beautiful smile. Miss Harvey’s not quite plunging neckline was clearly aimed to add a bit of a risque element to the photograph. This postcard was published by Ross Verlag (Berlin) and is part of a series (no. 1019/2). This portrait was taken by the talented photographer, Alex Binder. The photographer of this terrific image was Alexander Binder (1888-1929). He had the largest photo studio in Europe during the late 1920’s and the 1930’s. Many of his entertainment star portraits appear on Ross Verlag postards. It is thought that Binder was of Swiss origin. He was of the Jewish faith. He studied engineering but did not complete his studies. From 1908 to 1910 he studied photography at a school in Munich, Germany. After the completion of his photography studies, he went to Berlin and in 1913 opened his first photography studio. Before long, he became one of the premier photographers in Berlin.  He primarily focussed on fashion and celebrity photography. Since Berlin was the capital of the European film industry, Binder photographed all the stars of the European film industry including, Lilian Harvey, Conrad Veidt, and Lya De Putti. Many of his images were used in popular film portrait postcards. His photographs could be seen in postcards published by Ross Verlag and Photochemie. Binder died in 1929 but new photo cards bearing his signature continued to be published until 1937. 

Buy this original Real Photo Postcard (includes shipping within the US) #2490

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The fifth real photo postcard (postcard 5) features Miss Harvey wearing a bathing suit and sitting in a beach chair. Her shoes and stockings don’t seem very appropriate for the beach so it is a good thing that she is actually in a photographer’s studio and sitting in front of a beach backdrop. Obviously, the mission of the photographer was not to convince viewers that Miss Harvey was at the beach. The intent of photographer Alexander Binder was to present Lilian Harvey in a provocative and sexy pose. Mr. Binder certainly succeeded in accomplishing his goal. This photo postcard was published by Ross Verlag.  (SOLD) 

 

Postcard 6 featuring  Miss Harvey, is published by Ross Verlag. The postcard is part of a series (no. 3543/4). She looks fantastic wearing her print dress and plaid long scarf. I’m not convinced the dress and scarf are matching, but her beauty overcomes any mismatch. As in Postcard #3, the logo for the German film company UFA, can be seen on the lower right hand corner of the image. This photo postcard is from the 1930’s and is in very good condition (see scans).

Buy this original Real Photo Postcard (includes shipping within the US) #2488

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$35.50

Buy this original Real Photo Postcard (includes International shipping outside the US) #2488

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$43.50

Postcard #7 features Lillian Harvey leaning forward as she looks into a hanging bird cage. The photographer likely chose this pose to inject some sexuality into the image. The pose reveals a small amount of the actress’s cleavage. She is wearing a relatively low-cut dress for this time period. Print on the reverse of the postcard reveals that the photograph of Miss Harvey comes from the film “Congress Dances” (1931). Her costar in the film was Willy Fritsch. The postcard was published by Ross Verlag and is part of a series (no. 6738/1). On the right hand bottom corner of the postcard is the logo for “UFA”, a German film company. This postcard is in excellent condition.

Buy this original Real Photo Postcard (includes shipping within the US) #2520

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$28.00

 

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Postcard 8  was photographed by Alexander Binder and published by Ross Verlag as part of a series (no.1019/4). Ballerini & Fratini (Florence, Italy) are credited on the reverse of this postcard.   (SOLD)

Postcard 9 offers a pretty portrait of Lilian Harvey that was published by Ross Verlag as part of a series (no.5016/2). Note the logo for UFA, the German film company, in the bottom right hand corner of the image. This vintage postcard is in very good conditon (see scans).

Postcard 10 is meant to be risque. Harvey is wearing a provocative dress and it is clear that the aim of the photographer is to emphasize Miss Harvey’s sexiness. The photographer and Miss Harvey succeeded in accomplishing this goal. This card has the logo of Fox Films. She made four films for the company beginning 1931. Lillian Harvey was a popular postcard model and there are many postcard images of her in existence. However, this particular card is very uncommon and one of the more suggestive photographs of Miss Harvey published on a postcard. This postcard portrait was published by Ross Verlag (Germany) as part of a series (No.8000/1).         SOLD

Postcard 11 was published by the German firm Ross Verlag and was part of a series (no. 1393/4).  Eichberg Films is credited on the bottom right hand corner of the image. The company was located in Germany. Richard Eichberg was a moderately successful actor who became a director/producr in 1915.  (SOLD)

Postcard 12 was published by the German firm Ross Verlag and was part of a series (no. 8679/1). She is posed in a bit of a provocative pose and is smoking a pipe. This postcard portrait was photographed by H. Gartner and published by Ross Verlag as part of a series (no.1529/1). Eichberg Films is credited on this postcard. Richard Eichberg (1888-1952) began his career as an actor but became a succssful film director and producer in the German film industry. He directed 87 films and produced 77 films.  (SOLD)

                                                                                        

Buy this Real Photo Vintage Postcard (includes shipping within the US) #5112

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$15.79

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$25.04

POSTCARD 13

POSTCARD 14 (SOLD)

POSTCARD 15 (SOLD)

POSTCARD 16 (SOLD)

Postcard 13 was published by Ross Verlag and features Miss Harvey posed in a provocative manner. This postcard has a French stamp and was postmarked in 1929 in Paris, France. (SOLD)

Postcard 14 was published by the German firm Ross Verlag and was part of a series (no. 6096/1). UFA Films is credited on the bottom right hand corner of the image. The company was located in Germany. SOLD

Postcard 15  shows Lillian Harvey wearing a ballerina costume and it is clear that the aim of the photographer is to emphasize Miss Harvey’s sexuality. The photographer and Miss Harvey succeeded in accomplishing this goal. The postcard was published by the Austrian firm Iris Verlag and was part of a series (no.764). Iris Verlag in Vienna was the most important Austrian publisher of film star postcards. The photographer of this portrait was E. Weil & Co. SOLD

Postcard 16 was published by Ross Verlag. It was part of a series (no.2033/1). The postcard has the logo of “Fanamet” in the lower right hand corner of the image. “Fanamet Films” was an Austrian film distribution company. The logo for “First National Pictures” is located on the bottom left hand corner of the image. First National Pictures was an American motion picture production and distribution company. The company was founded in 1917 as a theater chain. It then began distributing movies and in 1924 it began producing films. In 1929 the company was absorbed by Warner Brothers.  (SOLD)

Published in: on February 28, 2025 at 12:00 pm  Comments (2)  
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COLLEEN MOORE : AMERICAN SILENT FILM ACTRESS : DUTCH BOY BOBBED HAIRCUT : RPPC

This postcard features a portrait of American film actress, Colleen Moore (1899-1988).  She began her career in the silent film era. She was a fashionista and one of the highest paid stars of her time. She is also noted for popularizing the “dutchboy bobbed haircut”. Like many silent film stars, she was unable to adapt to “talkies” and decided to retire after just making a few  sound films. Upon retirement, Moore focused on investing, and was quite talented in that realm. She became a partner at Merrill Lynch and wrote a book about how to invest in the stock market. One of her hobbies involved dollhouses. In the early 1950’s, she helped design and curate “The Colleen Moore Dollhouse” which is still exhibited at the Museum of Science and Industry, in Chicago, Illinois. The dollhouse is 9 square feet and worth millions of dollars and has been seen by millions of museum goers. Moore was born in Michigan and her family relocated to Atlanta around 1908.They then moved on to Pennsylvania and finally, Tampa, Florida. At fifteen years of age, Moore had a screen test with director D. W. Griffith. Griffith owed a debt to Moore’s uncle, a successful newspaper man in Chicago. Moore must have done well on the screen test since she soon found herself playing heroines in Westerns. She signed a contract with Triangle-Fine Arts and for the first few years she appeared in minor supporting roles. When the Triangle Company folded she signed with Selig Polyscope. She appeared in “A Hoosier Romance” and “Little Orphant Annie”. They were popular films and Moore achieved some celebrity. When Selig closed their doors, Moore went to work on films from various companies. Her star kept rising. In 1922, Moore was named a WAMPAS Baby Star (honor for actresses on the threshold of fame). The IMDb credits Moore with 65 film appearances between 1918 and 1934. At the height of her career, she was earning over twelve thousand dollars a week. This vintage portrait postcard features Colleen Moore with her trademark dutch boy bobbed haircut. The card was published by Ross Verlag. Note the logo for First National Pictures in the lower right hand corner of the image. The card has a 1926 postmark. Moore was about 27 years old when the photograph was taken.  SOLD

Published in: on April 15, 2023 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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DORIS KENYON : ADORABLE STAGE ACTRESS : TEDDY BEAR : REAL PHOTO POSTCARD

This real photo postcard features a portrait of an adorable American film and television actress named Doris Kenyon (1897-1979). She grew up in Syracuse, New York. Her father was a minister and poet. He was a protege of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Doris studied at Packer College, and later on, at Columbia University (Barnard). Her brother was a dentist and New York assemblyman. She sang in choirs and she was “discovered” by Broadway theatrical scouts who persuaded her to pursue the stage. In 1915, at just 17 years of age, she became a chorus girl. That same year, she began her film career. She starred opposite Rudolph Valentino in a 1924 film. She married actor Milton Sills and she starred with him in “The Unguarded Hour (1925) for First National Pictures. The film company’s logo appears in the lower corner of this card’s image. It is likely that this card was published in the mid 1920’s. Kenyon successfully transitioned into sound films. She acted opposite major stars of her era. These actors included George Arliss, John Barrymore, and Ramon Navarro. Kenyon was also a talented singer. She toured the country doing concerts. Her talent also included singing in several different languages. Kenyon was also active in radio and television. Television appearances included “Secret Storm” and “77 Sunset Strip”. Kenyon appeared in five Broadway shows between 1915 and 1924. At one point in her career, she started her own production company. Kenyon married four times. She was married for ten years to her first husband until he died. Husbands two and three occupied that position for about a year each and husband four died after about four years of marriage. Interestingly, Doris Day was named Doris because her mother was a major fan of Doris Kenyon. (SOLD)

Published in: on May 2, 2022 at 5:02 pm  Leave a Comment  
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BILLIE DOVE: BEAUTIFUL FILM ACTRESS, GIRL FRIEND OF FLORENZ ZIEGFELD AND HOWARD HUGHES

POSTCARD 1  (SOLD)

POSTCARD 1 (CLOSE-UP)  (SOLD)

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is billiedove_20210520_0001-1.jpgPOSTCARD 2

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is billiedove_20210520_0003.jpgPOSTCARD 2 (CLOSE-UP)

Billie Dove (1903-1997) was an American actress. Her parents were Swiss immigrants. During her teenage years, she worked as a model to support her family. Florenz Ziegfeld hired her as a teenager to appear in the Ziegfeld Follies Revue. She was not a particularly talented dancer or singer, her beauty and acting ability were her major assets. In the early 1920’s she moved to Hollywood and began appearing in silent films. It has been written that Ziegfield’s wife, actress Billie Burke, helped facilitate Dove’s transition to films. Apparently, Burke was trying to separate Dove from her husband because the pair were having an affair. It did not take long for her to become one of the more popular actresses of the 1920’s. Among her better known films was “The Black Pirate” (1926) with Douglas Fairbanks, and “The American Beauty” (1927). Dove was a ravishing beauty and was very photogenic. She married director, Irvin Willat, in 1923. The marriage had a six year duration. She then had a three year romance with Howard Hughes. Dove’s other interests included being a pilot, painter, and poet. After her last film, “Blondie of the Follies” (1932), Dove retired from films. It is thought that she retired because she was distraught about her role in her last film being “trimmed” by her co-star’s (Marion Davis) influential boyfriend (William Randloph Hearst). Hearst was upset because Miss Davis’s acting was overshadowed by Dove’s acting. Mr Hearst owned Cosmopolitan Productions which produced the movie. After retirement, Dove married oil executive Robert Kenaston in 1933 and the couple remained together until Kenaston’s death in 1970. She had a brief third marriage to an architect. It is interesting to note that jazz singer, Billie Holiday, borrowed Billie Dove’s first name when picking out her own stage name. Miss Holiday was an admirer of Miss Dove. The IMDb lists 50 movie credits for Billie Dove between 1921 and 1962.

Postcard 1 was published by “Ross Verlag”, The photographer of Miss Dove’s portrait was Defina of First National Pictures.  (SOLD)

Postcard 2 was also published by “Ross Verlag”.  Billie Dove looks beautiful in this portrait. Note the old style phone she is using. The postcard was sold exclusively by Ballerini & Fratini of Florence, Italy. The firm was known for producing a large number of postcards, including film stars of the 1920’s. I do not know why there were two publishing firms involved in producing this postcard. Perhaps there was a distribution agreement of some kind between the two companies. This vintage postcard is in very good condition (see scans).

Buy this Vintage Real Photo Postcard (includes shipping within the US) #3545

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$25.50

Buy this Vintage Real Photo Postcard (includes International shipping outside the US) 3545

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$34.50

POSTCARD 1
POSTCARD 2
Published in: on May 25, 2021 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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