POSTCARD 1 (SOLD)
POSTCARD 1 (CLOSE-UP) (SOLD)
POSTCARD 2
POSTCARD 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
The young woman in this cabinet card portrait is tall, thin, and wearing a dark dress. She is very well dressed. The woman is tightly corseted, which is typical for the era of this photograph. She is holding a folded fan. This photograph was taken in Florence, Massachusetts at a gallery operated by Ferdinand William Schadee (1840-1901). Schadee was born in Bavaria, Germany. I found no record of when he arrived in the United States. In 1869, he married Eliza A Schadee and the couple eventually had at least three children. Schadee was a Mason. A publication entitled “The History of Florence, Mass.” (1895) reveals that Schadee established his gallery there in 1885. Prior to that time, he ran a studio in Northampton, Mass. That studio was operated under the name of “Hardie & Schadee”. The 1880 US Census lists Schadee as a photographer as does a number of editions of the Northampton and Easthampton directory. He was listed in the directory up to 1901, indicating that he was working as a photographer until his passing. (SOLD)
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 