BETTY BRONSON: BEAUTIFUL ACTRESS BEST KNOWN FOR PLAYING PETER PAN IN THE 1924 SILENT FILM

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POSTCARD 2   (SOLD)

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Postcard 3  (SOLD)

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This vintage real photo postcard features American actress Betty Bronson (1906-1971).She began her career in silent films and later appeared in sound films and television. This postcard was published by Ross Verlag and is part of a series (1095/1). At the time when this postcard was released, Miss Bronson was working for Paramount Film. She appears to be quite young when she sat for this portrait. She moved to California as a teenager determined to start an film acting career. She landed a bit part at age 16 and a year later she was interviewed by the author of  Peter Pan (J M Barrie) and chosen to play the lead role in the film version which was released in 1924. Gaining this part was quite an accomplishment considering more seasoned actresses including Gloria Swanson and Mary Pickford sought the role. She became became lifelong friends with two members of the Peter Pan cast (Mary Brian and Esther Ralson). Miss Bronson had major roles in the silent films Ben Hur (1925) and a Kiss for Cinderella (1925). Betty Bronson made a successful transition into talkies. She co-starred with Al Jolson in the sound film, The Singing Fool (1928). In 1933 she took about a four year break from actingto marry a wealthy North Carolinian named Ludwig Lauerhass. While she was filming Peter Pan, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. developed a crush on her. The IMDb reports that Bronson had 41 film and television appearances during her career (1922-1971). Included in her television career were roles in Run For Your Life and My Three Sons. Overall, it is reported that Betty Bronson never lived up to her original promise. She was expected to be a major competitor to Mary Pickford but it is thought that her roles after Peter Pan were not effective vehicles to showcase her talent and to help her rise to superstardom. The YouTube clip below shows Miss Bronson in her role as Peter Pan.                                                                                                             The second postcard offers another portrait of Betty Bronson. The postcard was published by Ross Verlag and has the logo of Paramount Pictures. This postcard shows her in a movie role but the movie title is unidentified.

    The third postcard is a portrait of Miss Bronson that was published by Iris Verlag as part of a series (#504). Iris Verlag was the most important Austrian publisher of film star postcards. It operated from Vienna during the 1920’s and 1930’s. The film star looks quite beautiful and is wearing a fancy dress, long white gloves, and a tiara. Imbedded in the photo of the actress is a logo for “Fanamet Films”.  Fanamet was an Austrian film distribution company.  (SOLD)

     Postcard 4 features a portrait of Betty Bronson published by Picturegoer as part of Series 88 (no.207b). The company was based in London. Picturegoer was a British fan magazine focussing on contemporary films and the actors and actresses who performed in them. Picturegoer also published postcards. In fact, they produced over 6500 different real photo postcards of 2000 actors and actresses.

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bronson 3 2 POSTCARD 3

Published in: on February 17, 2018 at 12:00 pm  Comments (2)  
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ELISABETH PINAJEFF: EUROPEAN ACTRESS, ARTIST, AND PART OF THE “BALLETS ROSES SCANDAL”

This vintage real photo postcard features German actress Elisabeth Pinajeff (1900-1995). In the 1920’s and 1930’s she starred in French and German films. Her first sound film was in 1929. The actress was born in Russia. Her father was an architect and her mother was a countess. In the 1910’s Pinajeff studied drama in the Ukraine. When she was 19 years old she married an engineer and his career required the couple to move to Germany. In 1929, Pinajeff met Austrian photographer, Alex Binder. Binder will be a familiar name to those that follow the cabinet card gallery. Many of his beautiful postcard portraits of theater stars can be found in the gallery (you can see his photos by placing his name, “Binder”, in the search box).  Binder had the largest photo studio in Europe during the 1920’s. Pinajeff modeled for Binder and later, married him. The couple lived in Paris. There is some debate about the years that they were together.The IMDb reports that Pinajeff appeared in 35 films between 1922 and 1938. After appearing in a bit part in a 1938 film about Rasputin, she retired from acting and focused on her painting. In 1950, Pinajeff became a friend of Andre Le Troquer, a “very connected” lawyer and politician. The couple surrounded themselves with political, artistic, and intellectual leaders.   In 1959, she was involved in a scandal known as the “Ballets Roses Scandal”. She was one of more than twenty people enmeshed in the scandal. She was accused of organizing erotic ballets with underaged girls for an “elite” audience. Some prospective show biz mother’s had consented to their daughters participation in this ballet with hopes that it would help launch their performance career.  Although Pinajeff was not convicted. Miss Pinajeff had artistic talent. She painted a number of famous personalities including the British Queen. She successfully exhibited a number of her paintings. This postcard is somewhat risque in that the photograph shows Miss Pinajeff’s bare back. The actress was a very pretty woman and had an engaging smile. This postcard was published by Russ Verlag and is part of a series (no. 2060/1). The photographer was the aforementioned Alex Binder and the photo was taken in Berlin. SOLD

Published in: on January 21, 2018 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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RISQUE PORTRAIT OF FILM STAR INEZ VAN BREE (PHOTO BY ESTEEMED PHOTOGRAPHER: ERNST SCHNEIDER)

This vintage real photo postcard is one of the more risque Ross Verlag postcards in the Cabinet Card Gallery. The postcard is of German origin and is part of a series (no. 1581/1). It was published between 1927 and 1928. Preliminary research found little information about Inez Van Bree. A defunct University of Toronto website labels Miss Bree as a silent movie siren/star. The photographer of this portrait appears to be Ernst Schneider and the photograph was taken in Berlin, Germany. Research about Mr Schneider yielded a great deal of information. He was considered to be one of the most celebrated studio photographers in Berlin during three decades (1900’s, 1910’s, 1920’s. He photographed many celebrities from the world of theater, opera, circuses, and film. He was also one of the most prominent fashion photographers in Berlin. In addition, he was well known for his nude photography and he published books showcasing his work in this domain. Sometime around 1908 Schneider began working with postcard publishers “Rotophot” and “Neue Photographische Gesellschaft” (NPG). In 1919 he began working with Ross Verlag.   SOLD

 

 

 

 

Published in: on January 13, 2018 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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TWO PORTRAITS OF GERMAN ACTRESS LISSI ARNA (ONE IMAGE PHOTOGRAPHED BY THE CELEBRATED MANASSE STUDIO)

Postcard 1  (SOLD)

                                                     POSTCARD 1   (SOLD)

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These vintage real photo postcards feature German actress Lissi Arna (1900-1964). She is known for the films “Harbor Drift” (1929, The Squeeker (1931), and Under the Lantern (1928). She appeared in German silent films and entered US films in 1930. She was an exotic femme fatale in German silents She was married to a doctor in 1939 and the couple lived in Venezuela until his death. She appeared in Hollywood in German language versions of American films. She was in the US for only one year and failed to get significant offers from any of the major studios. In the sound era she gradually lost her popularity and was confined to supporting roles through the 1930’s. The IMDb credits her with 62 films between 1915 and 1962. View the YouTube video below to see Lissi Arne appearing in “Under the Lantern” (1928).The first postcard was published by Ross Verlag as part of a series (no. 4199/2). Miss Arna’s portrait was taken by the Manasse studio which was located in Vienna, Austria. There also was a branch of the studio in Berlin. The Manasse studio was in existence between about 1922 and 1938. The studio was run by Olga Solarics (1896-1969) and her husband Adorja’n von Wlassics (1893-1946). Olga was known for her interest in photographing nudes. The studio flourished in Vienna during the 1930’s. Many of the portraits taken by the studio had an erotic flavor. The studio attracted some of the leading ladies of film and theater. The studio was also involved in producing photographs for advertising. This husband and wife team of photographers were very talented and very successful in their profession.

The second portrait postcard features a somewhat risque photograph of Miss Arna. The photograph reveals her bare back and shoulders as well as as a bare view above her breast. She is flashing a sly smile and smoking a cigarette at the end of a cigarette holder. The photo was taken by German photographer Kiesel in Berlin, Germany. The second postcard (no. 3091/1) is part of the same series as the first postcard. This postcard is published by Ross Verlag (Berlin, Germany).

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Published in: on December 15, 2017 at 12:00 pm  Comments (1)  
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ESTHER RALSTON: TALENTED FILM AND EARLY TELEVISION ACTRESS

This vintage real photo postcard features beautiful actress Esther Ralston (1902-1994). She was born in Bar Harbor, Maine and was active in acting between 1915 an 1962. Her career started while she was still a child. She appeared in a family vaudeville act called “The Ralston Family with Baby Esther, America’s Youngest Juliet”. By the time she was 18, she was appearing in silent films including “Huckleberry Finn” (1920) and “Peter Pan” (1924). In the late 1920’s she appeared in many films for Paramount Pictures. She was successful enough to earn as much as eight thousand dollars per week Although she received good reviews for dramatic roles, Ralston primarily appeared in comedies, often in the role of spirited society girls. Esther’s image was initially “wholesome and fun-loving”. Florenz Ziegfeld Jr repackaged her as “The American Venus” after she appeared in the role of a beauty queen in the film, “American Venus” (1926). Miss Ralston made a successful transition to sound pictures but by the mid 1930’s she was usually appearing in supporting roles. Her final starring role was in “To the Last Man (1933) and her final film was “Tin Pan Alley (1940). That same year she retired from film and focused on stage and radio through the 1940’s. With the advent of television, Ralston spent time appearing in this new medium. Esther Ralston was married three times and divorced three times. All of her husbands worked in the entertainment industry. The imdb lists Ralston as having 108 credits as an actress. She certainly made an impact in the entertainment world and this is reflected by the fact that she has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Esther Ralston’s obituary can be found at the web site of  “The Independent”. The obituary states that she was a “captivating blond beauty with an engaging sense of humor”. The article tells the story of Ralston’s reaction to co-starring with Clara Bow and Gary Cooper in “Children of Divorce” (1927) while Bow and Cooper were having an affair. In regard to Clara Bow, Ralston stated “I didn’t really dislike her, but she was pretty loose and I’d been brought up differently”. This photo postcard was pubished by Ross Verlag, a postcard publishing company based in Berlin, Germany. The postcard was produced for Paramount Pictures and is part of a series (No. 3393/1).

Published in: on May 26, 2017 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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HENNY PORTEN: MAJOR GERMAN FILM ACTRESS WITH ADMIRABLE PRINCIPLES (RESISTED THE NAZI GOVERNMENT)

 

Henny Porten (1890-1960) is the subject of this real photo postcard. Porten was a German actress and film producer of the silent era. She was Germany’s first major film star and appeared in more than 170 films produced between 1906 and 1955. Along with Asta Nielsen and Pola Negri, she was one of the three most popular German actresses. Her father was a film director and her sister was an actress/screenwriter. She began her film career without any stage experience which was an unusual phenomenon for German actresses. Porten was not well known outside of Germany. A large number of her early films were directed by her husband, Curt Stark. Stark died during World War I (1916) while serving on the Eastern Front. In 1921 she remarried a Jewish man named Wilhelm von Kaufmann. When the Nazis took power, she received much pressure to divorce her husband. She refused to comply and her career plummeted. She was denied a visa to emigrate. Her career blossomed again after World War II. The photograph of Miss Porten seen on this postcard is by the Becker & Maass studio of Berlin, Germany. The photographers were well known for portrait and fashion photography in the first decades of the twentieth century. They photographed dozens of German film stars for magazines and postcards. You can view more of this studios photographs by clicking on the category “Photographer: Becker & Maass”.  The postcard is published by Rotophot which began publishing “RPH” postcards in 1916. There were three different series: Buhnen-Sterne (stage star), Film Sterne (film star), and Film Sterne (displayed scenes). This postcard is from the Film Sterne series and was no. 216/3. The film star series ran from number 61 through number 224. The front of the Film Sterne cards included the name of the film studio represented. This card advertises Messter-Films of Berlin. These postcards were continued by the Ross Verlag company who’s origins can be traced back to the earlier Rotophot postcard company. The You Tube clip below presents Henny Porten in some scenes from “24 Hours from the Life of a Woman” (1931).

 

Published in: on May 10, 2017 at 4:47 pm  Leave a Comment  
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PORTRAIT OF BEAUTIFUL FILM ACTRESS: MILDRED DAVIS

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This vintage real photo postcard features film actress Mildred Davis (1901-1969). Mildred Hillary Davis appeared in many of Harold Lloyd’s (1893-1971) classic silent comedy films. She eventually became Lloyd’s wife. Davis was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She wanted to be an actress and when old enough, she went to California seeking film roles. She was blonde and petite, measuring just 5 feet tall. She has been described as sweet and perky, with a flair for comedy. She was able to secure several small parts and was noticed by film director/producer Hal Roach. Roach brought her to the attention of comedian Harold Lloyd who was seeking a replacement for his leading lady, Bebe Daniels (an image of Miss Daniels can be found in the Cabinet Card Gallery). Lloyd casted Davis in his short comedy “From Hand to Mouth” (1919). This began a partnership that resulted in them starring together in fifteen films. Mildred Davis’s filmography includes approximately 36 films between 1916 and 1949. A few of her popular films include “An Eastern Westerner” (1920), “Get Out and Get Under” (1920), and “Safety Last” (1923), The film couple developed a “real life” partnership when they married in 1923. Davis only appeared in one film after the couple tied the knot. The couple had three children. Biographical information reveals they had a relatively strong marriage. In later life she struggled with depression, and drinking problems. Davis was close friends with actresses Marion Davies and Colleen Moore. Mildred Davis died in 1969 . This real photo portrait postcard was published by Ross Verlag of Berlin, Germany. The postcard is part of a series (no. 1254/1). Paramount Film is credited on the front of the postcard. The “You Tube” link below will take you to a tribute to Harold Lloyd and Mildred Davis. The video was created by Diana Calado in 2013.  (SOLD)

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Published in: on March 2, 2017 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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AN ADORABLE LITTLE GIRL AND HER GIANT RABBIT (VINTAGE REAL PHOTO POSTCARD)

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This real photo postcard features an adorable little girl hugging a giant toy rabbit. The rabbit appears very life like, save it’s size. The young girl exhibits an expression that looks more like fear than than affection. The postcard was published by Rotophot Berlin (RPH). Rotophot made it’s debut in Berlin, Germany around the turn of the century (1900). The company had other European offices including London and Budapest. They published many different postcard topics including stage stars. Many of their early postcards were tinted. Eventually Rotophot morphed into “Ross Verlag” a postcard company that collectors know for the many postcards they produced featuring actors and actresses. The postcard’s postmark indicates that it was mailed in 1907. It is addressed to someone in Tuscany, Italy.

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Published in: on June 22, 2016 at 12:00 pm  Comments (1)  
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PORTRAIT OF PRETTY ACTRESS TAMARA DESNI AND A LIFELIKE DOLL (VINTAGE REAL PHOTO POSTCARD)

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The pretty subject of this vintage real photo postcard is actress Tamara Desni (1910-2008). She has an exotic appearance. She was a German born daughter of a Ukrainian born silent film actress named Xenia Desni (1894-1962). Tamara begin her stage and film career as a child in Berlin, Germany. She also appeared in several British made films in the 1930’s and 1940’s.  She also starred in German films. In 1931 she had a major role in the operetta “White Horse Inn” which appeared in London. It was a spectacular hit at the Coliseum Theater. She next appeared in another leading role at the Coliseum in “Casanova”. She then had success in the British films “Falling For You (1933)”, “Forbidden Territory (1934)”, “Jack Ahoy (1935)”, and “Dark World (1935). Desni also played a supporting role in “Fire over England (1937)” which starred Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh. She continued her film career through 1950. Tamara Desni’s social life must have been quite interesting. She was married five times. She must have learned from her four mistakes because her fifth marriage lasted half a century and only ended with her husband’s death. Tamara Desni appears in this postcard holding a life-like doll. Desni is flashing a beautiful smile. The photograph was taken by Becker & Maass of Berlin, Germany. The postcard was published by Ross Verlag and was part of a series (No. 6346/1). The company printed real photo postcards of excellent quality. Some consider their portrait photos the finest movie/theater star postcard portraits ever published.

Published in: on April 4, 2016 at 12:00 pm  Comments (2)  
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