Monday, June 27, 2011

Lobby Card from The Eagle

This is a Lobby Card from the film, "The Eagle." Imagine walking up to a theater in 1925, where the studio was selling the name Valentino along with his latest film, The Eagle. Posters, Lobby Cards, Window Cards, possibly programs. The theater had to be decked out in Valentino items, a collector's dream. I do have a few photos of theaters like this I will post at a later time. The value of half of those types of items by today's standards would be staggering. That is a lot of history for an 11x14 86 year old piece of this thick-stock paper! By the way, this card as all original Eagle lobby cards, except the dead card are very desirable and very valuable.

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Rare Spanish Movie Poster from Monsieur Beaucaire

This is a fantastic, rare version of a Spanish Movie Poster from the film Monsieur Beaucaire. It is an elegant, artistic rendition of Valentino from the film. This particular poster would be extremely valuable and highly sought after. It is not uncommon for some of the original movie posters to sell for five figures at auction. So, you may want to check Grandma's attic!

Suit of Lights from Blood and Sand

A few weeks back I posted the coat from Blood and Sand. This is the entire Suit of Lights from the film Blood and Sand. This was in the Debbie Reynolds collection and was just auctioned off for $210,000! This is an absolutely amazing price for an authentic Valentino worn costume. Too bad I do not have a couple hundred grand lying around for authentic costumes.

Friday, June 24, 2011

Five Photos from the Film, Cobra

These are five photos from my favorite Valentino film, Cobra. This was one of two films Valentino made in 1925, the other being The Eagle. This was the only film that I know of that Valentino actually played an Italian, which to me made his role very believable. Nita Naldi is fantastic in this film, you love to hate her character. Some of these photos are original, which are obviously more valuable than the over-produced copies made today. Thanks to Ana for the first photo!

1923 Spanish Blood and Sand Magazine

This is Spanish magazine from 1923. The magazine is called Cine Mundial, which translates to "World Cinema." The magazine cover depicts Valentino from the film, Blood and Sand. This is not a common magazine; furthermore, I would think this magazine would be a bit more valuable than most. This may seem strange, but a magazine with an uncommon photo tends to be more desirable to collectors, which in turn can make it more valuable. I am still looking for this one myself.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

4 Different Movie Posters from The Son of the Sheik

These are four different posters from the film, "The Son of the Sheik." I was contacted by a reader named Amanda that owns these four posters. She was looking for information, including the estimated value of these posters.


The first two posters read: "By Popular Demand!" at the top of each poster. I know The Son of the Sheik was re-released many times. The biggest re-release being in 1937. If anyone knows more about the time frame and value of these, please comment or email me. Update: I received some great information from Jim on a few of these posters. The first one (Art Cinema), is the most common of the four, it is from 1938. The second one could be from the 50's or 60's since it has the same cover from the Irving Shulman book; however, both posters at the top read: "By Popular Demand," which could mean they are from the same time frame. We are still unsure about the second poster.
These two posters have similar font. The second poster, I have found out is from 1950. I have a newspaper ad with the same artwork for that poster. The horizontal window card, looks to have similar font, but, just as the first two, I am not 100% certain. Any information would be greatly appreciated.


Sunday, June 19, 2011

Rare Spanish Silent Movie Playing Cards

This is a playing card from a rare set of silent movie cards. I do not have a great deal of information on this set, only that it is from a Spanish Chocolate company. A complete set would be quite valuable. The Valentino card by itself would be valuable as well due to the rarity. This is another great item, I had no idea this was out there!

Five Photos from Monsieur Beaucaire

These are five original photos from the film, Monsieur Beaucaire. This was Valentino's return film in 1924, he and Natacha asked wanted artistic integrity and artistic freedom in Valentino's films. Beaucaire may have had too much artistic freedom for some fans. All the same, the sets and costumes were very extravagant. The film produced some very desirable memorabilia for fans and collectors.

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Monsieur Beaucaire Glass Slide

This is an excellent example of an original glass slide. The glass slide is from the 1924 film, “Monsieur Beaucaire.” The particular slide is cracked, which is very common for slides from this era. However, the crack does not distort the image. The vibrant colors of this particular slide would make this one more desirable and more valuable. I bid on this one on ebay and lost out, so if you won this recent auction, you outbid me! It was definitely a great addition to someone’s collection, if you get tired of it, let me know.

Five Postcards from The Son of the Sheik

These are five different postcards from the film, “The Son of the Sheik.” Two of these are Ross card from Berlin; the other three are colorized cards. Postcards are a great way to collect some affordable items from the 20’s. Most are relatively inexpensive and easy to find. My favorites are the Beagles cards which have the art-deco raised frame around the card. Some of the original colorized cards tend to be desirable as well.

Movie Weekly Magazine featuring Valentino on the Cover

This is a Movie Weekly Magazine from 1924 featuring Valentino on the cover. The headline on the magazine reads: “Rudolph Valentino’s own story of his trip abroad.” Valentino was a common star of the cover of this magazine. This magazine was produced on a newspaper-style thin paper instead of a thicker stock magazine type paper. With this in mind, it is more difficult to find these in mint condition. These magazines overall are not highly valuable, but, still sought after by collectors, especially like me who have 2-3 and now are on the lookout for the rest of them.

Title and Lobby Cards from Camille

The first card is the title card from Camille. Traditionally there are 8 lobby cards in a set; each set has a title card which is similar to the movie poster, where it features the title and the stars of the film. The remaining cards feature the other stars and scenes from the film. Camille was another June Mathis film, that featured Nazimova. The film silently co-starred Valentino as can be seen from this title card. The studio wanted to feature Nazimova along with giving some exposure to their up and coming star, Valentino, which most likely Mathis has something to do with. This particular card, which does not feature Valentino is not as valuable to a Valentino collector as it would be to a Nazimova collector. In this case, for Valentino collectors, the second card would be more desirable. There is not a great deal of Valentino-Camille items out there, due to the top-billing of Nazimova. The items out there are fairly sought after and fairly valuable.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Assortment of Candid Photos of Valentino

I do enjoy the candid photos. I use the word candid loosely, candid photos to me are photos not from his films or non-studio poses. These are five great photos of Valentino outside of both of those arenas. The first one is a rare photo of Valentino and Natacha where Valentino has a mustache. I assume this was just before he grew out the goatee for their 1923 trip. Other photos include Valentino with his dogs, his horse, reading mail and a photo of him in his Four Horsemen gaucho outfit. I believe this photo to be from when he was out on the Mineralava tour where he and Natacha danced the tango in this costume.

Original Michael Back Burnt Wooden Art

I am not real big on homemade items, this piece is an exception. This is a unique round, wooden art piece from Valentino collector, Michael Back. Some of Michael's collection was featured in Jack Scagnetti's book, The Intimate Life of Rudolph Valentino. Besides being a huge Valentino collector, Michael has an artistic talent and over the years has created many Valentino items. This is a great example of one of his burnt wood pieces, featuring Valentino from The Sheik. This is a wonderful, unique item.

1923 Rudolph Valentino Picture Show

This is a Picture Show Magazine from 1923. This was a magazine / newspaper from the U.K. This particular issue features Valentino from three of his films: Blood and Sand, The Moran of the Lady Letty and The Young Rajah. The cover states the following: What is wrong with some pictures, a candid criticism by Rudolph Valentino. This was during the time Valentino walked out of his contract with Famous Players Lasky after The Young Rajah. He and Natacha talked a great deal about "artistic integrity" in his films. This would be a great issue to have to read Valentino's side of the story. There are many Picture Show's with Valentino featured on the cover; however, these tend to be difficult to find.

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Spanish Rudolph Valentino Chocolate Card

The is a Spanish Chocolate card from the Amatller Chocolate company out of Barcelona. I believe this card was produced from the 1930's. The card appears to depict a color photo from the film, "The Eagle." While most chocolate and tobacco cards are not extremely valuable. I find them to be a wonderful collectible item from the 20's and 30's that you will not pay an exorbitant amount of money for.

Friday, June 3, 2011

Lobby Card from the film, Camille

This is a lobby card from the 1921 film, "Camille." This was the fourth of five films Valentino made in 1921. This film was released right before The Sheik. Alla Nazimova, a popular Russian silent star, was given top billing for the film. The set designer for the film was Natacha Rambova, this is where they met for the first time.

The lobby card, as all other cards from Valentino's films is valuable and highly sought after. This particular card lacks the vibrant colors that other films offer; however, it is still a wonderful lobby card. There are not a great deal of items out there from Camille.

Photos from The Conquering Power

These are five photos from the 1921 film, "The Conquering Power." This film, which was released only a few months after The Four Horsemen also co-starred Alice Terry and was directed by Rex Ingram, just as in The Four Horsemen. This is not the most popular Valentino film, the plot is a bit flimsy; however, a Valentino film all the same. My favorite part of the film, is when Valentino sports a three-o-clock shadow. Anyway, most of these photos are not too common, enjoy!