Belt Buckle Personally Owned by Rudolph Valentino

This is a belt buckle owned by Valentino, it was listed in the estate catalog and was believed to be used in the film, "The Son of the Sheik." This buckle sold at auction in 2008 for around $4,700, source: antiquetrader.com. I did a little research on the belt buckle from the film. When I think of his belt from the film, I think of the part where Jasmin (Vilma Banky) complains while they are making out that the belt is pushing into her side. Valentino takes it off, then when attacked he reaches for a knife from his belt, but it is not there. That particular belt buckle from the film is definitely not the one that sold at auction, not to say it is not from film, he did have various costumes so it could have appeared in another scene. Regardless, it did belong to Valentino and is a great piece.

Book Personally Owned by Rudolph Valentino

This is my 600th post and for the milestone posts I like to feature a special item. This is book that was personally owned by Valentino. The book is titled "The Flame of Life," by D'Annunzio. A few amazing things about the book. The book was most likely owned by Valentino before he became a big star. The year 1918 is wrote inside the book, which is most likely around the time he owned the book. On the inside cover of the book, Valentino signed his name, with the spelling Rodolph in a red pen of some sorts. Since he owned this before he amassed his fortune there is no Valentino bookplate in this book, instead it contains the book plate of Erich Von Stroheim! Stroheim, the silent movie director and later actor in various films including one of my favorite films of all time, Sunset Boulevard where he played Max the butler. I am unsure if he owned the book before Valentino or after, my best guess is after. There are also a couple of phone numbers wrote on the first page, one name is Priscilla, the other is Holly. Could this be silent movie actress Priscilla Dean, who knows?

If that is not enough,the book has a few pages where Valentino doodled and drew pictures. He practiced his monogram with RV and RG on one page, on another he drew a car, an engine, and what appears to be a hood of a car or a shield. Even though the condition of this book is on the rough side, it is truly a one of a kind item that not only features his autograph, but his drawings and his monograms and Erich Von Stroheim's bookplate. This is a truly fantastic piece any collector would love to own!

Spats Personally Owned by Rudolph Valentino

This is a pair of spats personally owned by Valentino. He owned numerous clothing items at the time of his death as the estate catalog lists. The biggest problem is trying to properly authenticate each item. These are owned by Bryan who has shared some of his other Valentino items, including the coat from Monsieur Beaucaire. Personally owned items are very rare and very valuable. I do not own any of this clothing, I am still on the lookout, my problem is the cost is normally a few house payments!

Rudolph Valentino's 1925 French Avion Voisin

This is one of Valentino's many cars. This is a 1925 French Avion Voisin. This car appeared in the auction catalog, page 15, auction number 8. The catalog lists the car as having a "high lustre taupe colored lacquer paint job." The new photos of this car are gray, which is obviously not the original paint job. The hood ornament is of the cobra with the blood red fangs, which became a staple for Valentino after his film, Cobra. I believe this car is in the Nethercutt Museum in San Francisco. The photos are from the Nethercutt website. This is obviously a one of a kind personal effect that would be highly sought after by any collector, although it would be difficult to fit it into my Valentino room.

Hand Written Letter from Valentino

Bryan, who is new to reading the blog, the owner of the Monsieur Beaucaire Coat I posted a few days ago has sent me some absolutely fantastic photos of items from his personal collection to post. This is a hand written letter from 1923 as they set sail for Europe. It is addressed to Mr. Rosen, I believe thanking him for a basket he had sent to the Valentino's. It is written in Valentino's favorite green ink on the ships stationary. This is yet another "one of a kind item." Yes there are other letters out there but each one is obviously unique. This one is wrote in the green ink, it is dated, and signed with his full name. Overall, a truly fantastic and valuable piece! Congratulations Bryan and thank you so much for sharing, we all really appreciate it!

One of Rudolph Valentino's Coats from Monsieur Beaucaire

This is a wonderful coat from Valentino's 1924 film, "Monsieur Beaucaire." Just like most of his films, he had various costume changes in this film, so hopefully there are many more coats out there. I am unsure where this coat lives today, in a collection, or a museum. A few interesting things about this piece: first, the vibrant orange color, it is great to see costumes from black and white films, since we have no idea what color they are. Second, the label in the coat that reads "R.Valentino." Not all costumes have stitched name labels in them, thus making it more difficult to authenticate.

Authentic costumes and props are ridiculously expensive, for example a pair of the Ruby Red Slippers from The Wizard of Oz sold for over $600,000. With that being said, this coat is quite valuable. I would be happy just to see it in person, and maybe try it on, my luck I would rip it; but, I would have some great photos, before the owner tackled me!

Rudolph Valentino's Suit of Lights Jacket from Blood and Sand

I normally do not list personal effects, due to the fact they are difficult to authenticate; however, this is currently in a museum. This is Valentino's Suit of Lights Jacket from the film, Blood and Sand. I compared the photo of this jacket and questioned if this is the one he wore; however, I forgot he wore a vest underneath the jacket. The Jacket is housed at the FIDM in Los Angeles. This past summer the Jacket was on display in the Oklahoma City Museum of Art as a part of the Sketch to Screen: The Art of Hollywood Costume Design. This photo was taken by Jim Meeks.

Original costumes are extremely valuable and very difficult to care for and to display. This is one of the reasons most of these types of items are in museums. Most collectors do not have $20,000 to $30,000 laying around to purchase items such as this. I do continue to play the lottery, just in case.

Rudolph Valentino and Pola Negri First Prize...500th Post and 1 Year Anniversary of this Blog!

Well, this is my 500th post, it is also the one year anniversary of this blog. I started this blog of Rudolph Valentino Collectibles one year ago today as a way to showcase various Valentino items. It is a long story how I became a Valentino fan, I will save that for another time. But, once I started getting more and more interested in Valentino, I came across the book, "The Intimate Life of Rudolph Valentino," by Jack Scagnetti. In the back of the book were photos of Michael Back's collection. I thought is was so interesting to have a collection of Valentino items, I began my own. I used Scagnetti's book as a guide to see exactly what was out there. I always thought it would be nice for collectors and fans to be able to see photos of various items that existed, thus this blog was born. I truly appreciate all of the kind and gracious feedback and input from all of you. Along with all that follow this blog. I truly enjoy being a Valentino fan and collector, and I really enjoy working on this blog as often as I can. Thank you all so much for being a part of it!

Now, a special post for #500. In 1926 Valentino and Pola Negri attended a costume party. Valentino wore his suit of lights from Blood and Sand, Pola went as a Spanish Dancer of sorts. The couple won first prize at the party. The first prize gift was this pair of sterling silver goblets that have the following engraved in both, Rudolph Valentino, Pola Negri, 1926. These goblets are truly a one of a kind set and would be invaluable to any collector.

Personal Note Hand Signed by Rudolph Valentino

My favortie part of this note is when he talks about someone who brought him "vile red wine." He states that if he tried to bring him this wine again he would shoot him. He also wanted a note with some fresh fruit that reads: Ton Querido. I looked this up, Ton is French for Your, and Querido is Spanish for Dear. Valentino spoke fluent Italian, English, Spanish, and French. I have read that in most of Blood and Sand he spoke Spanish, in most of Monsieur Beaucaire he spoke French. This is a one of kind piece that would be very valuable.

Rudolph Valentino's Personal Make-Up Case

This is a fantastic one of a kind item. This is Valentino's personal make-up case. He signed his name of the top of the case. This recently sold at an auction house for a few thousand dollars. This is a fantastic item!

The Eagle Movie Program, Valentino's Red Cross Card

This is a werid combination. I saved this photo from an ebay auction from a few years ago. This is a movie program from the film, "The Eagle." This is not a typical program, most have photos of Valentino and movie scenes. This could be a premiere program. The most interesting part of this photo is Valentino's own personal American Red Cross card. It is dated 1926 and is signed by Valentino himself, he signed it R. Valentino.

Valentino's Personal Belt Buckle

This is one of Valentino's personal Belt Buckles. This is a silver belt buckle with the initials RV monogramed on the front. This sold a few years ago at Sotheby's auction house in New York. I am unsure what this sold for, but I am sure it was in the thousands. I would not mind having a few of these!