Rudolph Valentino Miniature Sheik Bust

This is a miniature Bust of Valentino from what appears to be from the film, The Son of the Sheik. The base of the bust reads: Rudolph Valentino. It stands about 3 and a half inches tall. It is very heavy and appears to be made from some sort of metal or heavy duty plaster. My assumption is that these were produced in the 20's after his death. These do show up on ebay from time to time. The ones I have seen sell for a fair amount of money. Outside of seeing these on ebay, I have not come across these before. I did post a photo of various busts that was sold at an auction and believe there was one or two in that lot as well. Overall, this is a great Valentino memento. If anyone else has any further background on these let me know.

Photos from Moran of the Lady Letty

These are five photos from the 1922 film, "Moran of the Lady Letty." This is not one of Valentino's more popular films; however, there is some great memorabilia out there from this film. These five photos are not too commonly seen. I enjoy collecting movie stills from Valentino's films. The original stills can be very expensive, the newer copies can be bought for a few dollars.

Panini Golden Age Valentino Cards

I typically do not list many newer items here; however, I wanted to list these new cards from Panini. I think it's great that there are still new items available for movie collectors dealing with Valentino. These cards just recently were released by Panini, they are called Golden Age. These depict various movie and TV stars, political and historical figures, and sports stars. There are three variations of Valentino cards in the set. The first is the normal size card from the set, which comes in the normal cream color border, a black border, and a white border. The second is a tobacco size card, which to my understanding comes with various color backs. The final card is a limited edition card that has an actual piece of one of Valentino's hats. I hate to see any of Valentino's items cut up for a card company. On the filp side we all get a chance to own a piece of one of his hats for a fraction of the price.

2 Page Magazine Advertisement for The Sheik

This is a wonderful 2 page magazine ad for the 1921 film, "The Sheik." Besides this being a fantastic ad, with great art work and photos of the film, there are a few things to take note of. This was Valentino's 5th and final film from 1921. His first being The Four Horsemen, which was his first big role. The studio's did not credit the success of The Four Horsemen exclusively because of Valentino, but continued to feature him in various roles in 1921. The Sheik turned Valentino into a major star overnight. Notice the top of this ad it reads: a George Melford Production with Agnes Ayres and Rudolph Valentino. One final thing to mention is the photo on the second page depicts Valentino in a white suit which is from the lost ending. I call it the lost ending because all of the variations of The Sheik I have seen does not depict Valentino in a white suit. I have posted some photos of this scene. This is a great piece and is great for framing. These are not too valuable; however they are great pieces of original memorabilia from 1921.

1926 French Film Review Magazine

This is a French magazine from 1926 dedicated to Valentino. After Valentino's death in August of 1926, he appeared on the cover of virtually every entertainment magazine. With this being said, there are no shortages of magazines from 26 with Valentino on the cover. Some are more desirable that others. Most of the magazines with colorful covers, or depictions of uncommon photos of Valentino tend to be more valuable and sought after. This particular Film Review would most likely not be too valuable; however, would be one more needed for the collection.

Rare Spanish Blood and Sand Photoplay Book

This is a rare paperback from Spain. This is a photoplay edition from the 1922 film, Blood and Sand. This is a fairly rare book, it has a fantastic colorized photo of Valentino from the film on the cover. I really enjoy the items from overseas with all the unique, colorful artwork. This is a fantastic piece!

Happy Holidays

I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday. Hopefully many of you received some new Valentino items for Christmas. I was lucky enough to get some of my favorite Valentino items, a few rare books for my collection that I did not have. I will post a few over the next couple of days. Feel free to share any of your recent acquisitions, I would love to post some photos. I recently had a question from someone who follows the blog, they wanted to know what size shoe Valentino wore. Does anyone have any specific information? I know that his costumes still exist, so, I know the information is out there. Feel free to email me or post a comment. Happy Holidays!

Rare Isle of Love Movie Poster

This is a rare re-release movie poster from the film Isle of Love. The original title was An Adventuress from 1920. Once Valentino gained notoriety and stardom the studios saw an opportunity to re-release some of Valentino's early films where he had bit parts. Many of these films were marketed with Valentino as the star of the film. In this case the film took Valentino's parts and spliced them together, in the end repeating his scenes. It was a way for studio's to get out little seen footage of Valentino for adoring fans. Posters such as these are not too common, even though it is considered a re-release poster, posters such as these feature Valentino, instead of just his name at the bottom. These are still quite rare and valuable.

Candid Photos of Rudolph Valentino

Hello all, excuse my hiatus from the blog, I have been swamped lately. I hope all of you have found some new Valentino items for your collection! I have not added anything myself as of late, hopefully Christmas will bring some gifts from the past! I wanted to post a few candid photos of Valentino, most of which are not seen too often. I really enjoy the candid shots and the posed photos outside of the movie sets.

The Sheik Promotional Card / Postcard

This is one of the reasons I really enjoy working on the blog. I get to meet and correspond with many of you and sometimes many of you will send me photos of some of your Rudy treasures. Often, these treasures I have never seen or come across before now. Dee has sent me a very unique item, which I call random items, it is a handout for the 1921 film, The Sheik. It is a colorized postcard sized promotional card from Australia, from the Globe Theater. The card itself is scented with Indasia, which was some sort of fragrance. There is a lot of cross promotions going on here: Valentino, The Sheik, Indasia, and the Globe Theater, not bad, actually pretty smart. Anyway, who know how many of these were produced, I think it is a great item, it has a lot going for it, it is colorized and scented! It is definitely another one of those must have items for the collection. Great find and thanks for sharing Dee!

1970's Sainted Devil Wall Poster

This was sent to me from a reader named Dee. This is a great, over-sized poster of Valentino from The Sainted Devil. I have never seen this particular poster before. Dee says it is from the 70's. There were many Valentino items produced in the 70's. Many of the actors and actresses from the 20's, 30's, and 40's made a resurgence and various items were produced during this time. Dee, thank you for sending the photo in, I appreciate it, keep sending them in!

Rare Movie Poster from The Eagle

This is a rare variation of a movie poster, a 6 sheet from the 1925 film, The Eagle. A six sheet is like 6 movie posters that create one gigantic poster! This variation features unique art work not often seen from the film. this is from the original 1925 release. This would be a valuable and sought after poster. This would look great framed in my Valentino room, however, a 6 sheet would need to be hung on the side of my house or possible on my roof, that way it would show up on Google Earth!

700th Post Rare Mexican Needle Book

This is my 700th post! I am posting an item with a great story. This is a rare 1920's or 1930's Mexican needle book. Valentino is one in a series of other stars. I am unsure how many different stars were in this series; however, I know of at least 4 others that included Chaplin, Lloyd, Navarro, and Talmadge. The front of the book reads: Obsequio de la reinera, which translates to Gift of Reinera. When I first started collecting back in the 90's my Mom found this for me and gave it to me as a gift. Back then, my biggest frame of reference for Valentino collectibles was black and white photos of Michael Back's collection from Jack Scagnetti's book, The Intimate Life of Rudolph Valentino. A few months later I was able to attend the 100th birthday celebration in Hollywood. I brought a few of my items, along with this needle book. There was a lunch for the members of the fan club back then. At the lunch was Michael Back! I was thrilled to meet him, I showed him the Mexican needle book. He was very interested in it and told me he did not have it in his collection and had not seen it before. He offered to buy it from me; but, I had no intention of selling it. I was elated that I owned something that Michael Back had not seen before. Since then this needle book has always been one of my favorite collectibles, and I do know that Michael owns one now. This is another example of another great, random collectible.

Error Photo from The Son of the Sheik

This is a fantastic photo! It is the famous scene from The Son of the Sheik where Valentino gets attacked while trying to cozy up to Yasmine. If you look at the photo closely, at the top you will see the tops of the backdrops! I am unsure why someone did not crop this photo; but, I think it's great! You do not see this too often from vintage movie stills. Although I will say, it does take a bit of the magic away for me, I wanted to believe this was out in the middle of the desert! Oh well, a great and unique photo!

Rudolph Valentino Newspaper from 1926

This is one of many newspapers with featured headlines of Valentino's death. This particular one is unique because it is the Evening Express from Los Angeles. Valentino died in New York, his body was transported back to Hollywood via train. This headline reads: "Crowds Meet Valentino Train in California Cities." There is a drawing of Valentino that seems to have him in the same formal clothing he wore to Mae Murray's Wedding a couple months earlier. There are thousands of newspaper headlines with Valentino's death as the lead story. They are fairly sought after, especially the ones with photos of Valentino. This one is unique because it is an article about the train arriving back in Hollywood with his body.

Postcards from Blood and Sand

These are five postcards from the 1922 film Blood and Sand. I find postcards to be a great, reasonable collectible. Often original postcards from the 20's depict unique or rarely seen poses. I try to display as many postcards as I can in my Valentino office; however, my space is limited. Anyway, I digress, these postcards are not overly valuable but great additions to any collection.

Remembering Rudolph Valentino

Today marks the 86th anniversary of the death of Rudolph Valentino. He died on this day back in 1926. This is no new news to Valentino fans and collectors. I think it is strange to celebrate the day of someone's death, I look at it as a day or remembrance and reflection. Valentino has the longest running memorial service of any star in Hollywood. Today's will start, as it always has, at 12:10 Hollywood time, which is of course the time of his death. I am sure he would be amazed at the amount of followers and fans still exist today, 86 years later. The photo I am posting I found on a random website by an artist named Depo, it is a rendition of Valentino from The Young Rajah. Enjoy the day, watch a Valentino film, or buy yourself a new Valentino item.

Monsieur Beaucaire Picture Show

This is a Picture Show Magazine from the U.K. depicting Valentino and Bebe Daniels on the cover from the 1924 film, Monsieur Beaucaire. Valentino often graced the cover of this magazine. Just as in today's world, top stars on the cover attracts readers and fans to pick up the magazine, read it and buy it. Valentino was no exception, he was featured on thousands of magazine covers over the years. Picture Show magazines with Valentino on the cover, tend to be more desirable than most other Valentino magazines, with the exception of color covers such as Motion Picture or Screenland just to name a few. This is another great example of an original magazine from the 20's featuring Valentino.

Candid Photo of Valentino with Secretarial Signature

This is a rare, candid photo of Rudy dated 1925. This candid snapshot is signed, "To Lyle, Sincerely Rudy, 11-14-25." After some great feedback and taking the time to review the photo closer, this is definitely not signed by Valentino. Thanks for the call-out! I would be very interested in finding out who signed this on his behalf, a secretary, Pola, George Ullman, who knows?. Valentino appears to be wearing the same ensemble from the film Cobra. Candid shots of Rudy that were not mass produced are extremely desirable. Donna gave some great background to this photo, thank you for that. The photo was taken at Pola Negri's home, with different variations appearing in Donna's book. The fact this is not signed by Valentino obviously brings the value down. It is still a rare photo and these types of items do not surface very often.

Paramount Publicity Poster

This is a rare publicity poster, also known as a personality poster, produced by the movie studio. Posters such as these were often displayed at the studio or the movie theater to promote their top or up and coming stars. I believe this poster to be from 1921 or so, it is a fantastic piece. I have to believe these were not produced in the quantities of the standard movie posters. This helps with the rarity and value of a poster such as this. I would be interested to know if there are any other variations created. Regardless, I will need one of each for the ever growing collection.