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.

Rare Spanish Cobra Paperback Book

This is a very rare paperback book from Spain. This is similar to the Black Eagle book I posted earlier this month. The book is in Spanish and features various photos from the film, Cobra from 1925. Just as I stated about the Black Eagle book this book is made of a very cheap, thin paper, thus leading me to believe 85 years later there are not many in existence. This is one of my favorite book covers, I really enjoy the colorized scene of Valentino and Nita Naldi.

Rare Alberto Valentino Autographed Photo

This is a rare find. It is a Henry Waxman photograph of Rudolph Valentino signed by his brother, Alberto Valentino. The photo reads:

To Mrs. Pearl M. Smith, In memoriam of my beloved Rudy, devotedly, Alberto Guglielmi Valentino, Sept. 1927

It is not common to find Alberto's signature on one of Rudy's photos. This makes this piece more unique and more valuable. The value would not bring as much as Rudy's signature but, would still bring a generous amount. As I have previously noted, it is amazing the similarities between the handwriting of these brothers, especially the way in which they both sign Valentino.

Re-Issue Movie Poster from The Son of the Sheik

This is a great example of a re-issue movie poster from the film, "The Son of the Sheik." I would guess this poster is from the 40's. This seemed to be one of the most popular Valentino films that was re-released in theaters. These posters often used different art from the original release poster. This created many variations of these movie posters, they even differed from the foreign re-releases as well. These are still very valuable and very collectible.

1925 Finnish Eagle Magazine

This is a magazine called Filmiaitta from Finland. This magazine is from 1925 and depicts Valentino from the film, "The Eagle." The color cover features a fantastic color drawing of Valentino. This is not a common magazine and would be highly desirable for collectors like myself.

Original Michael Back Art

This is a wonderful piece of original Michael Back art. It depicts a profile image of Valentino as the Sheik. There is a "RV" mark with the word, "Back," for Michael Back under the image of Valentino. The image is created from a wood-burnt art technique on a wooden plank of some sort. It is truly a one of a kind piece created from one of the most prolific Valentino collectors in the world.

Rudolph Valentino The Silent Idol

I hope everyone have a great Christmas. I received quite a few fantastic gifts, especially Valentino items, which I will be posting over the next few days. This happens to be one of them, Rudolph Valentino, The Silent Idol, by Donna Hill. This is a fantastic book of rare photographs of Valentino through his early childhood, his time before his movie career, his films, and memorial photos after his death. The book consists of 224 pages of candids and rarely seen photographs of Valentino. I was very pleased to see a few of the photos I sent to Donna appeared in the book. This is a must have for any Valentino collector or fan, the photos are fantastic!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to everyone! I appreciate all of the collectors and fans who stop by the blog to read, or share photos of their items. It has been almost 1 year since I started the blog. I really enjoyed posting items, when I have the time. I am still amazed after all of this time at the amount of Valentino related items that are out there. I am also still amazed at the amount of admirers and collectors out there. I enjoy hearing from all of you along with your items and stories.

I hope all of you have a great Christmas with all of your friends and family. I am also looking forward to the upcoming Valentino gifts from my friends and family as well....I can't wait!

1923 Canadian Cinema Magazine

This is a magazine called Cinema. It is dated June of 1923, it is in French and is from Montreal. The magazine depicts a great colorized photo of Valentino on the cover. It is not too common to see items from Canada. The magazine itself it not too valuable, but as always desirable to collectors like myself who just have to have it.

Valentino Cover from a Paper Tablet

This is a fantastic item sent to me from a reader named Barb. She obtained a few items from her Grandmother, this being one of them. This is a cover from a collection of movie star paper tablets. This one features Valentino from the film Blood and Sand from 1922. This cover has an ornate design on the bottom of the page. I have also included another variation of the tablet, the photo also includes the Gloria Swanson tablet as well. These are fairly difficult to find. The most valuable variations include the unused tablet of paper. I have one of the covers, but now the entire tablet.

Behind the Scenes on the Set of The Eagle

The following are five photos from the set of the film, The Eagle from 1925. All of the photos, except one, include director, Clarence Brown. I particularly like the photo with Valentino and Clarence Brown standing in between the bulls-eye cutouts that are meant to look like Valentino. I wonder if any of those cutouts are still around today? That would be a whole different post. Plus, where would you put something like that in your house? I could put one in my Valentino room, but most likely it would scare the hell out of me every time I walked in!

Rudolph Valentino French Film Revue Magazine

This is a French Magazine called Film Revue. The cover features Valentino on the cover from the film, Monsieur Beaucaire from 1924. This is not a common magazine; however there were thousands and thousands of magazines published with Valentino on the cover. The most desirable examples are color photos, scenes from his most popular films, and uncommon photos.

British Edition of Daydreams with Dustcover

This is an update post of the British Edition of Daydreams. I posted this book a while back. I recently obtained this book with the original dust cover. This book of poetry wrote by Valentino himself is a rare book, the British edition is more scarce than the U.S. edition. This particular book has the original dust cover. The dust cover for Daydreams is extremely rare to find. The dust cover is made of a thin paper stock and many did not survive throughout the years. This edition of Daydreams has to rank in the top 5 among the rarest Valentino books. One of the rarest, How You Can Keep Fit, Valentino's other book is one I am still looking for.

Beyond the Rocks Playbill

This is a Playbill from the film, "Beyond the Rocks." This is not from 1922 when the film was released. The playbill reads Monday and Tuesday August 21st and 22nd. This did not occur until 1933. A theater could have played his films for the anniversary of his death, which was on the 23rd. The playbill, though not common would not be extremely valuable, just sought after by crazy collectors like myself that has to own one of everything.

Studio / Publicity Photos of Valentino

These are five photographs of Valentino taken in studios and or for publicity purposes. Of all Valentino photos my favorites are candids, rare movie stills and studio portraits. There are many studio portraits with the studios insignia or beveled mark on the photograph, these are not as common to come across and are very valuable.

French Blood and Sand Cine Revue

This is a French magazine from 1922 called Cine Revue. It depicts Valentino on the cover from the film, "Blood and Sand." It is a very dramatic profile photo of Valentino in his costume from the film. This particular magazine is not too common, I am still looking for this one myself.

Re-Release Son of the Sheik Movie Poster

This is a great re-release poster from the film, "The Son of the Sheik." This poster is from Argentina and most likely dates from 30's or 40's. Many posters outside of the U.S. had different variations of artwork from the U.S. versions. This is a great example of just that. Notice on this poster is a image of Valentino in a suit, which is obviously not from the film. It was a way to showcase Valentino aside from the film, bring in Valentino fans to see this film, also, to bring in Valentino fans who were not familiar with his work. Overall, this is a unique poster that would be reasonably priced in comparison to an original poster from 1926.

Rare Spanish Eagle Paperback Book

This is a rare paperback book from Spain. The book is titled The Black Eagle. This paperback is wrote in Spanish and has various photos from the film from The Eagle from 1925. The book is made with a cheaper paper stock which means most likely there is not a great deal of copies still in existence. This book is very difficult to find and would be quite valuable. I am a huge Valentino book geek this was a fantastic book to obtain.