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.

The Young Rajah Insert Card

I know, that title is a bit confusing; however, I found this photo many years ago and have it filed under movie herald's. It appears to be the art for a window card, whatever it is, it is a fantastic, colorful piece of rarely seen movie art from the 1922 film, "The Young Rajah." This film is known for very colorful memorabilia, often depicting missing scenes from the current copy of the film that exists. If this window card exists it would be quite valuable, the same would go for the movie herald due to the rarity. With that in mind, a movie herald pales in comparison to an actual poster, it's just that both would be very desirable. If anyone has any further insight or information, feel free to comment. All in all, a wonderful, artistic piece.

Update: Bob, who does a fantastic job of restoring photos, updated the Rajah Insert Card, see the photo below, thanks again Bob!

Photos from The Son of the Sheik

These are five photos from the Rudy's last film, "The Son of the Sheik." For non-collectors / non-fans, items and photos from The Sheik and The Son of the Sheik are easily mixed up. As a collector / fan, this of course drives me crazy. These films were made five years apart and rarely do the photos look similar except for a few of the costumes; anyway, I digress. This early sequel was a great film and if Valentino had not died during the release of the film, I still feel it would have been a great success.

The Eagle Newspaper Advertisement

The is a newspaper ad from the film, The Eagle from 1925. This ad is actually not from 1925, most likely from the 1930's re-release. Many of these newspaper ads are more common than you think. These are not very valuable, just great pieces to add to the collection.

Vintage Son of the Sheik Stick Pin

This is one of the many random items out there.  I am truly unsure what exactly this is.  My best guess is a stick pin or simply a lapel pin.  If it is from the 20's, which is looks to be, it would be a memorial piece.  However, it may possibly be from the 60's or 70's.  I do not own the item, I just have a photo.  Maybe someone out there knows more about it, or owns one.  It depicts a colorized photo of Valentino from the film, "The Son of the Sheik."  This falls in the category of one of those random items that has to added to the collection, because you do not already own one.

1938 Re-Release Movie Poster from The Son of the Sheik

This is a 1939 Movie Poster from the film, The Son of the Sheik. This poster is similar to a window card, which typically measures 14'x22', this one happens to measure 12'x26'. This poster is Swedish and is from the re-release of the film. This is an interesting variation of the movie art for the film; however, the poster does a poor job of depicting Valentino as the star of the film. I still find it to be a great example of a 30's re-release poster.

Rare Photo from The Hooded Falcon

This is an extremely rare photo of Valentino from the unmade 1924 film, "The Hooded Falcon." This was to be the story of the Moor's. There were many reasons why this film never came to fruition, one of which was the overspending of Rudy and Natacha's trip overseas to obtain authentic antiques and clothing for the film. The studio could not afford what the Valentino's had in mind. Many look toward Natacha for her ridiculous demands and causing a riff with Rudy and June Mathis. It was rumored that Nita Naldi was to co-star in the film as well and was sent to Paris for costume fittings. There are only a few surviving photos of Valentino in costume, this is an extremely rare photo depicting Valentino in this role.

 

 Update: One of our loyal blog followers, Bob, has touched up the photo, I wanted to post it for everyone to see, thanks again Bob!

Artistic Photo from The Sheik

This is a great, framed photo of Valentino from the 1921 classic, "The Sheik." This photo was submitted from one of the blog's avid readers, Chris. I liked his description of the photo: "I found a picture of Rudy as The Shiek which I had framed in a second hand store frame and dulled brown with coffee. It looks awesome! Great idea, it turned out fantastic! For anyone out there you would like to share pieces of their collection, or maybe just their favorite photos or items, feel free to email me. I will post them for everyone to see. Thanks again Chris for your submission, keep them coming!

French Film Magazine

This is a French Magazine from 1929, called "Le Film." The cover of the magazine depicts Valentino from the 1925 film, Cobra. After Valentino's death various publications featured Valentino on their cover. I am sure it assisted publications in selling magazines. Most of these were produced during the anniversary of his death or birth. Some simply featured small stories pertaining to Valentino and his life or films. This particular magazine is not seen too often; however, like most simple black and white publications are priced moderately.

Lobby Card from Moran of the Lady Letty

This is a lobby card from the 1922 film, Moran of the Lady Letty. There is not a great deal of memorabilia out there from this film. It was not a huge financial success. The lobby set, unlike most of Valentino's other films were in black and white. I still find these cards to be great pieces of Valentino memorabilia. I honestly do not think I have seen the complete set. Lobby cards are fairly valuable and great for framing. One note regarding framing and displaying any of your memorabilia, which you all will most likely already be aware of; but, keep items out of the sun, it really sun fades items over the years. All of my collectibles are in a room with no windows; however, if I lived in the Hollywood Hills I would have to display a lobby card or a poster in my living room. Something tells me I will never have that opportunity, it is just wishful thinking.

Photos from The Sheik

These are five photos from The Sheik. The Sheik is the quintessential Valentino film. The film co-starred Agnes Ayres and Adolphe Menjou. This is the film that truly launched Valentino into stardom. This was the first Valentino film I had ever seen, the rest is history. I highly recommend watching the version with the musical accompaniment from Roger Bellon. The following are a few photos not commonly seen from the film, the photo of Valentino and Menjou is from Ana's collection!

Swedish Blood and Sand Sheet Music

This is a rare piece of sheet music from Sweden from the film, "Blood and Sand." Sheet music, besides books, are my favorite items to collect in regards to Valentino memorabilia. Pieces of sheet music often depict scenes from the film or colorful, artistic depictions of the actors. I look at sheet music as in the same class as posters and lobby cards, they are of the same period and represent a tool to promote the film. This particular piece is not often seen, there are many other variations of sheet music from the film, Blood and Sand. As in this case the overseas variation is quite different that the U.S. editions.

Rare 1978 Spanish Biography

This is a biography of Valentino from 1978, written in Spanish and published in Spain. The name of the book is: Valentino la seduccion manipulada by Antonio tello and Gonzalo otero pizzaro. The English translation of the title is Valentino, Manipulated Seduction. This is not a common book in the states, I am still on the lookout for one of these myself. There was a resurgence of Valentino in the 1970's. Movie stars from the 20's and 30's on a whole were again popular in the 1970's. For Valentino, there were a couple of movies made about him, along with numerous books written about his life and movies.

Vintage Italian Valentino Magazine

This is an Italian magazine called il mattino illustrato, which translates in English to The Morning Shows. I believe this magazine is from 1926. It depicts a profile photo of Valentino on the cover. I do not own this piece, I assume it is a magazine, it could quite possibly be a newspaper supplement. This is definitely not a common piece; but most likely would not be as sought after or as valuable as some of the colorful artistic covers. For someone like myself, it is another item I would have to have for the ever-growing collection of items I have no further room for, oh well, time to get rid of my childhood baseball cards.

Photos from a Rogue's Romance

These are rare photos from the 1919 film, A Rogue's Romance, starring Earle Williams. This is one of 7 films Valentino had a bit part in, in 1919. This was one of the many early films that was re-released when Valentino became a star. The studio's would often re-cut the film where Valentino's parts were played more than once, making it appear he had a bigger part in the film than he actually did. Just a few years after these films were released, Valentino was red hot and all of the studios wanted to capitalize. Original photo stills from the original release of these films are very difficult to find, most of the promotional material did not include Valentino. Three of these photos are from Frau Wulf, who has a great website by the way, definitely check it out!