The Real Valentino by George S. Ullman

This is a rare and fairly difficult book to find, especially with the dust cover.  This is "The Real Valentino," by George S. Ullman from 1927.  I posted this book a long time ago; however, that post did not have a photo of the dust cover, this one does.  I went to post this book, did a Google search to find an image and found one for sale with the dust cover.  So, now of course that book is on it's way to me.  Another one for the collection! 

French Magazine Depicting Valentino from 1928

This is a magazine from France, called La Cinematographie Francaise, or French Cinematography.  The magazine is dated 1928, which I find interesting.  Two years after his death, there were no movies to promote, or anything to sell, except magazines.  Two years after his death fans were still buying magazines with his image on the cover.  This particular magazine is not seen too often, nor is the photo of Valentino that was used either.  A very interesting piece.

Beyond the Rocks Newspaper Ad from 1922

This is another great example of a newspaper ad from May of 1922.  Surprisingly, many of these ads are still around today, there are literally thousands of variations of these movie ads for Valentino's movies.  This one depicts Valentino with Gloria Swanson, another great piece.

Movie Theater Photo from 1921 Frivolous Wives

This is an awesome photo from 1921.  The photo depicts the outside of a movie theater with the marquee/sign that reads Rudolph Valentino Here Sun, Mon, Tues, Rudolph Valentino in Frivolous Wives.  There appears to be a fairly large crowd, mainly younger people lined up to get in the theater.  The sign almost makes it seem like he is going to make a personal appearance, which he may have.  Most likely, it was a great way to get fans attention, you know since there was no Twitter, Facebook, Blogs, Cell Phones, Etc.  The other interesting thing is "Frivolous Wives."  In 1918 Valentino had a smaller/supporting role in a film called The Married Virgin.  When Valentino's fame grew from The Four Horsemen and The Sheik, studios and directors cashed in on his fame by re-releasing some of his earlier films.  In this case the director Joe Maxwell edited the film down from 7 reels to 6.  This new 6 reel film which seem to showcase and sometimes repeat scenes with Valentino.  The film was re-released in 1921 under the name Frivolous Wives, making it seem like a new film. 

This photos simply depicts the fans lining up to see the film.  A great early snapshot of filmgoers and the movie theater. 

Photos of Valentino from the 1922 film, Blood and Sand

I still love to simply scour the internet for photos of Valentino.  I spent a lot of time doing just that when I first started collecting....well a couple of years ago....or something like that, I don't exactly remember.  Anyway, I would find photos and print them, going through a lot of ink at the time.  I know I have said it a million times, but is simply amazes me that I can still come across not only collectible items; but, photos I had never seen before.  The following are 5 photos from the 1922 film, Blood and Sand, one of Valentino's finest.  Some of these poses are not often seen, enjoy!

1923 Valetnino Picturegoer Magazine

This is a wonderful magazine out of the UK called Picturegoer.  The magazine is dated September 1923.  The cover depicts Valentino as his personal spirit guide, Black Feather.  It is not common to see Valentino on the cover of a magazine not depicted from a film or a movie studio photo.  This makes this magazine a very unique item.  I'm sure many fans at the time did not get this photo or was maybe confused that Valentino was going to be an American Indian in an upcoming film.  You have to remember that this was when Valentino was having contract problems with Famous Players-Lasky, it was also when he published Daydreams.  So, at the time he was selling himself instead of a specific film at the time.  This is a great magazine, still looking for this one myself.