“Mary Pickford,” says Melbourne Spurr, “always comes back to me, so I guess she thinks I’m not a bad photographer.”
Mary Pickford herself helped launch Melbourne Spurr's Hollywood photography career having been so impressed with his work shooting her for Fred Hartsook studio. It can be said that any photographer's career would get a boost if they shot Mary as that in itself was rather marketable at the time, but for Spurr, the quality of his Pickford portraits created a feverish interest -- so much so, that sittings would have to be booked months in advance. He would go on to photograph many stars in the 20s for his own studio, but branched out to other subjects by the decade's end.
Mary Pickford by Melbourne Spurr ca. 1923. Photographer's studio stamp on verso and embossed at lower right. Personalized and hand-signed in purple ink.
Mary Pickford by Melbourne Spurr ca. 1923. Photographer's studio stamp on verso and embossed at lower right.
Oversized (11" x 14") portrait of Mary Pickford by Melbourne Spurr ca. 1923. Photographer's studio embossed at lower right.
Mary Pickford by Melbourne Spurr ca. 1923. Photographer's studio stamp on verso and embossed at lower right. Handsigned in ink.
Mary Pickford, framed by field curvature -- whether intentional or not, I can't say -- in a natural light portrait by Melbourne Spur 1922. Photographer's stamp on reverse.
Mary Pickford posing for Melbourne Spurr. Photographer's stamp on reverse. 1922. Part of NZ Photo Album.
Mary Pickford posing for Melbourne Spurr. Photographer's stamp on reverse. 1922. Part of NZ Photo Album.
Mary Pickford posing for Melbourne Spurr. Photographer's studio stamp on verso and embossed at lower left. 1922.
Mary Pickford posing for Melbourne Spurr. 1922.
Mary Pickford, husband Douglas Fairbanks, and a dog pose beside the Pickfair pool for Melbourne Spurr. Photographer's stamp on verso. ca. 1922.
Oversized portrait (11" x 14") of Mary Pickford by Melbourne Spurr. Hand signed by photographer in graphite on recto. ca. 1922.
Oversized portrait (11" x 14") of Mary Pickford by Melbourne Spurr. Hand signed by photographer in graphite on recto. ca. 1922.
Oversized portrait (11" x 14") of Mary Pickford by Melbourne Spurr. Photographers mark seemingly in grease pencil on recto. ca. 1922.
Oversized portrait (11" x 14") of Mary Pickford posing for Melbourne Spurr. Incidentally, Mary is holding the parasol from The Little American (1917,) presumably designed by Lady Duff Gordon, which can be seen as part of this collection. Hand signed by photographer in graphite on recto. ca. 1922.
Oversized portrait (10.75" x 13.5") of Mary Pickford posing with her hair down for Melbourne Spurr. Photographer studio mark in graphite on recto. ca. 1924.
Oversized portrait (11" x 14") of Mary Pickford posing with her hair down for Melbourne Spurr. Hand signed by photographer in graphite on recto. ca. 1924.
Mary Pickford posing with her hair down for Melbourne Spurr. Personalized and hand signed in ink by Mary Pickford on verso. ca. 1924.
Large Mary Pickford Studios envelope, marked "Spurr Photos" in Mary's hand, which contained Spurr photos.
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