Milewski & Short MARY PICKFORD COLLECTION: IMP

"'Little Mary' of the IMP Company" RPPC / postcard produced in 1911 by the Empress Theatre which once "catered to the intelligent" at 416 9th Street NW in Washington, DC. The front of the card features a nice portrait of Mary that was often used by IMP during her somewhat brief and largely subpar stint with the company (photographer unknown and incidentally, with Mary in a dress that she wears in her first IMP, Their First Misunderstanding (1911.))

Regarding the postcard, the May 6, 1911 issue of The Moving Picture News noted, "Manager [Marcus] Notes, of the Empress, is issuing postals to his patrons of 'Little Mary,' of the Imp Company. These are artistically gotten up and form an attractive souvenir. This house makes a practice of advertising in its lobby its program for the week, arranged not by the photoplay to be seen, but the manufacturer of the film. In the way Manager Notes is furthering the cause of the Independents in a most unique manner, calling attention more to the producer of the film rather than to the subject." Or perhaps, we can assume, in some cases advertising not by the photoplay to be seen or the manufacturer of the film, but the star.

Perhaps one of my personal favorite pieces in the collection.

Many moons ago, one could acquire these small cards (tobacco cards, cigarette cards, chocolate cards, theatre cards, trading cards, etc.,) not more than a few inches in size, in a pack of cigarettes, from a machine at the arcade, as a hand out at the local theatre, or via some other means. Some were printed while a good many are actual photographs.

Issued in 1913, this Major Drapkin & Co. Cinematograph Actors series card shows Mary during her IMP days and is reportedly the first tobacco card she appears on (or at least, one of, as this particular series had two unnumbered Pickford cards, the other being a photo by Marceau and marked Biograph.)

Chocolate E. Juncosa card from Spain. Photo by Melbourne Spurr.

Photo by Ira L. Hill.

1917 Kromo Gravure card. Photo by Ira L. Hill.

Kinema / Franklin Theatre Card. Trimmed. Advertising Captain Kidd Jr. screening. Photo by Hartsook. 1919.

Photo by Hartsook. Trimmed.

Sequoia Theatre card. According to the inscription on a music box given to Mary by her then husband Douglas Fairbanks in 1930, this portrait by Hartsook was his favorite photo of her. Trimmed.

Photo by Hartsook.

Kinema Theatre card. Trimmed. Advertising a M'Liss screening. Photo by Hartsook. 1918.

Photo by Hartsook (showing Mary at her one-time leased home (1917-1918) at 1519 N. Western in Hollywood.) Trimmed.

Photo by Campbell Studio.

1921 Neilson's Chocolate card. Photo by Moody. Trimmed.

1931 Penny Magazine (England) card. Photo by Campbell Studio.

The New T & D Theatre card. Trimmed. Advertising A Romance of the Redwoods. 1917.

Cinema Stars cigarette card. Photo by Campbell Studios.

Ringers Cigarettes Cinema Stars card. Photo of Mary in a Lanvin dress by Rahmn. c. 1921.

The New T & D Theatre card. Trimmed. Advertising Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. 1917.

Kinema card. Trimmed. Advertising, erroneously, Good Little Rich Girl, A.K.A. The Poor Little Rich Girl. 1917.

The New T & D Theatre card. Advertising A Little Princess. 1917.

Mary Pickford as Rags card. Photo by De Gaston.

T & D Theatre card. Advertising Hulda from Holland. 1916.

Kinema / Franklin Theatre card. Trimmed. Adevertising a Johanna Enlists screening. 1918.

"Little Colonel Mary" Kinema / Franklin Theatre Card. Trimmed. Advertising Johanna Enlists. screening. 1918.

The Spinet House - Spinet Cigarettes card. Photo by Lindstedt.

Kinema card. Mary Pickford, dressed as Rebecca From Sunnybrook Farm, and William S. Hart. Trimmed. Advertising a The Little American screening. 1917.