Milewski & Short MARY PICKFORD COLLECTION: Ira L. Hill

Showing posts with label Ira L. Hill. Show all posts

Less Than The Dust - Stanley Theatre (Philadelphia) Program 1916

4-page Stanley Theatre (Philadelphia) program, Vol. 1 No. 84 for week November 6, 1916. The big feature for the week was Mary's first picture produced by the Mary Pickford Film Corporation and the first distributed by Artcraft, Less Than The Dust -- a picture that Mary ultimately hated, having said "I made two pictures of which I have tried sedulously to wipe from my mind. One was entitled Less than the Dust and I remember how heartily I agreed with the woman who walked up to me in the street and said 'Oh, Miss Pickford. I loved you in the picture Cheaper than the Dirt.'” The second page of the program has a nice photo by Ira L. Hill that was notably used as the basis for a painted portrait of Mary that hung at Pickfair.

Mary Pickford - Ira L. Hill Photos

Ira L. Hill opened his 5th Avenue studio in 1907 — specializing in society and fashion photography and quickly building a name for himself. In 1914, going with the idea that Broadway is associated with NY society, he broke into theatrical portraiture. For much of the teens and up to the mid-20s, Hill was a leading photographer of the subject. In the late 20s, he essentially abandoned theatrical photography to once again focus primarily on high society. Hill died in 1947, but the studio name continued until the late 60s.

Mary Pickford photo by Ira L. Hill. Photographer's studio on negative and photographer's stamp on verso. 1916.

Mary Pickford photo by Ira L. Hill. Signature in negative. 1916. Part of NZ Photo Album. That was notably used as the basis for a painted portrait of Mary that hung at Pickfair.

Mary Pickford photo by Ira L. Hill. Photographer's studio on negative. Signature on negative. 1916. Part of NZ Photo Album.

Mary Pickford photo by Ira L. Hill. Photographer's studio on negative. 1916. Part of NZ Photo Album. One of my personal favorites by Hill as it seems to exude an almost ghostly-atmosphere of the time period, in my mind at least.

Mary Pickford photo by Ira L. Hill. Photographer's studio on negative. Signature on negative. 1916. Part of NZ Photo Album.

Mary Pickford photo by Ira L. Hill. Photographer's studio on negative and photographer's stamp on verso. 1916.

Mary Pickford photo by Ira L. Hill. Photographer's studio on negative. While the photo seems to be hand-signed in ink at the lower right, it is likely not signed by Mary herself. The signature seems to match those "signed in the negative" on other Ira L. Hill photos, but that signature does not appear to be simply traced in ink here (though it very well could be.) 1916. Part of NZ Photo Album.

Mary Pickford photo by Ira L. Hill. Photographer's studio on negative and stamped on verso. While the photo is hand-signed in ink at lower right, it is very clearly not signed by Mary herself. 1916. Part of NZ Photo Album.

Mary Pickford photo by Ira L. Hill. Photographer's studio on negative and photographer's stamp on verso. 1916.

No, this isn't a scene from an early Mary Pickford Biograph... it is a Mary Pickford photo by Ira L. Hill. Photographer's studio on negative and photographer's stamp on verso. 1916.

Mary Pickford on a ladder photo by Ira L. Hill. Photographer's studio on negative and photographer's stamp on verso. 1916.

Mary Pickford with wood shavings photo by Ira L. Hill. Photographer's studio on negative and photographer's stamp on verso. 1916.

Mary Pickford - Ira L. Hill Photo - North American Sunday Supplement

Mary Pickford Ira L. Hill Studio photo featured on the first "Photoplay Favorites" supplement to the North American, Sunday, Jan. 14 1917. The North American was a Philadelphia, PA newspaper from 1835 to 1925. This piece was also issued by other newspapers nationwide. Not in the greatest condition, but the right amount of wear and tear to show its age.

Mary Pickford Tobacco / Cigarette / Chocolate / Theatre / Trading Cards

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.