The Little American (1917) Parasol

As part of the 1981 Mary Pickford Estate auction, this exquisitely made, extremely delicate aqua, peach, and cream parasol -- presumably from Lady Duff Gordon's Lucile, Ltd. -- was erroneously noted as having been used in her film Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1917.) A simple comparison of this piece with that seen in Rebecca... shows they are very different. After a bit of research however, I have determined this parasol can be seen in the opening shots of Cecil B. DeMille's The Little American (1917,) as well as publicity stills associated with the film, and even at least one portrait by Melbourne Spurr. While it has certainly seen better days—being somewhat tattered as well as having lost the ribbon and most of the decorative tip that once adorned the handle—it is nice to know that this parasol still exists and here it is today. Gifted from the Pamela Short collection.

Mary posing with the parasol in a The Little American publicity still.

Mary with the parasol in The Little American (1917) (Courtesy of the Mary Pickford Foundation)

Mary Pickford - Bachrach - Portrait ca. 1913

Exquisite, lightly-tinted, personalized and hand-signed portrait of Mary Pickford by Bachrach, presumably taken in Washington, DC. Trimmed. ca.1913. While it was almost certainly just advertising, the studio claimed, at least back in 1914, to have taken Mary's personal favorite portrait photograph. Gifted from the Pamela Short Collection.

Mary Pickford with a cat and dove - Photographs by ??? - ca. 1913

Mary Pickford poses with a cat (while Mary posed with many cats, I do believe this one is "Gubby," though it's impossible to say for sure) in a photo by ??? My best guesses are Gould & Marsden (as it's very similar to that studio's portraits associated with the theatrical performance of A Good Little Devil,) Apeda, White, or maybe some other photographer all together. Signature appears to be in the medium. ca. 1913. Gifted from the Pamela Short Collection.

Mary Pickford poses with a cat (while Mary posed with many cats, I do believe this one is "Gubby," though it's impossible to say for sure) and dove in a photo by ??? My best guesses are Gould & Marsden (as it's very similar to that studio's portraits associated with the theatrical performance of A Good Little Devil,) Apeda, White, or maybe some other photographer all together.  ca. 1913. Gifted from the Pamela Short Collection.

Mary Pickford - Strauss Peyton Photos

Hand-painted portrait of Mary Pickford in a Jeanne Lanvin dress by Strauss Peyton (signed by the fan/artist, L. Piccolo.) Gifted from the Pamela Short Collection.

Mary Pickford 8x10 photo by Strauss Peyton. Photographer's stamp on verso. 1922/23. Part of NZ Photo Album.

Mary Pickford 8x10 photo by Strauss Peyton. Photographer's stamp on verso. My personal favorite Strauss Peyton photo in the collection, although while negative manipulation was the their thing, the retouching this one certainly has quite a bit.  1922/23. Part of NZ Photo Album.

I felt the above newspaper clipping (from a "Mary Pickford Papers" Collection scrapbook at the Margaret Herrick Library) was too interesting and amusing not to share. The blurb, bringing attention to Mary's new bob coiffure in 1928, is a "photoshopped" version of the previous Strauss-Peyton photo. Clipping is for reference only and not part of my collection.

Slightly enlarged Mary Pickford 7.75x10 photo by Strauss-Peyton (which appears to be a period copy-print.) Part of NZ Photo Album.

Hand-tinted Sarony and White Photo Cards - ca. 1915

These pieces seemingly belong to a series of nicely hand-tinted, oddly sized (4.625" x 6.5") photo cards featuring portraits by Sarony and White, ca. 1915. I do not have all too much information about them but I suspect they were produced by Kraus Mfg. Co. N.Y. as they're clearly quite similar to, and featuring the same portraits as several of their abundantly popular postcards. From Mary Pickford's Estate. Gifted from the Pamela Short Collection.

Photo by White.

Photo by Sarony.

Photo by Sarony.

Photo by Sarony.

Photo by White.

Mary Pickford - Melbourne Spurr Photos

“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 c. 1923. Photographer's studio stamp on verso and embossed at lower right. Personalized and hand-signed by Mary in purple ink. Gifted from the Pamela Short Collection.

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 portrait - Photographer Unknown - ca. 1913

8x10 portrait of Mary Pickford with a stylized signature in medium, ca. 1913. Despite being marked, the photographer remains unknown at this time. I suspect it was a NYC-based studio but that is only a guess. It could just as well be from the west coast or anywhere in between. Do you know recognize the studio mark or know the photographer?

America's Sweetheart Mary Pickford at the Clemmer - pinback button - ca. 1915

1.25” souvenir pinback button manufactured by the Whitehead & Hoag Co. of Newark, NJ and distributed to theatregoers by the Clemmer Theatre. After scouring many newspaper articles and ads, I have been unable to conclusively determine 1. Which Clemmer Theatre gave these away (as there was one in Seattle and one in Spokane) and 2. When exactly they were given away. With that said, I think ca. 1915 is fair based on the lovely photo by Apeda (assuming it’s really by Apeda) which was most used around then. A similar button was likewise issued by the Popular Theatre.

Mary Pickford - Correspondence Card - 1914

Fairly scarce (I've seen one other,) hand-signed Mary Pickford correspondence card. "Miss Mary Pickford wishes to express her thanks for your charming letter of appreciation of her work. She trusts you will continue to enjoy her pictures and she encloses her photograph with best wishes and kindest regards. Mary Pickford. 108 St. Andrews Place, Los Angeles, California." 1914. Part of NZ Photo Album. 

As a side note, Mary and her mother leased the property for 6 months in early-1914. They were subsequently sued, for $111.44, by the owner of the property, Florence S. Porter, for skipping out one month's rent, allowing her dog “to sleep on some costly tapestried cushions,” damaging a brick column with her car, and damaging the hardwood floors -- the plaintiff's lawyer also noting, “Late revelries and orgies.” Mary argued the house was unsafe due to sewer gas, her wardrobe was ruined by leaking plumbing, she contracted a cold when the furnace out of commission due to a flooded basement, and she “missed an important engagement when her automobile was held by a cavein of the cement driveway.” Mary ultimately won the suit but her mother had to pay a $6.40 water bill. 

The house was located at 108 South St. Andrews Pl. and has since been demolished. There are several photos of both the inside and outside of this house out there in the world, often erroneously noted as being a supposed house at 1403 N. Western Ave. (which itself is a mystery... but that is whole other story.) The two photos seen here from AMPAS are for reference only and not part of this collection.

Rags - Stanley Theatre (Philadelphia) Program 1915

4-page Stanley Theatre program for the week beginning Monday, August 2, 1915. The big features were Mary's wonderful Rags (1915, James Kirkwood) and Pauline Frederick's lost film Sold (1915.) Also briefly mentions The Foundling (1915) and Madame Butterfly (1915) as coming features.

Mary Pickford / United Artists Promotional Hand Fan ca. 1920s

Die-cut Mary Pickford / United Artists promotional hand fan with wood handle, produced, we can assume, by Josep Germa (Sabadell, Spain) to advertise Anis del Taup anisette -- evidently, the preference for people of good taste. The front features a nice photo of Mary by Campbell Studio framed and surrounded by a floral design. ca. 1920s.

Mary Loses her Locks in Chicago - Underwood and Underwood Press Photo - 1928

 

Underwood and Underwood press photo. 1928. Donated to MPF.

Mary Loses her Locks in Chicago. Chicago, June 22-28:- The beauty experts in Chicago are not so bad after all. Ask Mary Pickford. She has traveled abroad recently and is now on her way back to Hollywood with her husband. When they arrived in Chicago today, the husband, Mr. Douglas Fairbanks went to visit the National Open tournament at Olympia Fields and Mary started for the beauty parlor. Our photo shows Mary Pickford getting her curls cut off while waiting for another train to take her away from Chicago Today. [Note: This snipe is actually incorrect. Mary had her hair cut in New York by Charles Bock (or simply, Charles,) but these publicity photos were seemingly shot in a barber shop (George Gayton is reportedly the barber) in the Hotel Sherman in Chicago.]

Mary Pickford / Biograph - Postcard - 1913

3 manufacturers; 4 similar Mary Pickford / Biograph Players postcards. While the photograph, taken by an unknown photographer, is at least from 1910-1911 as evidenced by its appearance in the early-1911 IMP Artful Kate (incidentally, the dress she is wearing is worn in her first IMP, Their First Misunderstanding,) the postcards themselves are probably from around 1913. I am uncertain as to how / why the three manufacturers have what appears to be the same exact cutout/layout. Had it been several years later, I would have suggested the studio issued a generic design but I can't really see that being the case here. Furthermore, I can't see the photographer issuing prints with such shoddy modifications. Just another mystery.

Published by Kraus Mfg. Co. 14 E. 17th St., New York, NY. Blonde hair. Brown eyes. (It's worth noting that the Blonde hair notation is accurate, but Mary's eyes were reportedly hazel.)

Published by Kraus Mfg. Co. 14 E. 17th St., New York, NY.

Published by Photo-Play Advertising and Specialty Co., Inc., Pittsburg, PA.

Published by Ess and Ess Photo Co. 19 E. 17th St., New York, NY. (Curiously located across the street from Kraus Mfg. Co. at the time.) 

Tess of the Storm Country - photographs - 1914

Mary Pickford, posing like Tess on the cover of the book by Grace Miller (thank you to Pamela Short for pointing that out,) in a Tess of the Storm Country (1914) promotional photo. Photographer unknown. Part of NZ Photo Album.

Tess of the Storm Country (1914) publicity still. It is worth noting that this very layout, with the paper label glued on recto, was imaged for the Krauss Mfg. postcard series for the film. Typewritten on verso is "I swears that I won't tell." From NZ.

Tess of the Storm Country (1914) "Tess steals milk for Teola's child" mini-lobbycard from Mary's Estate. Gifted from the Pamela Short Collection. Not to be redundant, but written on verso seemingly in Mary's hand: "Mary Pickford in 'Tess of the Storm Country' first production 1914" 

Poor Little Peppina (1916) - Moody - Imperial Theatre Handout - 1916

5" x 7" Imperial Theatre (city unknown at this time) handout featuring a portrait of Mary by Moody and advertising a week-long run of Poor Little Peppina beginning on Sunday, March 5, 1916. I also have another print of this photo in a brown paper folder.

Mary Pickford - White Studio Photos

Mary Pickford poses at a mirror while she... well, a maid... brushes her hair. The White NY studio mark is seemingly hand-signed in ink on recto. Studio stamp on verso. Photo by White, NY (White Studio.) 1916. Perhaps an Artcraft issued publicity still as it came with a batch from NZ.

Mary Pickford poses with a mirror from the same session as that above. Hand-signed in ink (uh, though it's very unlikely to be signed by Mary.) Photo by White, NY (White Studio.) 1916. Part of NZ Photo Album.

Mary Pickford photo by White, NY (White Studio.) 1913. Part of NZ Photo Album.

A nice early and popular Mary Pickford photo by White, NY (White Studio.) 1913. Part of NZ Photo Album.

Early portrait by White, NY ca. 1913. Stamped signature that was subsequently traced in ink. Incidentally, the dress she is wearing can be seen in the random opening shot of Tess of the Storm Country (1914) Gifted from the Pamela Short Collection.

Early tinted portrait by White, NY ca. 1913. Incidentally, the dress she is wearing can be seen in Behind the Scenes (1914.) From Mary Pickford's Estate. Gifted from the Pamela Short Collection.