Mary Pickford - Photoplayers Portrait Co. White Photo Print - 1914

11x14 colored print, issued by the Photoplayers Portrait Co. of New York in 1914, featuring a Mary Pickford portrait by White Studio. It's worth noting that "this richly colored portrait on heavy art photo-board to stand on your bureau will not require a frame, as embossed design frames it. A new pose-rich in color. The most beautiful and artistic colored photograph of this popular star ever made." All for 25 cents! Incidentally, the dress Mary is wearing is the same one worn in the oddly-placed opening shot of one of Mary's greatest films--Tess of the Storm Country (1914.)

This ad is for reference only and is not part of the collection.

Mary Pickford - Moody Photos - 1915

Photographer Rufus Porter Moody, perhaps best-known simply as R. P. Moody, was born in Kentucky in 1873. For some time, he ran a photography studio in Nashville, TN, but in 1913,  found his way to New York where he opened a studio on 42nd Street to cater to the theatrical crowd. There, he took some of my personal favorite Mary Pickford portraits which were well-used around 1916 in magazines, on ads, on postcards, and beyond. Undoubtedly, Moody is best know for his amazing use of light and shadow which often times created an ethereal atmosphere well suited for Pickford. In 1916, the studio was moved to Broadway, but by then, his business was already in decline. He died in 1922.

Mary Pickford in an inventive portrait by Rufus P. Moody. Stamped in gold ink "Mary Pickford, appearing exclusively in productions of the Famous Players Film Co., Adolph Zukor, Pres." Stamped Moody on verso 1915. Gifted from the Pamela Short Collection.

Mary Pickford in an exceptional portrait by Rufus P. Moody. Stamped signature. 1915. My personal favorite Moody portrait in the collection. Gifted from the Pamela Short Collection.

Mary Pickford in Rufus P. Moody photo. Stamped in silver ink "Mary Pickford, appearing exclusively in productions of the Famous Players Film Co., Adolph Zukor, Pres." 1915. Part of NZ Photo Album.

Mary Pickford in Rufus P. Moody 8x10 photo. 1915. Part of NZ Photo Album.

Mary Pickford Rufus P. Moody 8x10 photo. I suspect this photo is most recognizable from the cover of the April 1915 issue of The Ladies' World magazine. 1915. Part of NZ Photo Album.

Mary Pickford Rufus P. Moody 8x10 photo. I suspect this photo is most recognizable from the cover of the April 1915 issue of The Ladies' World magazine. 1915. Part of NZ Photo Album.

Mary Pickford and a cat in a portrait by Rufus P. Moody. 1915. Part of NZ Photo Album.

Belasco's A Good Little Devil (1913) Republic Theatre Postcards

"An interesting scene from David Belasco’s great production of the Rostand fairy play at the Republic Theatre, New York, with Ernest Truex, Mary Pickford and Henry Stanford. Arthur Hill impersonates Rab, the dog."

"Juliet sits by the wishing-well in her wonderful garden and makes her wish: 'I want to be Charle's wife.' The fairies hear it and smile their approval." --From David Belasco's fairy play triumph at the Republic Theatre, New York." The victorian figures flanking the photo are illustrations by Kate Greenaway.

Postcards for David Belasco's theatrical performance of A Good Little Devil (1913) at the Republic Theatre in New York. Mary Pickford, Lillian Gish, Ernest Truex, et al. can be seen on stage in photographs by White Studio. 

I've seen at least two other designs out there: One depicting a photograph of “Rosemond Gerard (Madame Edmond Rostand) and her son, Maurice Rostand, authors of ‘A Good Little Devil.’” And the other with “Ernest Truex who plays the boy, Charles MacLance, in David Belasco’s remarkable production of the Rostand fair play for grown-ups.”

While I would have assumed they were issued by the Republic Theatre, as evidenced by the theatre being explicitly noted on one of the designs, I have seen a case where they were given away at the performance at a different theatre in a different city -- meaning perhaps they were generically made by Belasco for the production (or there were simply a bunch left to dispense elsewhere.)

A Good Little Devil (1914) - Postcard

A Good Little Devil (1914) "The tortured, beaten boy becomes a lord" Famous Players postcard manufactured by the Krauss Mfg. Co. This production, actually taken in 1913, was produced at the Famous Players 26th Street Studio in NYC while the stage performance was still running at the Republic Theatre. Mary recalled that the troupe filmed at the studio during the days there were no matinees, and then ran the performance again on the theatre stage at night. The film was generally a flop as it was essentially just the theatrical performance, sans sound, but it was the start of a fantastic relationship between Mary and Adolph Zukor which played an important part in the movie history. This postcard is additionally marked on verso for a Saturday, April 25, 1914 screening at the Town Hall Theatre in Orange, MA.

A Good Little Devil (1914) "Mr. Belasco visualizing a scene in 'A Good Little Devil'" Famous Players postcard manufactured by the Krauss Mfg. Co. This postcard is likewise additionally marked on verso for the same Saturday, April 25, 1914 screening at the Town Hall Theatre in Orange, MA. Gifted from the Pamela Short Collection.

The Poor Little Rich Girl - Glass Slide - 1917

Magic lantern glass slide made by the Excelsior Illustrating Co. for Maurice Tourneur's The Poor Little Rich Girl (1917.) Interiors for the film, including that depicted, were taken at Paragon Studios in Fort Lee, NJ. Not that it means much, but this is the first piece I ever acquired!

The Poor Little Rich Girl - Photographs - 1917

A peppered The Poor Little Rich Girl (1917) Artcraft publicity still from NZ.

The Poor Little Rich Girl (1917) Artcraft A4-47-A publicity still (not sure what the trailing "A" means.) from NZ.

The Poor Little Rich Girl (1917) Artcraft A4-9 publicity still from NZ.

Moving Picture Sales Agency - Biograph Postcards - ca. 1910

Biograph Masterpiece “Ramona” postcard issued by UK’s Moving Pictures Sales Agency (AKA M.P. Sales Agency AKA MPSA.) This RPPC shows Mary and Henry Walthall as seen in the film directed by D.W. Griffith.  ca. 1910.

It can be assumed that the two postcards below, while not conclusively identified as being issued by MPSA,  were in all probability, likewise issued by the agency. While they are printed as opposed to being RPPC, the similarities in design, wording, etc. are undeniable and of course, the MPSA was the UK distributor of these Biograph titles.

Biograph Masterpiece “The Call to Arms” postcard presumably issued by UK’s Moving Pictures Sales Agency (AKA M.P. Sales Agency AKA MPSA.) This printed card shows Mary as seen in the film directed by D.W. Griffith. ca. 1910.

The Arcadian Maid (or An Arcadian Maid) postcard presumably issued by UK’s Moving Pictures Sales Agency (AKA M.P. Sales Agency AKA MPSA.) This printed card shows Mary and Mack Sennett  as seen in the film directed by D.W. Griffith. ca. 1910.