08 November 2021

Recently acquired

Good morning! Just for the fun of it, a post with fifteen - plus one - postcards I recently found and liked....

Buon giorno
Italian postcard by TPOR, no. 398/2.

Julie London
British postcard in the Picturegoer Series, London, no. W. 805. Photo: Universal International, 1948.

American singer and film actress Julie London (1926-2000) recorded 32 albums during her career, including 'Nice Girls Don't Stay for Breakfast'. London was primarily a torch singer and her vocal range was described as "sultry" and "low-keyed". Her best-known song is the evergreen 'Cry Me a River' (1955). Julie London played in more than 20 films. Her most important roles were in the action film Task Force (1949) and the Western Man of the West (1958), in which she played the female lead.

Frank Sinatra
British postcard in the Picturegoer Series, London, no. W 184. Photo: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM).

Frank Sinatra (1915-1998) was an American singer, actor, and producer who was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold more than 150 million records worldwide.

Leda Gys
American postcard imported by Peter Caruggi & Brothers.

Versatile actress Leda Gys (1892-1957) was the only Italian diva who never played vamp roles and the only one whose career lasted until the advent of sound films. She starred in ca. 60 dramas, comedies, action thrillers, and even Westerns of the Italian and Spanish silent cinema. Her claim to fame came with the film Christus (1916), shot in Egypt and Palestine, where Gys performed the Madonna.

Sylvain Poons in Bleeke Bet (1934)
Dutch postcard by Monopole Film, Amsterdam. Photo: Maarseveen, Den Haag. Sylvain Poons in the Dutch tragicomedy Bleeke Bet/Bleak Beth (Richard Oswald, Alex Benno, 1934).

Sylvain Poons (1896-1985) was a famous Jewish actor and singer from Amsterdam, who appeared in many popular Dutch musical films from the 1930s. After the war, he sang a famous duet with the young Oetze Verschoor, 'Zuiderzeeballade', which became an evergreen of Dutch pop music.

Concept art for Monsters, Inc. (2001)
American postcard by Disney Enterprises / Pixar Animation Studios, 2005. Image: Pixar Animation Studios. Concept art by Jill Culton for Monsters, Inc. (Pete Docter, David Silverman, Lee Unkrich, 2001). From 'The Art of Pixar: 100 Collectible Postcards, published by Chronicle Books.

Mack Sennett Bathing Beauty
American Arcade Card. Photo: Evans. Los Angeles. Capture: Mack Sennett Comedies.

Sennett Bathing Beauties or Mack Sennett's Bathing Beauties was a bevy of women performing in bathing costumes assembled by film producer Mack Sennett. They appeared in comedy short subjects, in promotional material, and in promotional events such as Venice Beach beauty contests from 1915 to 1928.

Barbara Steele
British autograph card by the Rank Organisation. Sent by mail in 1959.

Dark and mysterious British actress Barbara Steele (1937) is nicknamed 'The Queen of All Scream Queens'. She was the star of one of the masterpieces of the Italian horror cinema, Mario Bava's La maschera del demonio/Black Sunday (1960), about witchcraft.

Anne Heywood
British autograph card by the Rank Organisation. Publicity still for The Heart of a Man (Herbert Wilcox, 1959). Sent by mail in 1959.

British film actress Anne Heywood (1931) started her career as Miss Great Britain in 1950. In the mid-1950s, she began to play supporting roles as the ‘nice girl’ for Rank. Gradually she evolved into a leading lady, best known for her dramatic roles in the pioneer lesbian drama The Fox (1967) and La monaca di Monza/The Nun of Monza (1969).

W.C. Fields at the set of My Little Chickadee (1940)
French postcard in the Entr'acte series by Éditions Asphodèle. Mâcon, no. 003/3. Photo: Collection: B. Courte; D.R. W.C. Fields at the set of My Little Chickadee (Edward F. Cline, 1940). Caption: W.C. Fields' humour is as much in his films as in everyday life! At the entrance to the studio where he is shooting his film, he has posted the following sign: "No admittance to this stage (with or without pass). This includes studio employees!"

Klaus Pohl in Frau im Mond (1929)
German postcard by Ross Verlag, Berlin, no. 113/8. Photo: Fritz Lang-Film der UFA. Photo: Ufa. Klaus Pohl in Frau im Mond/Woman in the Moon (Fritz Lang, 1929).

Austrian actor Klaus Pohl (1883-1958) played character roles in nearly 200 films. He figured in several German film classics by Fritz Lang.

Mary Pickford in Through the Back Door (1921)
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 692/5, 1919-1924. Photo: Terra-Film, Berlin. Mary Pickford in Through the Back Door (Alfred E. Green, Jack Pickford, 1921).

Mary Pickford (1892-1972) was a legendary silent film actress and was known as 'America’s sweetheart.' She was a founder of United Artists and helped establish the Academy.

Pier Paolo Pasolini
Swiss postcard by Musée de l'Élysée, Lausanne / News Productions, Baulmes, no. 56409. Photo: John Philips. Caption: Pier Paolo Pasolini, Rome, 1962.

Italian film director Pier Paolo Pasolini (1922-1975) was also a poet, painter, and novelist. He achieved fame and notoriety long before he entered the film industry. Emerging during the 1960s, Pasolini broke from his New Wave-inspired peers, drawing influence for his work not from other cinematic sources but from art, literature, folklore, and music. He was also among the few directors of his era to focus less on the process of filmmaking than on his subject matter, bringing to the screen the gritty desperation of life on the fringes. His films created confusion and were controversial. His final film, Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodoma (1975) was banned in various countries.

Lee Remick
Swiss-British postcard by News Productions, Baulmes / Stroud, no. 56738, 1996. Photo: Sam Shaw. Caption: Lee Remick, on the Bowery, New York City, 1960.

Lee Remick (1935-1991) was an American actress admired for her versatility and beauty. Her best-known films include A Face in the Crowd (1957), Anatomy of a Murder (1959), Wild River (1960), and Days of Wine and Roses (1962).

Anna May Wong by Manassé
German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 5028/1, 1930-1931. Photo: Manassé, Wien.

Anna May Wong (1905-1961) was the first Chinese American movie star, and the first Asian American actress to gain international recognition. Frustrated by the stereotypical supporting roles she reluctantly played in Hollywood, Wong left for Europe, where she starred in such classics as Piccadilly (1929).

Ernst Lubitsch and Maurice Chevalier, set The Love Parade (1929)
French postcard in the Entr'acte series by Éditions Asphodèle. Mâcon, no. 003/9 Photo: Ernst Lubitsch and Maurice Chevalier at the set of The Love Parade (Ernst Lubitsch, 1929). Caption: Director Ernst Lubitsch and Maurice Chevalier in the shadow of the cameras, during the shooting of the first talking operetta on the screen.

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