Bidspirit auction | Three Vintage 1920s-1930s Film Advertising

Three Vintage 1920s-1930s Film Advertising Window and Lobby Cards Featuring Spencer Tracy, Alice Faye, and Evelyn Brent - This lot comprises three original vintage movie theater display pieces representing the transition from the silent era to early sound cinema. The first piece is a color lithographic window card for the 1934 Fox Film Corp. production Marie Galante, featuring a central portrait of Ketti Gallian in a yellow striped dress and green hat. The title is rendered in vibrant orange block lettering above the names of the leads, Spencer Tracy and Ketti Gallian. The second piece is a window card for the 1934 Fox Picture 365 Nights in Hollywood, featuring James Dunn and Alice Faye. The graphic design includes a large-scale portrait of Faye and smaller full-body depictions of the leads positioned over a global map. The lower border contains a printed copyright reading Copyright MCMXXXIV Fox Film Corp. and an ownership statement specifying that the display is the property of Fox Film Corp. and must be returned to the Fox Film Exchange. The credits list Sol M. Wurtzel as producer and George Marshall as director, noting the film is based on a book of short stories by Jimmy Starr. The third piece is a vertical oversized lobby card for the 1925 F.B.O. (Film Booking Offices of America) silent film Alias Mary Flynn, starring Evelyn Brent. The stylized Art Deco illustration depicts Brent with a veil or wrap covering the lower half of her face against a green background panel. The card includes credits for director Ralph Ince and story by Frederick Kennedy Myton. The cards are constructed of heavy paper stock or light cardstock. Marie Galante window card: 14 inches wide by 18 inches high 365 Nights in Hollywood window card: 14 inches wide by 18 1/4 inches high Alias Mary Flynn vertical card: 8 inches wide by 21 1/2 inches high. The collection shows varying degrees of wear consistent with theatrical use and storage. The Marie Galante card is in the best relative condition, exhibiting minor toning and light wear at the extreme corners (photo 7). The 365 Nights in Hollywood card has significant condition issues, including a prominent vertical closed tear extending from the top edge approximately three inches down into the title (photo 11, 12). There are jagged losses and small tears along the right-hand margin (photo 11, 13, 16) and a small chip at the lower right corner (photo 16). The reverse of this card shows moisture staining and foxing (photo 20). The Alias Mary Flynn card exhibits substantial paper loss and irregular tearing at the lower right edge (photo 2, 3, 21). There are several horizontal handling creases across the vertical span and visible foxing spots throughout the cream-colored field (photo 4, 21). The reverse shows significant moisture staining at the base and several dark smudge marks (photo 5, 6).