Could this be Mary Pickford? Need help authenticating star/poster/movie...

[Harry Caul]

Sorry, I don't have much info other than the fact that it is an old Italian poster on linen and measures 27" tall by 37" wide.

No title that I can find. It looks like it was based a charcoal drawing; and a beautiful one at that. It is pretty striking in person. Could it be a personality poster?  There is some water damage at the top, but I'm guessing that could be addressed if I re-back it...  I'm trying to figure out what it might be worth to see if I should go through the trouble.



Here is a close-up of the lower left:



Some of the text is hard to make out, but in the lower right it says something like the following:

R. OFF. LITOGRAFICHE
ANONIMA AFFISSIONI
GIA MONTORFANO
& VALCARENGHI
ROMA - Via Aracoeli 49

Any help would be appreciated... Thanks in advance.

[oldposterho]

I'd be surprised if it's a US star, doesn't really look like Pickford to me.  It's intriguing though, since it's obviously a star who was recognizable at the time.

Does the border go all the way around (the photo is cut off on the right)?  Is this a portion of a larger poster?

--Peter

[CSM]

Ahem...let's say Hollywood or North American star.  Pickford was Canadian after all 

[Harry Caul]

I'd be surprised if it's a US star, doesn't really look like Pickford to me.  It's intriguing though, since it's obviously a star who was recognizable at the time.

Does the border go all the way around (the photo is cut off on the right)?  Is this a portion of a larger poster?

--Peter

Sorry, the picture is very large... you have to scroll to the right at the bottom of that first post to see it.  Yes, this is a picture of the whole poster.

It is my understanding that it could be very old (pre-1925 or so).  Pickford was the only big actress I could think of that resembled the woman in the poster.  It could very well be of someone else. 

Has anyone else come a across a similar type of poster, even from a different star/movie?  The format is just as puzzling to me as the actress...

Thanks again!

[Harry Caul]

Here, this one might fit this forum's format better...

[Carson]

It's not an easy one, is it. It's a beautiful piece.  

Very early Italian; 1 foglio definitely around 100 years. I'd go as far back as the 1910s. Caesar Film - Roma is the distributor and Giovanni Spellani (top right sig) the Italian designer/artist. Clearly the lower right is the printers seal feat. names of the lithographers and type of lithograpy used: R. Offset.  
 
It's much tougher to know the actress but I think I know someone who can crack the case; evansrc. I'll send him a line.

[Harry Caul]

It's not an easy one, is it. It's a beautiful piece.  

Very early Italian; 1 foglio definitely around 100 years. I'd go as far back as the 1910s. Caesar Film - Roma is the distributor and Giovanni Spellani (top right sig) the Italian designer/artist. Clearly the lower right is the printers seal feat. names of the lithographers and type of lithograpy used: R. Offset.  
 
It's much tougher to know the actress but I think I know someone who can crack the case; evansrc. I'll send him a line.

Thank you kindly Carson! So that is an "S" in Spellani?  I thought for sure it was a "J"!  Can you also ask Evan what it might be worth... even in the event that it isn't a big "star" like Pickford? 

And thanks for the invite to the forum by the way... I was wondering where everyone went after I got back from holiday travel!

[Carson]

No problem, Harry. We were looking for you. Glad to see you made it.

She's definitely a silent-era actress but the problem, as Peter mentioned, is it may be a little-know Italian actress who did one, maybe three, films? as opposed to a Jean Harlow, Clara Bow sort. I have a different poster of Spellani's and his sig is just as un-subtle. It's a great piece for the plain fact it's survived near a century, a known artist, a beautiful woman but not sure who or what it is exactly. I sent evan a line so we'll see if he can crack it.

[Harry Caul]

No problem, Harry. We were looking for you. Glad to see you made it.

Oh stop or you'll make me blush! 



 

Thanks again for the help!

[Carson]

evansrc (Rich) can be found on the NSFGE forum; evansrc is the collector who helped unearth and elucidate facts of the recent Universal Horror forgeries. His thoughts below:

from evansrc:

Hi Carson,

I'd discount non Italian performers, Caesar Films seemed to deal only with domestic product.
I'd take a wild bet on it being Francesca Bertini, important early icon of Italian cinema, vamp, their equivalent to Theda Bara.
Around til 85, and was in Bertolucci's 1900 with De Niro.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0078116/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francesca_Bertini

If so, her and Caesar Films it could be for one of over 20 titles, lot of these are lost films now.

Inc:
Don Pietro Caruso (1915)
Il capestro degli Asburgo (1915)
Assunta Spina (1915)
La Signora delle Danzatrice (1915)
Assunta Spina (1915)
La signora delle camelie (1915)
Diana, l'affascinatrice (1915)
La perla del cinema (1916)
Odette (1916)
Il destino (1916)
Lacrymare rerum (1916)
Fedora (1916)
Andreina (1916)
la piccola fonte (1917)
Il processo Clememenceau (1917)
Malia (1917)
La Tosca (1918)
Frou-frou (1918)

[kovacs01]

I definitely can't help with the ID on this one, but it is a cool poster either way.  Is it an original charcoal drawing?  Litho?

[Harry Caul]

evansrc (Rich) can be found on the NSFGE forum; evansrc is the collector who helped unearth and elucidate facts of the recent Universal Horror forgeries. His thoughts below:

Thanks Carson, that is super helpful.  It sounds like she was a pretty big star at the time.  Did Evan happen to mention what it might be worth?  Do you think I follow up directly with him over at NSFGE? 

[Harry Caul]

I definitely can't help with the ID on this one, but it is a cool poster either way.  Is it an original charcoal drawing?  Litho?

I'm fairly certain it is a litho of a charcoal drawing. 

[oldposterho]

I'd say Richard is very right on the Francesca Bertini.  Take a gander:




As to value, I think you're in the $400 - $800 range, depending on the day, and the venue of sale.

--Peter

[Harry Caul]

Thank you kindly everyone!