Shirley Temple Memorabilia, ca. 1935
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APPRAISER:
How did you become such a big fan of Shirley Temple?
GUEST:
When I was a young girl we used to go to her movies. I guess I just got attached to her. My aunt sent me a postcard, and that started my collection.
APPRAISER:
How old were you when you started seeing Shirley Temple movies?
GUEST:
Oh, I suppose five, six? Because she's one year older than I am.
APPRAISER:
Ah, so you're about the same age.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
It was like seeing a friend.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
What do you remember the most about the movies you saw?
GUEST:
They were always rather sad, they made us cry.
APPRAISER:
But they had some happy endings.
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
What were your favorite movies?
GUEST:
My favorite would be Little Colonel.
APPRAISER:
Did you remember seeing her in Now and Forever?
GUEST:
No, I don't remember seeing her in that one.
APPRAISER:
Isn't that funny?
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
Now, this was from 1934. Of course, she is the greatest child actress in the history of movies and films. I don't think anyone can really argue that. She got her start in 1932 with a series that you probably didn't see called Baby Burlesques.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
She mimicked adult actresses like Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich, and then she burst on the scene, you'll remember, in 1934, Bright Eyes?
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
Where she sang "On the Good Ship Lollipop."
GUEST:
Yes, uh-huh.
APPRAISER:
And that year she won a juvenile Oscar, the first one ever given out for most outstanding personality in 1934. This year she also did this movie, and it goes right to what you were saying, sort of sad-- Gary Cooper was her father, who was a jewel thief, and her mother died, and she was thrust upon him.
GUEST:
Oh, I see.
APPRAISER:
And he was with Carole Lombard, and she ended up getting him on the straight and narrow, and making him feeling guilty about stealing jewels. FDR said in the 1930s that Shirley Temple, he called her Little Miss Miracle, and that as long as we have Shirley Temple, we'll be all right. She was the number one box office star from 1935 to 1938. So she was more popular than Lombard and Cooper, she was more popular than Clark Gable. She was more popular than Katharine Hepburn, or Garbo or Dietrich. It was all about Shirley Temple. This was one of her most famous movies, of course your favorite, Little Colonel. Now do you remember the dance scene with her and Bill Bojangles Robinson?
GUEST:
Yes, I do.
APPRAISER:
What do you remember the most?
GUEST:
Them dancing up the stairs.
APPRAISER:
That's right, and you see the stairs are right here. They were the first interracial couple to dance in the movies.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
You've put together 11 scrapbooks. I would probably say for the 11 of them, you're looking at probably somewhere around $500. Oh, my. And for the pitcher, you know, these were very popular, they sold by the millions. You have another four dishes, so for the five dishes and pitchers, probably about $150. You have the Ideal doll, and I know you have little cracks here. This would probably be about $150 itself. Now, tell me about this, when did you get this?
GUEST:
In about 1970 at an auction sale in my hometown. And I paid nine dollars for her.
APPRAISER:
Wow, and where did it originally come from?
GUEST:
From the theater. That would be in the lobby.
APPRAISER:
Nine dollars was a good value because if I were going to insure this, and these are all the prices I would put for insurance, if I were going to insure this, it would probably be for about $3,500.
GUEST:
Really? Wow.
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