Celebrity-signed Photos, ca. 1951
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GUEST:
Well, this is my mother. In the picture, she was 19.
APPRAISER:
Wow.
GUEST:
But two years later, she had me, and she was diagnosed with polio. And she was in the hospital for six years in an iron lung.
APPRAISER:
Wow. So your entire childhood, she was incapacitated.
GUEST:
Exactly.
APPRAISER:
And so how did she come to have all these photographs?
GUEST:
Well, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans were doing a benefit or a show in Kokomo, and they went and visited her in the hospital. And they asked if there was anything they could do for her, and she said, "I'm 25, I'd like movie star pictures." So when they got back to Los Angeles, they sent her 37 movie star pictures autographed to her.
APPRAISER:
It's a pretty remarkable statement about Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. Do you remember them, or...?
GUEST:
I do.
APPRAISER:
Yeah?
GUEST:
Because, at one of the benefits in Kokomo, my dad took me so I could pet Trigger and see Roy and Dale. And I sat on Trigger. So they were pretty important to me. And now they're more important.
APPRAISER:
So they were obviously extraordinary people and great humanitarians.
GUEST:
Yes, they were.
APPRAISER:
Well, they had that reputation in Hollywood, and, quite honestly, I think that's one of the reasons their show was such a juggernaut and so popular, because people really felt like they knew them, because they really were the gracious, warm people that you saw on TV. And the fact that they went to such great efforts and heard about your mom's story and did this is extraordinary. We know that the provenance on these is solid, and they're all signed to your mother. They're all personalized, "To Mary Jo." And it's a pretty extraordinary assortment. You have 37 total, we're showing just four here. And one of the greatest things is, we have dates on these. We know they were all signed around 1951 when they were gathering the autographs. And to have a precise date, at the point in their careers, every one of these people was at the height of their popularity. Do you have a favorite?
GUEST:
Well, yes, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans.
APPRAISER:
Well, you'd be interested to know that of all the ones on this board, that's actually the least valuable.
GUEST:
(gasps) You're kidding.
APPRAISER:
If we were to go through individually on these...
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
...this would be the least expensive of the grouping here, because they were such generous people. They actually really signed a lot of photos.
GUEST:
Oh, I see.
APPRAISER:
And they were very generous about doing it. You can find these anywhere between $50 to $75.
GUEST:
Really? Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
Elizabeth Taylor also was generous. It's nice to have a glamorous shot of her, but, from this era, it's $75 to $100.
GUEST:
Hmm.
APPRAISER:
And then Sinatra from that period, on a picture like that, is $1,000 to $1,500 at auction.
GUEST:
Oh, my goodness.
APPRAISER:
And the John Wayne is $1,500 to $2,000. So most of your value in the entire collection is in those two photos.
GUEST:
Is that... oh, my goodness.
APPRAISER:
But the memories are all in this one for you, for sure.
GUEST:
Oh, well, and this one.
APPRAISER:
Of course.
GUEST:
Yeah, mm-hmm. Thank you so much.
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