Asides - 3 plus 3 plus 3 plus 20,679

Here is a roundup of three new magazines, postcards, movie ads, and a word from our sponsor. Enjoy.

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Motion Picture Classic, January 1931 - Artist: Marland Stone

Motion Picture Classic, April 1931 - Artist: Marland Stone

Motion Picture Classic, July 1931 - Artist: Marland Stone

Movie Classic, March 1933

Movie Classic, April 1933 - just because it involves a zoo, this is not one for the kiddies.

Photoplay, July 1933 - though late in her career, Marion is still receiving star treatment with a color ad, quite a rarity for movie ads in the film publications of the day. Strangely, the illustration looks more twenties than thirties.

I am guessing this is a publicity still image from The Divorcee, but I don't recall a scene exactly like this in the film. However, given the title of the picture and them both wielding weapons...

Beautiful example of a hand tinted J. Beagles & Co. embossed card from Great Britain.

Una Merkel

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And now a word from our sponsor.

Motion Picture Classic, December 1930

If you think it was easy to contact 20, 679 doctors in 1930, think again.

Asides: Covers, Cards, and Cocoa

Here is another grouping of recent and not so recent postcard and magazine acquisitions from our favorite era, guaranteed to brighten your day. There are no new faces, but what alluring faces they are.

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New Movie 1931 quarterly - Artist: Jules Erbit
This quarterly has photos of the stars, brief bios and autographs. There are 62 actors and actresses pictured.

Screenland magazine, February 1933 - Artist: Charles Sheldon

Photoplay, September 1934 - Artist: Earl Christy

Screenland magazine, August 1934 - Artist: Charles Sheldon

Love that clutch, and the shoes match.

The house she had built in Los Angeles was modeled after the White House, quite a step up from a childhood spent in poverty.

Elegant and alluring as usual.

Anita and Ramon appeared together in 1929's The Flying Fleet.

La Jana's card is one of the "jumbo" cards that the Ross company produced. It's about 25% larger than a standard postcard. La Jana of course, still kept her outfits small.

Yes, yes, yet another postcard of my girl Edwina Booth.

This is an example of a handtinted (painted) card. Tinted cards were not infrequent, but sold for a bit more. This particular card is also oversize, though not from Ross.

Nothing better on a cool evening that a nice mug of cocoa shared with Billie or Bebe.

Asides - Covers and Cards

Time to share a few recent acquisitions, including the covers from three issues of Motion Picture magazine. Motion Picture was one of the earliest film publications, dating back to at least 1916. All the issues featured in this post are from the late twenties. Next we have a couple of postcards, and finally four small cigarette cards from the Will's 1928 series.

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All three of these covers were created by artist Marland Stone. Marland's birthdate is unknown, but he died in 1975 after a very successful career as an illustrator and artist.

Motion Picture, March 1928 - Joan Crawford

Motion Picture, August 1928 - Norma Shearer

Motion Picture, June 1929 - Mary Duncan

A young Peggy Shannon in happier days

What can you say - taken during the filming of Shanghai Express

These cigarette cards are four from a series of 25 entitled Cinema Stars. The artwork harkens back to an earlier style than any cards subsequently produced by Will's or the other cigarette firms. Quite beautiful. Remember these are only about 1.5x3 inches and when viewed larger, lose some of their charm.

Clara Bow and Norma Talmadge

Pola Negri and Billie Dove

Norma Shearer

Edith Norma Shearer, one of the few actresses who retained her real name, was born in Montréal, Québec, in 1902.

Though she won a beauty contest at age fourteen and traveled to New York looking to Broadway, Ziegfeld rejected her for his "Follies". She did however, find some work as a movie extra. Producer Irving Thalberg saw these early efforts and, when he joined Louis B. Mayer in 1923, signed her to a five year contract. Of course Thalberg had even bigger plans and married Norma in 1927. He thought she should retire after their marriage, but Norma (thankfully) had other plans. Her first talkie was in The Trial of Mary Dugan (1929) and just four films later she won an Oscar as lead actress in The Divorcee (1930). Though that was to be her only Oscar, she was nominated four more times, the last for her leading role in Marie Antoinette (1938). She and her brother Douglas Shearer were the first Oscar-winning brother and sister. Norma made 61 films before her screen retirement in 1942.

She is one of the celebrities whose picture Anne Frank placed on the wall of her bedroom in the "Secret Annex" while in hiding during the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam.

Norma died in California in June, 1983.

Norma Shearer - What do you think? Allure?