Great matte-finish 8 x 10 photo of John Wayne posing with noted Hollywood photographer Jim Howard as they both hold a commemorative Winchester rifle, signed and inscribed in black felt tip, “Good luck Jim, John Wayne.” Accompanied by four original unsigned 8 x 10 and 10 x 8 photos from the set of Rio Bravo, circa April 1970, documenting a tribute to Wayne upon his arrival back on the set in Old Tuscon after winning his only Academy Award (for True Grit). The photos depict the cast and crew (all of whom, including the horse, wear eye patches in homage to Wayne’s True Grit role as Rooster Cogburn); set carpenters constructing a fifty-foot plywood Oscar statue; and a crew member posing with the statue, which also is adorned with an eye patch. Also included is a color candid snapshot of Wayne and his stunt double on the Rio Bravo set surrounded by the crew, the Oscar statue visible in the background; and three contact sheets with 29 images of Wayne at a banquet, visiting and posing with several other cast and crew members. The events were recounted in a 2007 issue of the Albuquerque Tribune: “Stuntman Neil Summers was on the set of ‘Rio Lobo’ in Arizona’s Old Tucson the day Wayne returned from accepting his Oscar for his portrayal of crusty, one-eyed marshal Rooster Cogburn in ‘True Grit.’ There were about 150 of us on the set—cast, crew, extras, caterers—and when he gets out of his car, we all have our backs to him,” Summers said. “Then we turned around and all of us had on eye patches (like Cogburn’s in the movie), even his horse has an eye patch. The carpenters had built a mock Oscar out of plywood, 50 feet high, painted gold, and it had an eye patch on it. Then we all started applauding. He got misty-eyed over that.” Slightly irregular ink adhesion and indistinct contrast to last two letters of signature, otherwise fine condition. PSA/DNA Auction LOA and R&R COA.
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