An amazing collection 474 signed consent forms from the Motion Picture Relief Fund, each one page, 8.5 x 11, ranging in date from 1946–1947, each signed at the conclusion by an actor or actress, with almost all adding a second signature in the space provided at the bottom of the sheet allowing for the reproduction of their respective autograph. The text slightly varies on some of the consent forms, as some were final pages of longer agreements, but a majority are of the same style. One such consent form read, in part: “I hereby grant unto the Motion Picture Relief Fund, Inc. Its successors and/or assigns, the exclusive right, until December 31, 1947, to use my name, autograph, photographic likeness and/or artist’s sketch of my likeness, for reproduction on photostamp, gravure, embossed, and/or printed stamps, and in stamp albums, and in connection with the advertising and exploitation of the aforesaid stamps and stamp albums, which may be sold throughout the world.” Also included is a complete three page blank document, dated June 26, 1946, with the final page being the consent page to be signed by the respective celebrity.
Signers include: Bud Abbott (2), Desi Arnaz (2), Fred Astaire (2), Lucille Ball (2), Ethel Barrymore (2), Lionel Barrymore (1), William ‘Hoppy’ Boyd (2), Charles Boyer (2), Johnny Mack Brown (2), Nigel Bruce (2), James Cagney (2), Charlie Chaplin (2), Claudette Colbert (2), Gary Cooper (2), Jackie Cooper (2), Lou Costello (2), Joan Crawford (2), Jane Darwell (2), Bette Davis (2), Yvonne De Carlo (2), Olivia de Havilland (2), Marlene Dietrich (2), Jimmy Dorsey (2), W. C. Fields (2), Errol Flynn (2), Clark Gable (2), Ava Gardner (2), John Garfield (2), Judy Garland (1), Leo B. Gorcey (2), Betty Grable (2; separate pages), Sydney Greenstreet (2), Jack Haley (2), Oliver Hardy (2), Gabby Hayes (2), Sonja Henie (2), Katharine Hepburn (2), Jean Hersholt (2), William Holden (2), Walter Huston (2), Boris Karloff (1), Veronica Lake (1, pencil), Hedy Lamarr (2), Dorothy Lamour (2), Burt Lancaster (2), Carole Landis (2), Charles Laughton (2), Stan Laurel (2), Peter Lawford (2), Vivien Leigh (2), Harold Lloyd (2), Peter Lorre (2), Myrna Loy (1), Bela Lugosi (2), Paul Lukas (2), Fredric March (3), Chico Marx (2), Groucho Marx (2), Harpo Marx (2), James Mason (2), Hattie McDaniel (2), Carmen Miranda (2), Thomas Mitchell (2), Robert Mitchum (3), Frank Morgan (2), Paul Muni (2), Margaret O’Brien (1), Laurence Olivier (2), Katina Paxinou (2), Gregory Peck (2), Mary Pickford (2), William Powell (2), Tyrone Power (2; separate pages), Vincent Price (3), George Raft (1), Luise Rainer (3), Claude Rains (2), Basil Rathbone (2), Ronald Reagan (2), Donna Reed (2), Edward G. Robinson (2), Ginger Rogers (2), Ann Sothern (2), Barbara Stanwyck (2), Jimmy Stewart (2), Elizabeth Taylor (2), Shirley Temple (2), Gene Tierney (2; separate pages), Sidney Toler (2), Spencer Tracy (2), John Wayne (2), Orson Welles (2), and Natalie Wood (5). Also included is a unique document signed by 14, mainly country stars: Roy Rogers, George ‘Gabby’ Hayes, Dale Evans, Allan Lane, Bill Elliot, Adrian Booth, Bobby Blake, Adele Mara, Monte Hale, William Marshall, Linda Stirling, Donald Berry, Gene Autry, and Lynne Roberts.
In fine condition, with punch holes to left edges, some with horizontal mailing folds, and uniform toning. A more comprehensive list is available for download or viewing by clicking here.
The “aforesaid stamps and stamp albums” were a marketing idea devised by actor Jean Hersholt, at the time president of the Motion Picture Relief Fund. The organization created in 1921 with the motto ‘We Take Care of Our Own,’ raised money to assist actors and others in the film industry who were ill or had fallen on hard times. Among the fund-raising efforts was offering fans souvenir stamp sets, with literally hundreds of celebrities partaking in this endeavor. The organization continues today under the name the Motion Picture and Television Fund, and presents the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award to honor an ‘individual in the motion picture industry whose humanitarian efforts have brought credit to the industry.’ Immaculately well-kept and pristine in its presentation, this is a dazzling ensemble of carefully executed signatures representing the biggest and brightest stars of 1940s Hollywood! RRAuction COA.
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