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Lot #961
The Great Imposter: Ferdinand Waldo Demara

A touching gift to a young boy from the legendary ‘Great Imposter’

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Description

A touching gift to a young boy from the legendary ‘Great Imposter’

Known as ‘The Great Imposter’ (1921–1982) he posed as many different professions from monks to surgeons to prison wardens. His life was made into a film entitled The Great Imposter, starring Tony Curtis. Demara’s personally-owned gold bracelet presented to a friend and former patient at the Good Samaritan Hospital in Anaheim, California, in the early 1980s. 14-karat gold bracelet measures 9.5″ in length, has a weight of 22.1 grams, with “Rev. F. W. Demara,” engraved on the front. Accompanied by a letter of provenance from the recipient of the bracelet, which reads, in part: “I originally met Mr. Demara in 1978 due to a freak football injury requiring immediate surgery at Good Samaritan Hospital…my father was Chief of Staff there. My father had a very close personal friendship with Mr. Demara who was the active Chaplain at the hospital. He confided to Mr. Demara about me for some time and when I was admitted for surgery; I met him personally the evening prior to my surgery…Mr. Demara and I developed a very close personal friendship…The following year, 1979, I was admitted to Good Samaritan Hospital again to remove the hardware…Like my first stay, Mr. Demara was a daily and constant visitor and our friendship grew even stronger…At one of our last times together during the holidays in the early 1980s, Mr. Demara presented a beautiful gold bracelet to me with a nameplate bearing his name ‘Rev. F. W. Demara’ as a gift…I tried to return the bracelet to Mr. Demara to no avail. He refused to take it back and told me ‘there was no other person he would give it to other than me.’” In fine condition. Accompanied by an original 10 x 8 Universal promotional photo from the film. A very personal gift, with impeccable provenance, from one of the most well-known imposters of the 20th century. RR Auction COA.

Auction Info

  • Auction Title: Rare Manuscript, Document & Autograph
  • Dates: #434 - Ended August 13, 2014