Lively matte-finish 10.25 x 13.25 photo (on a 11.75 x 17.25 photographer’s mount) of George and Gracie clowning on a banister, signed and inscribed in fountain pen “To Johnny, ‘A Big Smile Now,’ and we did, Gracie and” and “George.” The original recipient, John Engstead, was hired as an office boy at Paramount Studios in 1926 and within a few years had become the studio’s Art Supervisor. For the next several decades, he enjoyed a career as a highly sought-after celebrity and glamour photographer; much of his work was collected in the 1978 book Star Shots: Fifty Years of Pictures and Stories by One of Hollywood’s Greatest Photographers. Matted and framed to an overall size of 19.5 x 25. In very good condition, with light soiling and water damage to lower portion, resulting in faint staining to mount and lower corners of photo, and subtle haloing to ink, scarcely detracting from the unbeatable presentation. R&R COA. Oversized.
