Extremely rare Academy Award medal, measuring 1.75″ in diameter, given to Whitey Schafer in 1942 for his outstanding achievement in Hollywood photography. Front features the words “Annual Still Photography Medal” and an Oscar statuette in relief, with text on the reverse reading, “Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, First Award to A. L. Whitey Schafer, For Outstanding Achievement, Class 8, 1942.” The lustrous gold-plated award features a beautiful mirror-like finish. Complete with its original cardboard box. In fine condition, with some staining to the box. Accompanied by one of Schafer's Paramount Pictures business cards.
Perhaps best known for his pin-ups and glamour photography, Schafer found ample work in Hollywood during its 'Golden Age.' Beginning in the 1920s, he did photography work for Thomas H. Ince's studio, Cecil B. DeMille's studio, RKO-Pathé, Columbia Pictures (where he headed the photography department as of 1938), and Paramount (where he served as the director of still photography in the 1940s). Schafer's favorite photographic subject was Marlene Dietrich, but his most famous photograph is probably 'Thou Shalt Not' (1940)—a satirical parody of the Hays Code, showing a scantily clad woman pointing a gun at a fallen policeman, with drugs and a bottle on the table beside them. A rare and exquisite prize from the esteemed Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.
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