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Lot #790
Howard Hughes and Louis B. Mayer Document Signed, Selling Footage and Moviemaking Equipment to MGM

Howard Hughes sells footage and moviemaking equipment to MGM

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Description

Howard Hughes sells footage and moviemaking equipment to MGM

DS, signed “Howard R. Hughes” and "L. B. Mayer," two pages, 8.5 x 11, March 13, 1933. Agreement regarding the sale of stock footage and equipment by Hughes's Caddo Company to MGM, in part: "With reference to the film sold to you…we agree that…we will not sell or license the negative or positive print so retained by us…in any motion pictures produced by anyone other than The Caddo Company, Inc. or Hughes Products Co., Ltd. You, of course, shall have the right to use, sell, lease, license and/or otherwise deal in or with respect to all or any negatives, lavender prints and/or positives sold to you under the terms…With reference to the equipment and the film sold to you…Said equipment and said film and all rights in and to the same are hereby transferred to you, free from and claim, lien or encumbrance." Signed at the conclusion in fountain pen by Hughes as president of The Caddo Company, and countersigned by Louis B. Mayer as vice president of MGM. In fine condition.

The Great Depression had sent Hughes and his Caddo Company into financial calamity, and he was ultimately forced to dissolve the company and sell off its assets. MGM took the opportunity to purchase aerial equipment and stock footage shot during the production of Hell's Angels, which was integrated into the 1933 MGM releases of Today We Live and The White Sister. A fantastic document connecting two top movie moguls of Hollywood's 'Golden Age.'


From the personal collection of a lifelong collector, teacher, and traveler with a passion for world history. His collecting years ranged from the 1970s to the present day, meaning that several of the premier pieces have not been on the market in decades.

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