Goldberg Coins and Collectibles

Sale 86

The Manuscripts, Collectibles & Space Auction

The William K. Steiner Collection - Celebrity Autographs

Lot	Photo	Description	Realized
Lot 512		Boxing Greats: Joe Louis, Jack Dempsey, Max Baer, Max Schmeling and Jack Sharkey. A remarkable collection of ephemera centered on some of history's greatest prize fighters. First a signed and inscribed menu by Jack Dempsey from his Jack Dempsey's Restaurant at Fiftieth Street and Eighth Ave, and based on the prices within, clearly from the late 1930s. Signature excellent, bold and written in black fountain pen. Also included is a vintage re-strike 10" x 8" photo in classic boxing pose, signed and dated in 1970 by Dempsey. Next a signed and dated vintage original 10" x 8" double-weight portrait of Joe Louis printed in warm sepia, dated 1941 boldly signed in black fountain pen with indistinguishable photographer's stamp on verso. Next on personal letterhead a letter by Max Schmeling with address as Bad Saarow, Germany and dated July 15, 1933. Also from 1933 a hand inscribed and signed note by Max Baer dated 12/17/33 on what appears to be a custom men's store letterhead. Finally a signed menu, also likely from the 1930s given the prices, from The Sportsman Cafe in New York signed by Jack Sharkey. All of these pieces are in excellent condition, and represent a storied history of boxing champions from the 1930s. With two 8 x 10 in. photo restrikes with original signatures, one of Carmen Basilio an Italian-American boxer who won the world championship in both the welterweight and middleweight classes, and one of Max Schmelling. In 1936, Schmelling defeated American boxer Joe Louis, who was African American, but Louis came back and beat Schmelling in 1938. Much was made of these matches because Hitler and the Nazis were in power in Germany and professed Aryan superiority. Schmelling and Louis became good friends later in life. Together with a commemorative restrike 10 x 8 in. photo of Jesse Owens during one of the heats of the 200-meter run in the 1936 Olympics, signed and inscribed. Estimated Value $500 - 1,000. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $336
Lot 513		4 Signed Photos by Academy Award Winning Actors Including Olivier, Stewart, Ferrer and Kelly. Four great actors who also were awarded Academy Award Oscars (in the case of Gene Kelly an Honorary Award) comprise this collection of four signed 10" x 8" portraits including Laurence Olivier, Jimmy Stewart, Jose Ferrer, and Gene Kelly. All nicely signed and in excellent condition. Estimated Value $400 - 600. View details and enlarged photos	Unsold
Lot 514		Collection of Signed Vintage Photos by European Opera Singers, Musicians & Dancers. Collection of 64 signed images, most postcard photos 5½ x 3½ in., with 8 measuring 5 x 7 in., all European stars of the first third of the 20th Century, the majority from opera but also classical musicians, conductors and some dancers. Archive includes performers of Wagner at Bayreuth, and notables such as Marcel Wittrisch, Ludwig Weber, Mafalda Favero, Friedrich Wuhrer, Luise Willer, Aureliano Pertile, Magareta Perras, Maria Muller, Anton Dolin, Sabine Kalter, Maria Jvogun, Leff Pouishnoff, Elena Danieli, Enricio Di Mazzei, Dusolina Giannini, Georg Kulekampff, and Horace Stevens. Estimated Value $300 - 500. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $990
Lot 515		Archive of Signed Photos From Opera and Dance, 1930s. Over a dozen and quite striking, vintage original photos from Europe, double-weight most 6" x 4" and three 10" x 8" beautifully signed by giants of opera, dance and symphony. Included in this archive are Ezio Pinza, Elisabeth Ohms, Dorothy Jordan, Rosa Ponselle, Serge Lifer, Elizabeth Rothberg, Richard Tauber, Emanuel List, Franz Lehár, Lauritz Melchior, Karl Böhm and two whose signatures unable to identify. Photos and signatures in excellent condition. Estimated Value $250 - 400. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $625
Lot 516		Gray, Harold and Robert Ripley. Harold Gray (1894-1968) American cartoonist, best known as the creator of the newspaper comic strip Little Orphan Annie. Vintage waist-length photo restrike signed "With very kindest regards, Harold Gray," with original drawing by Gray of Little Orphan Annie on his jacket, with thought bubble which says: "Leapin' Lizards! why didn't somebody say that Edgar Moss wanted my pitcher?" c. 1930. 1" tear at top edge of photo; matted to 14 x 9 in. Together with Robert Ripley (1890-1949) American cartoonist, entrepreneur, and amateur anthropologist, known for creating the Ripley's Believe It or Not! Vintage photo signed "Ripley Mar. 2, 1932," and inscribed "Dear Jimmy: Believe It or Not - This is the 'Mayor' of the Koiari Tribe Papua." Note on verso identifies "Jimmy" as Jimmy Walker, who was the mayor of New York City (1926-32). Estimated Value $400 - 600. R. Wesley Marans Photograph Sale, Christie's New York, Apr 17, 1996, lot 208. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $1,375
Lot 517		Signed Portraits of Academy Award Winning Actresses Including Davis, Stanwyck, Fontaine and Wyman. Collection of four signed 10" x 8" signed portraits of legendary actresses who did win Academy Awards (in the case of Stanwyck, an Honary Award Oscar). Collection includes boldly signed portraits by Bette Davis, Joan Fontaine, Barbara Stanwyck, and Jane Wyman all in excellent condition. Estimated Value $500 - 800. View details and enlarged photos	Unsold
Lot 518		Strindberg, August and Constantin Stanislavsky. Two of the theater's finest creative geniuses: August Strindberg (1849-1912) Swedish playwright and novelist who is considered the greatest writer of modern Sweden. In the 1890s he turned to experiments with the occult and pseudo science, suffering a spiritual crisis verging on madness and converting to Swedenbogian mysticism, all of which are given dramatic expression in the trilogy Till Damaskus [To Damascus]. Autograph quotation signed, on an original pen and ink drawing of Strindberg signed by the noted French artist Robert Kastor, 12 x 9½ in., no place, April 1901. Strindberg has boldly penned, in Swedish a fourteen word quote from the second book of his famous trilogy, identifying it as from "Till Damaskus II." Untranslated. Loosely matted to an overall size of 14 x 11 in. Strindberg has always been scarce, but in signed quotations from his works he can be considered rare. An extraordinary item.; Constantin Stanislavsky (1863-1938) Russian actor and theatre director. He was best known for creating The Stanislavsky Method of acting. Stanislavsky had a more profound effect on the process of acting than anyone else in the twentieth century. Signed picture postcard ("C. Stanislavsky")[the card has been created by affixing a printed half-tone magazine bust portrait of Stanislavsky to an otherwise blank postcard] 5½ x 3½ in., no place, no date. Boldly signed in blue ink below the image. A two-line identification, in another hand, at bottom edge below the signature. Estimated Value $900 - 1,200. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $1,500
Lot 519		Tough Guys - Signed Photos By Cagney, Mitchum, Douglas and Huston. Some of the greatest actors in Hollywood were known for their tough guy personas, and this collection of four signed photos are true legends in that regard. Signed 7" x 5" double-weight photo of James Cagney, signed 10" x 8" double-weight portrait of a handsome Kirk Douglas, and signed 10" x 8" single-weight portraits of Robert Mitchum as Philip Marlowe in The Big Sleep and director/actor/writer John Huston signed as "Mr. Huston" which, given many of his roles, is perfect. Estimated Value $500 - 800. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 520		Unique Voices - Signed Vintage Photos of Mae West, Bing Crosby, Carmen Miranda, and Others. Collection of six signed items, including vintage 10" x 8" photos of Mae West, stamped on verso "Please Credit Portrait by G. Maillard Kesslere, B.P., N.Y.C., signature in thin blue fountain pen in lower left corner, Carmen Miranda, boldly signed with photo credit on verso, "Thanks For Credit, Bruno Hollywood NYC, NY. and finally Bing Crosby, nicely signed double-weight portrait printed in warm sepia, no photo credit given. Together with signed photos of Bob Keeshan as Captain Kangeroo, a 1945 typed letter signed by Fred Allen on personal letterhead, and a concert flyer signed and inscribed by musician Roger Williams. Estimated Value $400 - 600. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $264
Lot 521		Welles, Orson (1915-1985) American actor, director, writer and producer who worked in theater, radio and film. His 1938 broadcast "The War of the Worlds" is one of the most famous in the history of radio, and his film, "Citizen Kane" (1941), is considered one of the all-time great films. Typed letter signed ("Orson"), 2 pages, Paris, Aug. 5, 1974. With "always" added to the closing in his hand and a large handdrawn caricature of himself, taking up most of the second page. To Arnold Weissberger, a theatrical lawyer who represented Welles and numerous other celebrities. In part: "…I must emphasise that…I would not, under any circumstances, pay cash to [Jeanne] Moreau….It is absolutely without any precedent whatsoever for a motion picture artist to demand payment as a condition of completing a film job in the dubbing room….Furthermore, we do not have any direct proposition from Astrophore for the completion of THE DEEP….I remind you…that she did her complete job in front of the cameras - which is 99% of the actual work of the picture - completely on trust and without making any sort of demand for a written contract. There has been since then, no cooling off in our personal friendship and no strain or disagreement between us. I contributed my services to a documentary Miss Moreau produced in Paris without raising any question of payment whatsoever….You really should be impressed with the fact tht we have arrived at the point where we have just one last chance to complete this film…if we encounter an unnecessary difficulties from Moreau…then the film is simply never going to be completed at all…." As Welles feared, the troubled production collapsed. Estimated Value $800 - 1,000. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $2,040
Lot 522		Wonderful Collection of 10 Signatures by Acclaimed Cartoonists Spanning 40 years. A small archive of autographs and illustrations by wonderful cartoonists whose creations graced "The Funny Pages" in newspapers nationwide spanning at least 40 years. In one vintage original 7¼" x 9½" photo c. 1940 signatures and some doodling by Alex Raymond, Flash Gordon, Otto Soglow, The Little King, Harry Foster Welch Popeye, Arthur "Bugs" Baer, editorial cartoonist, George McManus Jiggs and Maggie, and Russ Westover, Tillie The Toiler. Also included in collection is a 5½" x 3½" original illustration by Bill Mauldin Willie & Joe a 3½" x 5½" by Milton Caniff Steve Canyon a 9" x 5½" original illustration by Ham Fisher Joe Palooka and an original 4" x 9" illustration by Dick Brooks (laminated) The Jackson Twins. All in excellent condition. Estimated Value $500 - 800. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $625
Lot 523		Collection of 14 Signed Photos Including Paul Robeson, Gregory Peck, James Mason and Lee Marvin. Collection of 14 signed photos, all about 6" x 4" including Paul Robeson (especially fine), James Mason, Maurice Evans, Joel McCrea, Lee Marvin, Rossano Brazzi, Charles Boyer, Jane Russell, Gregory Peck, Lino Ventura, Curt Jurgens, Joseph Cotten and Patricia Medina (2). Overall in excellent condition, with the Evans photo having some corner paper losses. Estimated Value $500 - 800. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $288
Lot 524		Collection of 18 Signed Photos Including Swanson, Heston, O'Hara and Lamour. Collection of signed photos, all about 6" x 4" and nicely autographed including Jean Paul Belmondo (2), Gloria Swanson (2) Harry Belafonte (2), Dorothy Lamour, Don Ameche, Lili Palmer, Ivan Desny, Charlton Heston, Chester Morris, Peter van Eyck, Rex Harrison, Jean Gabin, Kim Novak, Maureen O'Hara, Olivia de Havilland, Ina Claire, Maragaret Lockwood, Tony Curtis and Gina Lollabridgida. All in very fine to excellent condition. Estimated Value $500 - 900. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $300
Lot 525		Collection of 26 Nineteenth-Century Song Sheets, Rare. Not to be confused with sheet music, song sheets were single printed sheets, usually 9" x 6", with lyrics but no music. These were new songs being sung in music halls or new lyrics to familiar songs and offer an early example of a mass medium and perspective to the customs of the times especially during the Civil War. This archive of song sheets represent popular songs of the times and are in remarkable condition. Also included is a small collection of cards for businesses at the turn of the century. Estimated Value $250 - 400. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $270
Lot 526		Collection of 6 Signed Photographs Including Marlene Dietrich, Bob Hope, George Burns. Collection of 6 signed photos ranging from 4" x 6" to 10" x 8" including two by Marlene Dietrich with one co-signed by Mel Ferrer, Bob Hope, George Burns, and June Allyson all beloved entertainers in their day every piece in excellent condition. Estimated Value $300 - 500. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $168
Lot 527		Collection of 9 Signed Photos Including Claudette Colbert, Michael Cain and Richard Widmark. Nice archive of signed 10" x 8" photos including Claudette Colbert, Michael Cain, Rod Steiger, Art Carney, Glenn Ford, Cornel Wilde, Cesar Romero, Richard Widmark, Cyd Charisse all boldly signed and in excellent condition. Estimated Value $400 - 600. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $228
Lot 528		Collection of Signed Vintage Photos By Legendary African American Musicians & Signed Musical Quotation. Remarkable signed 10" x 8" photo collection of 4 legendary African American musicians whose contribution to America's musical history cannot be denied. First a wonderful vintage double-weight original photo signed by Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong, a publicity photo for Selmer Trumpet stamped on verso "Louis Armstrong, Joe Glaser Personal Mgr." printed in warm sepia and an absolute knock out. Next a vintage original double-weight portrait by Columbia Broadcasting System Inc. of Thomas "Fats" Waller very nicely inscribed and signed also printed in warm sepia as well as a vintage original portrait of "Big" Sid Catlett at the drums printed in sepia. Honoring the great Eubie Blake, a vintage re-strike of a photo while at the piano from The Apollo in New York nicely signed along the top and an absolutely superb autograph musical quotation 4" x 8¾", four bars of music in Blake's hand of his famous campaigning song for Harry Truman, "I'm Just Wild About Harry", and signed. All five pieces are in excellent condition and highly desirable. Estimated Value $1,000 - 1,500. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $1,320
Lot 529		Five Signed Images Heston, Fontaine, Wyman, Borgnine and Rose Lee. Collection of five signed sketched portraits. The first is an original pencil sketch, 11¾" x 9¼", of burlesque queen, Gypsy Rose Lee, boldly inscribed and signed by Rose Lee and dated 1936. The other four each 10" x 8" and appear to be some Academy Award Oscar winners tribute published in 1962, but are hand signed by Charlton Heston, Jane Wyman, Joan Fontaine, and Ernest Borgnine. All five in excellent condition with superb signatures. Estimated Value $250 - 500. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $90
Lot 530		Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers Signed Color Portrait. Arguably the greatest dancing duo from Hollywood's Golden Age were Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Offered is a beautiful, color 10" x 8" re-strike portrait, likely taken behind the scenes from their film The Barkley's of Broadway, their only color film together. Both names nicely signed in metallic inks. Estimated Value $300 - 500. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $263
Lot 531		Groucho Marx Signed 1936 Contract for Dodge Motor Cars Plus Photos. Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx comedian, radio, film and television star whose popularity remains almost as strong today as he enjoyed at the height of his success from the 1930s to 1950s. Offered is a signed letter of agreement, 11" x 8½", to the agency representing the publicity of The Dodge Division of Chrysler Motors in 1936 with a pull quote expressing Marx's satisfaction in driving a Dodge, viable for one year and agreeing not to lend his name to any other motor brand during the contracted period. Included are two photos, one a vintage MGM 8" x 10" double-weight photo of the Marx Brothers in fine condition save for a soft top right corner crease. Photo is stamped on verso "Please Credit MGM Photo by Ted Allen" and is printed in warm sepia. Also included is a 10" x 8" 1950 AP/World Photo re-strike portrait of Groucho for NBC Radio. Estimated Value $300 - 500. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $688
Lot 532		Humphrey Bogart and Busby Berkeley Signed Warner Brothers Contracts, Rare. Two legends of Warner Brothers Studios, signatures on signed letters of agreement on studio letterhead each measuring 11" x 8½". First Humphrey Bogart, their greatest male star whose classics include Casablanca, The Maltese Falcon, The Big Sleep, To Have and Have Not, Key Largo, Treasure of the Sierra Madre and High Sierra. Here in a signed contract dated August 13, 1947, Bogart agrees to an appearance in a film Always Together which indeed was made and he appears as himself but uncredited. This letter of agreement stipulates that this brief appearance does not count against the number of films Bogart had agreed to star for Warner Brothers signed a year earlier. Bogart's signature is bold written in black fountain pen. Comes with contemporary photo post card of a 1944 portrait of Bogart. Another titan on the Warner Brothers lot was Busby Berkeley, here agreeing to his newly contracted services in November of 1932 after his completion of the huge production and classic Warner Brothers musical 42nd Street. Both contracts on original Warner Brothers letterhead and are in excellent condition. Estimated Value $1,500 - 2,500. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $900
Lot 533		Large Collection of Autgraphed Photos of Legendary Band Leaders and Orchestras. Large archive of autographs of enormously popular band leaders of the 1930s and 1940s. In this collection, a signed contract by Glenn Miller dated December 11, 1941 giving permission to Republic Pictures for use of his likeness in Sleepytime Gal, two vintage original signed 10" x 8" photos and autographed sheets by Gene Krupa and his orchestra including singer Irene Daye, Benny Goodman and orchestra members all signing an instrument sheet which includes singer Helen Forrest, and finally, signed 10" x 8" vintage original portraits including Duke Ellington, Jimmy Dorsey, Lionel Hampton, Woody Herman and Guy Lombardo. A lot of great American Music history in this archive. Estimated Value $400 - 800. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $1,380
Lot 534		Olivia de Havilland and Butterfly McQueen, Gone With The Wind. Signed photos by Olivia de Havilland and Butterfly McQueen. First, an initialed note by de Havilland from Paris accompanied by a lovely inscribed and signed 7" x 5" double-weight portrait signed in blue fountain pen. Butterfly McQueen has boldly signed a vintage re-strike still from Gone With The Wind here featuring Vivien Leigh. Both in excellent condition. Estimated Value $250 - 400. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $150
Lot 535		Signed Photos of Fanny Brice, Amos 'n' Andy and Eddie Cantor. Giants from the 1920s do not come bigger than the entertainers featured here. First a vintage original 10" x 8" double-weight photo of Charles Correll and Freeman Gosden who created one of the biggest radio programs in history. Some 45 million listeners tuned in nightly, a staggering figure by any measure, to their radio sitcom set in Harlem. Wonderful portrait photo signed to left as Amos 'n' Andy. Note tape lifts in all four corners but image of Gosden and Correll not impacted. Second one of the loveliest 7"x 5" portraits of Fanny Brice we have ever seen, Ziegfeld and recording star taken c. 1925 and nicely signed in blue fountain pen. Finally a vintage original 10"x 8" still of Eddie Cantor nicely signed. Estimated Value $400 - 600. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $238
Lot 536		Smith, Al and R. L. Goldberg. Three-panel cartoon (''Mutt and Jeff'') inscribed and signed, "To Earl L. Barton / Best Wishes - Al Smith," 5¾ x 17¾ in., no place, copyright 1967. The 2-27 strip has "A Man For All Seasons" in blue pencil at the top. Al Smith, drew the ''Mutt and Jeff"comic strip for nearly half a century, taking over from Bud Fisher in 1930. Four-panel cartoon insigned and signed, "With best wishes to The Lancaster Kiwanis Club / Feb. 1924 / R L. Goldberg," 4 x 15 in. The cartoon shows a stereotypical Chinese man who "was nuts on the game of American crap" and a Middle-West American man who loved Mah Jong. Ruben Lucius "Rube" Goldberg (1883-1970) was a cartoonist, whose work often depicted deviously complex and impractical inventions. Estimated Value $200 - 300. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $431