Vintage Analog Photography - a real collectable! Frame-able... Gift-able... Beautiful...
Anna May Wong - c.1930 - Signed
B/W Headshot 8”x10” matte
Very Rare!
Black and white photographic print on paper - not a digital reprint
Photographer not known, but is of the style
of Madame d'Ora (Dora Philippine Kallmus)
Still code: n/a
Deep brown/black ink inscription on front: Very Sincerely Yours, Anna Mae Wong, [signature in Chinese]
Inscriptions on reverse: Anna Mae Wong, n.d., Hedwig Wojtalewicz, WON(A) nd-01
Image scan made with no levels adjustment. Will appear slightly less contrasty than actual print. Reverse side scans: first with no levels adjustment, second enhanced to reveal defects.
Very Good condition. Gentle soft focus. Semi-Sepia with silver fronting - reflective at certain angles. Paper slightly yellowed from age oxidation. Small blue smudge above “yours” in signature. Small blemish center top center hair. Small blemish inner wrist. Small blemish lower right corner of image. Small dent just above margin bottom 1/3 from left. Tiny puncture at margin line center left. 3 other very small blemishes. “Psycles of Eidolon” watermark added to the digital scan - it is not on the still. I acquired this still in 1998 from a private collector who obtained it from Larry Edmund’s Bookshop in Hollywood. I have found no other example of this image. Other signed Anna Mae Wong photos are in the range from $1000-$2500.
The levels enhanced scan of the reverse reveals slight yellowing overall with more toward edges and some minor smudges not visible without enhancement. Yellowing (oxidation of paper) matches examples of this era.
Signature Authenticity: Matches variances of other searchable examples.
Anna May Wong, the first Chinese-American movie star, was born Wong Liu Tsong (or Luong Liu Tsong) on January 3, 1905, in Los Angeles, California, to laundryman Wong Sam Sing and his wife, Lee Gon Toy. A third-generation American, she managed to have a substantial acting career during a deeply racist time when the taboo against miscegenation meant that Caucasian actresses were cast as "Oriental" women in lead parts opposite Caucasian leading men. Even when the role called for playing opposite a Caucasian in Asian drag, as with Paul Muni's as the Chinese peasant Wang Lung in The Good Earth (1937), Wong was rejected, since she did not fit a Caucasian's imagined ideal look for an Asian woman. The discrimination she faced in the domestic industry caused her to go to Europe for work in English and German films. Her name, which she also spelled Wong Lew Song, translates literally as "Frosted Yellow Willows" but has been interpreted as "Second-Daughter Yellow Butterfly." Her family gave her the English-language name Anna May. She was born on Flower Street in downtown Los Angeles in an integrated neighborhood dominated by Irish and Germans, one block from Chinatown, where her father ran the Sam Kee Laundry. - Denny Jackson on IMDb
Item dimensions: 8 x 10 x 1/72 inches, 1 oz.
Shipping dimensions: 14” x 11” x 1” 14oz. Un-matted print ships in plastic sleeve sandwiched between a 12"x9" masonite board and foam fronted cardboard within reinforced protective mailer. (Same rate for 1 oz to 1 lb, so I went for maximum protection of the item.)
About Movie stills:
Stills of this type, a staged publicity shot representing a frame from a film were sent out with press kits aimed at newspapers and also with the display and advertising kits the cinemas received. Until recently, most movie houses would display three or four stills framed below each poster, right out front, under the marquis, or inside with the lobby-cards. This happens much less in the multiplex era. Stills from press kits often have printer’s crop marks in the margins or on the back, indicting they were actually used in newspaper or magazine advertising.
The words contradict each other. It should refer specifically to an enlargement of a single frame from a movie, a still frame. However, studios also hired still photographers to photograph productions and pose actors for publicity shots. Most ‘Movie Stills” are actually staged publicity shots. In the early days, these were shot with large format cameras, 4x5” and very often 8x10” negatives for portraiture, which far surpassed the resolution of an enlarged frame from the actual movie. If retouching was required an 11x14” or larger print was made, retouched, then re-photographed as an 8x10” negative from which the “stills” would be contact-printed photographically. Actors also circulated head shots, and photos were composited for promotional purposes. I include in this category all film industry and industry-related 8x10 glossies (and early matte finish) of freeze frames (the true movie/still), publicity stills, head-shots, production and continuity photos, press photos, paparazzi shots (don’t think I have any of those) Press Kits, contact sheets and negatives of any of the above, in original issue, distributor reprint, or those awful modern knock-offs -r ink-jet prints - which I carefully avoid. Around 1980 plastic-backed photo paper became very popular, and took over the movie still market. By the mid 80’s the cheap plastic was pricing the paper off the market, and movie stills not offset printed were run on plastic photo paper. Most duplicate movie stills from that point on were done on plastic, and the knock-offs followed suit, as it was the cheapest route. Wikipedia even leaves out the actual still frame:
"A film still (sometimes called a publicity still or a production still), is a photograph taken on or off the set of a movie or television program during production. The photos were taken by studio photographers for promotional purposes. Such stills consisted of posed portraits, used for public display or free fan handouts, which are sometimes autographed. They can also consist of posed or candid images taken on the set during production, and may include stars, crew members or directors at work. The main purpose of such publicity stills is to help studios advertise and promote their new films and stars. Studios therefore send those photos along with press kits and free passes to as many movie-related publications as possible so as to gain free publicity. Such photos were then used by newspapers and magazines, for example, to write stories about the stars or the films themselves. Hence, the studio gains free publicity for its films, while the publication gains free stories for its readers." - Wikipedia 2011
Note to buyer: When framing, do not dry-mount, or glue to backboard, as value will be diminished. Use archival tape mount or corner mounts.
No rights to reprint or redistribute the image is being implied or sold: copyright remains with the original rights holders.
FAQ:
Is there a cheaper way to ship overseas? Not without insurance and delivery confirmation, both required for buyer and seller protection.
Do I have to use Paypal? Yes, you do.
Will you change the customs form? No, it will reflect the sale exactly.
Can I take a long time to pay? That would be impolite, and can delay shipping turnover. Please communicate if payment is to be delayed.
Why does it take 3 days to ship? Because Psycles is a solo operation and the Houdini Packaging™ takes time.
When will you leave feedback? Shortly after you, the buyer, does. I want to be certain you are happy with the purchase and service.
Is there anything else you can tell me about this item? Let your eyes be your guide: consult the photos, especially the enhanced scan of the reverse, for full disclosure of anything overlooked in the text description.
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