HUMPHREY BOGART and LAUREN BACALL Vintage black and white photograph showing the two relaxing together on his yacht Santana, signing as "Betty" and "Bogey". Photos of the famous Hollywood couple signed by both are extremely rare! Photograph inscribed and signed: "For Mina/Much love from/& Bogie"; Bacall has inserted "Betty" in front of her husband's name. B/w, 10x7¾. Signed in fountain pen. Photo: Floyd McCarthy. Next to Lauren Bacall, Humphrey Bogart's dearest love was sailing. He purchased the 55-foot sailing yacht Santana from Dick Powell and June Allyson. Bogart was no mere dilettante, but a serious helmsman, spending more than half his weekends a year on the sea and competing successfully in serious races. Bacall met Bogart on the set of To Have and Have Not (1944), the first of four films they would make together. Bogart had been married three times before, but lived happily with Bacall until his death in 1957. read more...

WILLIAM F. "BUFFALO BILL" CODY His autograph letter, signed as Cousin Will, asking to be sent "some more headache powders" to relieve the headache caused by his financial woes Autograph Letter signed: "Cousin Will", 1 page, 8x10. New Rochelle, N.Y., no date. To "Dear Frank and Nellie". In full [spelling errors in original]: "I've had a lot of hard upset. Twice I've had moneyed men who were ready to put up a $150,000 to back me with a new show. And that man Tammen has scared them out by telling them he had a contract for my services for 1916 which he hasent. But he still thinks if I cant get out with a show I come back and make more money for him, which will never do. However, I haven't given up. But will stay here until know what I can do. The men are still working at the mines. Say, please send me some more headache powders. This nervous strain makes my head ache. I am living here at Rochelle with my nephew and neice. Its only 45 minutes from New York. Love ever." William Frederick CODY (1846-1917) earned the name "BUFFALO BILL" for killing thousands of buffalo as a hired hunter in 1867 and 1868. Cody had begun his wild west career herding cattle at age nine. read more...

ANNIE OAKLEY This wonderful note from the Carolina Hotel in Pinehurst, North Carolina was signed "Congratulations" by Oakley and includes a 1919 penny shot by her during one of performances - proof that Oakley really was that good. Items signed by Oakley are extremely rare, and the targets that she used in her performances are even more so, making this combination an extraordinary find by any measure. Autograph sentiment signed "Congratulations/Annie Oakley". 5x6¼, on stationery from the Carolina Hotel in Pinehurst, North Carolina with colored cachet near top edge, 1 sheet folded. This note has a 1919 Lincoln head penny tied to it with twine. What makes this penny extraordinary is that it's been bent by a small-caliber bullet impact on its left edge. The crater still has a trace of lead and is consistent with that caused by a .22 bullet, the caliber that Oakley used in her performances. The note itself is also significant, as Oakley was hired by the Carolina Hotel (now the Pinehurst Resort, in Pinehurst, North Carolina) to teach and demonstrate shooting in the mid-1910s. read more...

ANNIE OAKLEY Pictured on top of her show horse, the famed dead-eye shoots a bullet straight through the heart on this 1919 signed exhibition card. Exhibition cards, as such, where Oakley hit her mark dead center were given away to the sharp-shooter's lucky fans. Accompanied by an unsigned publicity photo with Oakley posing with her rifle. Extremely Rare! Photograph Signed: "Annie Oakley/June19--1919", 4½x2 card. Accompanied by a 4¼x6 sepia photo of the markswoman holding her rifle, standing on the fabric of a teepee. The "sure shot" used exhibition cards to demonstrate her shooting prowess by taking aim from 30 paces away and splitting the card dead center. This particular card, pierced with a .22 caliber bullet through its printed black heart, is nothing short of a perfect example of Oakley's unrivaled skill and precision. Annie Oakley (1860-1926) was born Phoebe Anne Oakley Mozee in Ohio. She was the sixth of eight children. At the age of nine she began to shoot rabbits and quail and was almost a dead shot from the first. Within five years, she was a breadwinner for her family as a markswoman. read more...

JOHN WAYNE Cavalry gloves he wore in The Horse Soldiers Ephemera Unsigned. Leather, US Cavalry-style riding gloves worn by Wayne in the dramatic Civil War film, The Horse Soldiers (1959). Inside the left-hand glove is a sewn M-G-M label with John Wayne's name typed on it. John Wayne (1907-1979) is considered one of the greatest actors of all time, most famous for his many Western film roles. He made his debut in the 1926 silent film Brown of Harvard in an uncredited role. His first lead role came just four years later in Raoul Walsh's The Big Trail (1930), where Wayne portrays a trapper who is part of a settlement group travelling along the Oregon Trail. This role did not lead to stardom, but he continued to appear in B-movies throughout the 1930s. John Ford's 1939 film Stagecoach is the film that rocketed the actor to fame. Wayne's films tend to be either Westerns or military-themed. His most famous Westerns, including The Searchers (1956), Red River (1948), Rio Bravo (1959), and True Grit (1969), helped define the genre. As he grew more read more...

W.C. FIELDS Original Prohibition-era W.C. Fields comedy sketch. Manuscript Comedy Sketch titled and signed: "One of the six best Cellars/By/W.C. Fields", 13¼p, 6x8¼, separate sheets. No place, no date. The 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution went into effect on January 16, 1920. As of that date, "the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited." Prohibition is the topic of this comedy sketch, One of the Six Best Cellars, which is written with a bit of satire. The phrase "six best cellars" was an expression first used in 1920 referring to the best hideaways where liquor was stored during Prohibition. The phrase was used in a "Los Angeles Herald" story on December 8, 1920 stating that actress Mabel Normand, known to be a heavy drinker, had one of the "six best cellars" of Prohibition liquor in the Hollywood film colony. Although not dated, this comedy sketch was likely written during the Prohibition era. In the early 1920s Fields wrote many comedy sketches while performing in New York's vaudeville, most notably in the Ziegfeld Follies read more...

JOHN WAYNE The last cowboy hat he wore on the screen Ephemera unsigned. Tan American Eagle Outfitters "Resistol 'Self-Comforting" cowboy hat, approximately 7½-size. Heavy string hatband with tassels. Stagecoach label embossed on inside band. After completing his last film, The Shootist (1976), Wayne shot a series of commercials for the Great Western Bank of California, filmed in Grants Pass, Oregon. He wore this hat in those commercials, his last work in cowboy apparel. All-American action hero John "Duke" Wayne appeared in over 250 films, primarily in war movies and Westerns. Although he had appeared in 80 low-budget films, Wayne did not become a star until 1939, when he appeared as the Ringo Kid in John Ford's Stagecoach. Near the end of his forty-year career, Wayne was honored with his first Best Actor Academy Award for his portrayal of hard-drinking, one-eyed Marshal Rooster Cogburn in 1969's True Grit. Accompanied by authenticating letter from the L.A. Prop and Wardrobe Company. Minor staining on the left crown and right brim. Otherwise, fine condition. read more...

WALT DISNEY The business pioneer has inscribed and signed this printed illustration of Goofy. It's framed with an unsigned photo of Disney surrounded by many of his beloved animated characters Printed Illustration Inscribed and Signed: "To/ Ann/ Sincerely -/ Walt Disney". B/w, 7¼x9¼. Image of two cartoon drawings, one full-size and one of the head of "Goofy". Goofy, who became the symbol of "Everyman" in Disney cartoons, first appeared over six decades ago in "Mickey's Revue" (1932). Then a bit player, he was named Dippy Dawg until he got his "official" name for his goofy work in "Orphan's Benefit" (1934). Goofy became a star in the 1935 cartoon, "Moving Day", and his popularity resulted in his own line of Disney merchandise. Teamed with Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck in a number of cartoons, Goofy had his first starring role in 1939's "Goofy and Wilbur". Goofy later went on to appear in his own series of comic books (1953). read more...

D. W. GRIFFITH Chastened by a messy divorce from his first wife, the famed director signs a prenuptial agreement with his bride to be, Evelyn Baldwin, who has also signed here. Document signed: "David Wark Griffith", "Evelyn Baldwin", 2 pages, 8½x13. No place, 1936 March 2. In anticipation of his pending marriage to Evelyn Baldwin, Griffith irrevocably transfers to her all rights to an annuity contract with the Aetna Life Insurance Company of Hartford, Connecticut, yielding annual income of $5,632.80 for the rest of her life. In exchange, Baldwin releases Griffith, along with his heirs and assigns, from any additional claims except for assets freely given to Baldwin by Griffith. The agreement is to become effective only on the consummation of the Griffith-Baldwin marriage. David Llewelyn Wark GRIFFITH (1875-1948) directed his first film in 1908, and in 1910 became the first to shoot a film in Hollywood. His Judith of Bethulia (1914) was among the first feature films, and the controversial Birth of a Nation (1915), became the first blockbuster movie hit, inspiring the movie industry that we have known since. read more...