W. C. FIELDS - CHRISTMAS / HOLIDAY CARD SIGNED CIRCA 1908 - HFSID 290559

W. C. FIELDS
Sentimental Christmas card, uncharacteristic of the Fields we remember, sent early in his career
Christmas Card signed: "To/Wayne,/W. C. Fields" in ink, 5½x3½. Christmas card illustrated with a rustic winter scene, bearing this printed message: "The Season's Good Wishes: Take this for a hand-clasp, and a Christmas greeting true, And know that I am wishing/The best of joys for you." Corners lightly worn. Fine condition. Accompanied by original mailing envelope 6x3½, with Fields' printed name, addressed secretarially in pencil to "Stage Mgr/Temple Theatre/Detroit, Michigan", postmarked Baltimore, Maryland, December 9, 1908. Worn, soiled, torn. Right edge torn and frayed. Multiple notches at edges. Corners worn and creased. Red-nosed, gravel-voiced, bottle-hitting American comedian W.C. Fields (1880-1946), born William Claude Dukenfield, began his film career in silents. He later excelled in such films as David Copperfield (as Micawber), My Little Chickadee (with Mae West) and The Bank Dick. The vaudeville veteran, who appeared in every version of the Ziegfeld Follies from 1915 to 1921, made his last film, Sensations of 1945, in 1944. Nobody contributed more wry quotations ("Anyone who hates children and animals can't be all bad.") to American folklore. Given Fields' misanthropic public image, the fairly standard Christmas poem he has mailed here may surprise. Two items.