We at The Paper Gallery have decided to
open the vault to our personal collection of rare and vintage movie
stills. Over the next several months you?ll be seeing photographs
from a collection that hasn?t been viewed by the public in over 30
years. All of these photos are original vintage photographs of the
movie stars we?ve come to know and love, we hope that you enjoy
them as much as we have over the years.
Original Movie Still Portrait Photo of
John Barrymore
A vintage original 1936 movie still portrait photograph of a
costumed John Barrymore. Double weight paper.
American stage and screen actor whose rise to superstardom and
subsequent decline is one of the legendary tragedies of Hollywood.
A member of the most famous generation of the most famous
theatrical family in America, he was also its most acclaimed star.
His father was Maurice Blyth (or Blythe; family spellings vary), a
stage success under the name 'Maurice Barrymore'. His mother,
Georgie Drew, was the daughter of actor John Drew. Although well
known in the theatre, Maurice and Georgie were eclipsed by their
three children, John, Lionel Barrymore, and Ethel Barrymore, each
of whom became legendary stars. John was handsome and roguish. He
made his stage debut at 18 in one of his father's productions, but
was much more interested in becoming an artist. Briefly educated at
King's College, Wimbledon, and at New York's Art Students League,
Barrymore worked as a freelance artist and for a while sketched for
the New York Evening Journal. Gradually, though, the draw of his
family's profession ensnared him and by 1905 he had given up
professional drawing and was touring the country in plays. He
survived the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and in 1909 became a
major Broadway star in "The Fortune Hunter." In 1922, Barrymore
became his generation's most acclaimed Hamlet, in New York and
London. But by this time he had become a frequent player in motion
pictures. His screen debut supposedly came in An American Citizen
(1914), though records of several lost films indicate he may have
made appearances as far back as 1912. He became every bit the star
of films that he was on stage, eclipsing his siblings in both
arenas. Though his striking matinee-idol looks had garnered him the
nickname "The Great Profile", he often buried them under makeup or
distortion in order to create memorable characters of degradation
or horror. He was a romantic leading man into the early days of
sound films, but his heavy drinking (since boyhood) began to take a
toll, and he degenerated quickly into a man old before his time. He
made a number of memorable appearances in character roles, but
these became over time more memorable for the humiliation of a
once-great star than for his gifts. His last few films were broad
and distasteful caricatures of himself, though in even the worst,
such as Playmates (1941), he could rouse himself to a moving
soliloquy from Hamlet. He died in 1942, mourned as much for the
loss of his life as for the loss of grace, wit, and brilliance
which had characterized his career at its height.
- Size: 8 inches x 10 inches
- Condition: Very Good, minor wear/creasing around corners
and edges, creasing.
- Shipping: We ship worldwide. Buyer is to pay the
shipping cost calculated by the United States Postal Service. Buyer
may purchase insurance at additional cost. We do offer a shipping
discount for multiple items purchased at the same time from
thepapergallery2, we are however unable to combine shipping from
the other thepapergallery sellers.
- Terms: We encourage winners to use
the pay now feature on this page once auction has ended.
Payment must be received within 10 days of auction close.
CALIFORNIA residents, please add 7.75% to final bid for sales
tax.
- Questions: Please e-mail us with your questions at
items2@thepapergallery.com
- Please check out our other auctions under thepapergallery1,
thepapergallery3, thepapergallery4 and thepapergallery5.
- We are not responsible for the USPS?
handling of this item. We ship weekly and use sturdy, new
packaging. Date reflected in eBay?s email is the date of printing
mailing label. The item will be mailed within 7 business days of
that date, due to my family insisting on me not working 24/7.
Again, if USPS delays the delivery, does not scan the item, or
loses the package, it is not our responsibility. Insurance is
highly recommended!
