Aug 13, 2020 - Sale 2544

Sale 2544 - Lot 13

Unsold
Estimate: $ 600 - $ 900

(ALLA NAZIMOVA, 1879-1945)


A group of 12 real photo postcards related to the trailblazing actress.
A group of photo postcards, 11 depicting the celebrated Russian-born actress Alla Nazimova, and one depicting her residence in Los Angeles ("the Garden of Alla"), five with color in the image. Silver prints (10) and photogravures (2) on carte-postale paper, the images measuring approximately 140x89 mm; 5 1/2x3 1/2 inches, and the reverse, all with the subject's name and five with the studio credit, on the recto. 1910s-30s.

Alla Nazimova was a notable silent film star in the early 1900s and one of the first female producers and directors in Hollywood. During a financial crisis, Nazimova turned the area around her Los Angeles residence (nicknamed the "Garden of Alla") and well-known for its parties, into a hotel where numerous stars visited and lived. Nazimova was known for coining the usage of the phrase "sewing circle" in the 1910s to 1950s to indicate queer women in Hollywood, who were not public with their sexuality.