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1930s actors

Hey, I’m new here and was given this site as a recommendation from some folks at RACC. My grandmother passed away and I have inherited her collection of signed photos from 1935-1939 as she penciled in on the back of each photo the year. There are approximately 175 photos and most are 5x7. A lot are personalized. Some are preprinted and others are probably secretarial, but I don’t know which are.

How should I go about getting these authenticated and how should I go about selling them? I collect sports and music memorabilia and only know a few of these names as I’m 30 and don’t really watch Turner Classic Movies. I know that I’m better off selling individually than selling them in bulk. Thank you so much for your help!

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Permalink Reply by Robert Hollingsworth on December 28, 2018 at 5:16pm

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Permalink Reply by goodcat on December 28, 2018 at 5:25pm

That James Cagney looks authentic and a very good example IMO

Are the ones you post for sale?

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on December 28, 2018 at 8:53pm

Hi Robert, if you decide to sell any of this material here at the Buy/Sell/Trade forum please familiarize yourself with the rules for doing so. They can be found here.

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Permalink Reply by goodcat on December 28, 2018 at 5:24pm

Wow
That's quite the collection of who's who

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on December 28, 2018 at 5:34pm

Hello and welcome. From that period about 75% of the 5x7's are secretarial etc. I'd start by posting good flat high res scans here for free opinions. The advice you get here from our members will be of more value in my opnion than any authentication service out there. Oh, it is free. At least screen the stuff here if you need those certificates etc. PLEASE do NOT let any authentication company vandalize and advertise/place a sticker on your photographs that might be hand-signed by the celeb in question. Have the stickers put on the certificates. Future collectors will thank you. I would be interested to see the Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, Bogart, Harlow (looking for her mothers hand) and Flynn, others will be familiar with other names like Ginger Rogers etc..

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on December 28, 2018 at 5:39pm

Hi again,

I see you added pics. Bette Davis is her secretarial. Will look at the others.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on December 28, 2018 at 5:55pm

Harlow appears Mama's hand.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on December 28, 2018 at 6:06pm

Weissmuller is a stamp I believe.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on December 28, 2018 at 6:07pm

Jim Cagney appears good c. 1936 but I can not say live ink with any real confidence from these images. It appears so. See if you can adjust your white balance and shoot in more light. Thses are very hard to see/read the surfaces of.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on December 28, 2018 at 6:09pm

Gable secretarial.

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Permalink Reply by Joe W. on December 28, 2018 at 5:56pm

Gable appears to be a secretarial. Cagney appears authentic. Harlow is probably signed by her mother. Make sure your photos are signed with live ink. Not stamped or preprinted.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on December 28, 2018 at 6:01pm

+1. Please try to take higher resolution photographs (not so fuzzy) so the ink (if any) can be "read" if possible. Those with simple salutations without dedications are those that suggest potential preprints etc. straight away and should be examined for live ink. Live ink should take on a different color in the glare of a light than the rest of the image - but that still leaves a secretarial as a potential. In hand it would be much easier to weed out those not handsigned at all. Some could be eliminated with a moments look.