20s NEGATIVE PHOTOGRAPH FROM GOLDEN AGE ILLUSTRATOR CHARLES SHELDON ESTATE FAB

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Thanks to all our ebay bidders, we are honored to be your one-stop, 5 star source for vintage pin-up, pulp magazines, original illustration art, decorative collectibles and ephemera with a wide and always changing assortment of antique and vintage items from the Victorian, art nouveau, art deco, & mid-century modern eras. All items are 100% guaranteed to be original, vintage, and as described. Please feel free to contact us with any and all questions about the items and our policies and please take a moment to peruse our other great ebay listings. All sell no reserve! ITEM: This is an original sepia toned camera negative from the estate of Charles Gates Sheldon the Golden Age of Illustration frequent cover artist for Photoplay and other Silent Movie magazine titles. Sheldon maintained a Studio at Carnegie Hall in New York City during the 1920s-30s, and photographed the glamorous Hollywood film stars of the era for his cover work. Stars that sat for Sheldon include, Jean Harlow, Clara Bow, Greta Garbo, Marion Davies, Gloria Swanson, Pola Negri, Olive Borden, Mary Pickford, Joan Crawford and literally dozens of others. What makes this collection so interesting is these stills were never meant for public consumption, they were taken to be used for his pastel portraiture work. Many are unscripted - Sheldon was an amateur photographer essentially and it is unique to see such glamorous stars posed often times so informally. For whatever reason many stars appeared in the nude or partially undressed, as this was the absolute zenith of The Ziegfeld Follies and New York City had caught the bug - the Burlesque Showgirl Roaring Twenties craze had taken Manhattan by storm. Please note this listing is the original camera negative it was converted to a positive image shown here using our Epson Expression 11000XL scanner, the auction is for the negative. You are bidding on a C. 1920s sepia 5" by 7" inch sepia negative photograph - a spirited Roaring Twenties flower girl pose of one of the illustrator's most frequently shot models, Mary Wesson we believe to be her name. The original pastel of this pose and setting was sold some years ago by our gallery - I included an image of that pastel for your viewing pleasure but it is not included in the auction of course! This image is previously unseen and unpublished and as contained in a estate find suitcase of original stills and negatives taken by Charles Gates Sheldon. Just an incredible document, and very rare treasure that sells no reserve. We have come into an extraordinary collection of antique Hollywood and assorted erotic photographs and memorabilia and are happy to combine multiple wins at no additional cost. 100% guaranteed original and vintage. Here is the completed pastel of this setting previously sold by Grapefruit Moon gallery. CONDITION: Some handling and storage wear and soiling lines as seen - these negatives were not at all carefully stored or archived, sadly the majority were completely destroyed. A few such as these camera negatives such as this listing, have stood the ravishes of time fairly well and remains a compelling document that is without parallel. Charles Sheldon was a prolific and gifted early1900's American Illustrator who specialized in "pretty woman" themed cover portraiture and advertising in the Art Nouveau and Edwardian styles. After studying at the Art Students League, he went to Paris to study under the legendary Alphonse Mucha. He returned to America and set up a studio at Carnegie Hall in New York City. In 1918 Sheldon received his first pin-up commission, a series of ads for La Vogue lingerie. He went on to do a series of work for the Fox Shoe Company as well as front covers for Collier's Magazine, The Saturday Evening Post and Photoplay. By 1921 he was contributing high fashion portraits to Woman's Home Companion and Theater magazine. Famous women all over the world arranged to sit for portraits in his studio in Carnegie Hall in New York. The pastels he created for Photoplay 1925- 1930 launched his career as a ... read more

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