Welcome

Charles Lee offers over 40 years of experience in collecting and authenticating autographs.

This catalogue reflects his own collecting preferences - autographs from the Golden Age of Hollywood, lovely signed vintage sepia photographs, scarce character actors, clean album pages and cards for matting with a favourite picture and unusual and difficult to find rarities.

Charles is a recognised authority on Vivien Leigh and his catalogue always offers a wonderful selection of authentically signed Vivien Leigh material.

This catalogue is updated with new stock and deletions on a daily basis (sometimes several times a day).

Using the links on the left you may browse the catalogue by category or use the search facility to quickly find the item you are looking for.

Charles is picky about quality - items generally are in very good condition indeed and any faults are carefully described in the text.

Featured Autographs

Andrews, Julie

Andrews, Julie  (1935- )

Iconic British actress and singer.

This is a very early signature and inscription ("To Brenda, All the best for the future, Sincerely, Julie Andrews") in blue ink on a 3.5" x 2.75" card. From a 1940s autograph collection. Some small marks but in good overall condition. (Shown loosely mounted with photo corners on a 5.5" x 3.5" white card.)

ref:16239  £75.00
Andrews, Julie

Andrews, Julie  (1935- )

British actress and singer.

A beautiful black and white photograph (8" x 10") boldly signed in black ink across the image.

ref:15416  £225.00
Du Pré, Jacqueline

Du Pré, Jacqueline  (1945-1987)

British cellist who became famous at a very young age and is regarded as one of the greatest cellists of all time.

A wonderful note and signature to a fan ("With every wish for continued happiness with, and love for Music. Yours warmly. Jacqueline du Pre") in blue ink on a 7.5" x 3.5" white card. (The fan has added a black border, presumably after her early death.) VERY RARE.

ref:15964  £250.00
Flynn, Errol

Flynn, Errol  (1909-1959)

Swashbuckling Tasmanian-born actor. Flynn’s off-screen passions; drinking, fighting, boating and sex, made his film escapades seem pale in comparison.

A superb vintage album page (7" x 6.5"), boldly signed and inscribed ("Hello Brenda! Errol Flynn") in blue ink. In excellent condition. From a 1940s autograph collection

ref:16241  £150.00
Hayakawa, Sessue

Hayakawa, Sessue  (1889-1973)

Japanese actor who won late Hollywood acclaim when he received an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of Colonel Saito in The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957).

A wonderful early signature on a vintage album page (8" x 6.5"), signed and dated ("With best wishes, Sessue Hayakawa, April 26 -1924, Birmingham") in dark blue fountain pen ink.

 

ref:15770  £125.00
Karloff, Boris

Karloff, Boris  (1887-1969)

Iconic English-born actor, best remembered for his roles in Universal horror films and his portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein (1931), Bride of Frankenstein (1935), and Son of Frankenstein (1939).

This is an extraordinary Karloff collectable - a black and white 8" x 10" photograph of the great actor at an airport in later years, smartly dressed and apparently being attacked by a large black bird. Karloff is totally unfazed and mildly amused. A good friend of mine in Switzerland, Didier Gusset, has suggested that this is a publicity photograph to promote the 1963 remake of "The Raven". I think he is absolutely right.

There's an excellent signature in black ink across a clear area of the image. A tiny piece of the top right corner tip is missing but overall condition is very good.

This photograph comes from the collection of John Street, an avid British fan who maintained a long correspondence with Karloff in the actor's latter years.

ref:16276  £1,000.00
Leigh, Vivien (and Burton and many others)

Leigh, Vivien (and Burton and many others)  (1913-1967)

Double Oscar-winning actress, immortalised by her portrayal of Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With The Wind (1939).

An extraordinary show business collectable - a part page cut from a wonderful visitors' book (8.5" x 8"), signed in ink on both sides by some of the biggest stars of film and television at the time, including Vivien Leigh,  Claire Bloom, Laurence Olivier, Richard Burton, Denholm Elliott, Paul Massie, Tommy Cooper and Geoffrey Keen.

ref:15830  £295.00
Lugosi, Bela

Lugosi, Bela  (1882-1956)

Iconic Hungarian-American actor, best remembered for playing Count Dracula, on stage and in film

This is an extraordinary memento of the twilight years of a great Hollywood legend.

In the early 1950s a great British fan of horror, John Street, decided to write to his hero, Bela Lugosi, to tell him how wonderful his acting and his films were (and John Street’s fan letters were exceptional).

We can only imagine how the actor, largely forgotten by Hollywood, short of money, living in a rented dump in a rundown area of Los Angeles and with only Ed Woods interested in him, responded to John’s letter of praise. But we have a clue in the form of this vintage sepia photograph (about 6” x 4.25”) of Lugosi in his prime, boldly signed in green ink. We have further evidence in the actual envelope Lugosi used, which is signed in the same green ink (“B.Lugosi, 4601 Rodeo Lane, Los Angeles 16, California). The envelope has two British Queen Elizabeth stamps that John Street presumably enclosed, showing that his fan letter was sent after 1952.

The margins of the photograph have been trimmed and there are two small flecks missing from the surface of the lower right corner edge but overall condition is good. The envelope shows evidence that it was exposed to light rain, but Lugosi’s signature and address remain completely readable. (The yellow post-it is for collector privacy.)

A very rare treasure from the Ed Wood years.

ref:15243  £1,500.00
Sim, Alastair

Sim, Alastair  (1900-1976)

Droll, moon-faced Scottish actor and for the first decade of his adult life, a professor of elocution.

A superb signature in sharp pencil on a vintage album page (7" x 6.25") from a 1940's collection. In excellent condition. Perfect for display mounting.

ref:16237  £125.00