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

Anderson, Judith

Anderson, Judith  (1898-1992)

Australian-born actress, for nearly 70 years one of the foremost Shakespearean actresses of the stage, immortalised by her role as the obsessed housekeeper Mrs. Danvers in Rebecca (1940).

A superb National Film Archive black and white photograph (8" x 10") of Anderson, as Mrs Danvers, in a confrontation with Joan Fontaine in Rebecca.

ref:14030  £150.00
Anderson, Marian

Anderson, Marian  (1899-1993)

American contralto. In 1939, the Daughters of the American Revolution infamously refused to allow Anderson, a Black American, to perform in Washington, D.C.'s Constitution Hall. In response, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt resigned from the D.A.R. and arranged for a concert at the Lincoln Memorial.

A very rare early vintage black and white photograph (9" x 7.25"), signed and inscribed ("To Miss S.Michael, with very best wishes from Marian Anderson") in blue fountain pen ink across a light area of the image.

 

ref:13987  £125.00
Andress, Ursula

Andress, Ursula  (1936- )

Beautiful Swiss-born actress, who leapt to international stardom as the most memorable of all Bond girls, Honey Rider, spectacularly emerging from the sea in Dr No (1962).

A superb colour photograph (8" x 10") of Andress as Honey Rider in Dr No, in the arms of Sean Connery, flawlessly signed in blue ink. As perfect as you could hope to find.

 

 

 

ref:14834  £150.00
Arliss, George

Arliss, George  (1868-1946)

Distinguished British stage and screen actor, who became a film star in middle age and won an Oscar for his performance in Disraeli (1929).

A unique item - a wonderful sepia portrait (10.75" x 8.25"), signed and inscribed in dark blue ink to the British actor Gene Gerrard, a co-star in Arliss' 1935 film The Guv'nor . (The inscription reads "To Gene Gerrard to recall our association in 'The Guv'Nor', With sincere regards, George Arliss, July 1935). VERY RARE.

 

ref:14210  £150.00
Baker, Josephine

Baker, Josephine  (1906-1975)

American-born entertainer and singer who became a French citizen in 1937.

A superb signature ("Aug 24, 1974, kind and friendly regards, Josephine Baker") in blue ink on a 5" x 5" sheet of blue notepaper. (Baker, very sadly, died less than 8 months after sending this to the fan.)

ref:13883  £125.00
Bardot, Brigitte

Bardot, Brigitte  (1934- )

Sultry French actress; archetypal sex kitten who was the first foreign-language star ever to attain a level of international success comparable to America's most popular homegrown talents.

A rare vintage black and white advertising card (13" x 10") for the French soft drink, Pschitt, featuring Brigitte Bardot in a swimming costume and boldly signed by her across the image in blue ink. (It's believed that Bardot modelled for this company in 1956). VERY RARE

ref:9715  £75.00
Baryshnikov, Mikhail

Baryshnikov, Mikhail  (1948- )

Great Latvian-born ballet dancer, actor and choreographer who defected to America in 1974.

A superb black and white photograph (8" x 10"), boldly signed in black ink down the right edge.

 

ref:14845  £125.00
Burke, Billie

Burke, Billie  (1885-1970)

American character actress, the daughter of a circus clown, often playing the part of a dithery, empty-headed but endearing woman. She was married to Florenz Ziegfeld.

An extremely rare vintage sepia Rotary postcard showing the 18 year-old Billie Burke with three other cast members in her very first stage production in May of 1903 - The  School Girl, a hit musical produced by the great Charles Frohman** at the Prince of Wales Theatre in London. Burke played a bubbly American girl called Mamie Reckfeller and, according to a review in the New York Times of May 10th 1903, "Miss Burke was the hit of the Evening". The postcard has been boldly signed in dark blue ink by Billie Burke and by G.P. Huntley, Norma Whalley and Maude Percival.

ref:11847  £195.00
Chaliapin, Feodor

Chaliapin, Feodor  (1873-1938)

Russian singer, one of the greatest ever to appear in Western opera houses.
A very fine early vintage Breitkopf & Hartel sepia postcard, nicely signed and dated (1914) in dark blue fountain pen ink across the image.

ref:8232  £250.00
Colman, Ronald

Colman, Ronald  (1891-1958)

Distinguished British actor, with a wonderful voice and impeccable screen image, star of some great screen classics.
A magnificent vintage sepia fan magazine photograph (9.5" x 8") which has been professionally dry-mounted to white board (11.75" x 13.5"), with a very fine display mount, hinged at its top edge to allow easy inspection of the photograph. There's an excellent signature in blue ink across the image.

ref:9478  £60.00
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:13859  £250.00
Fenby, Eric

Fenby, Eric  (1906-1997)

English composer, conductor, pianist, organist and teacher who is best known for being Frederick Delius's amanuensis from 1928 to 1934.

In 1928, hearing that Delius had become virtually helpless because of blindness and paralysis (due to syphilis), Fenby offered to serve him as an amanuensis. Fenby worked, at the composer's home in Grez-sur-Loing, near Paris, for extended periods until Delius died almost six years later. The whole experience left Fenby "completely burnt out". In 1936, he published an account, Delius As I Knew Him. This episode in Fenby's and Delius's lives was portrayed in Ken Russell's 1968 production for the BBC, Song of Summer.

A superb black and white photograph (8.5" x 6.5"), nicely signed and inscribed ("John Street - With best wishes, Eric Fenby, 1982") in dark blue ink across the lower margin.  SCARCE.

(J/S)

ref:14058  £150.00
Ferrier, Kathleen

Ferrier, Kathleen  (1912-1953)

Great English contralto singer who achieved an international reputation as a stage, concert and recording artist, with a repertoire extending from folksong and popular ballads to the classical works of Bach, Brahms, Mahler and Elgar.

Ferrier’s death from cancer, at the height of her fame, was a shock to the musical world and particularly to the general public, which was kept in ignorance of the nature of her illness until after her death.

A listing of TWO rare Farrier items. The first is a letter, typed on a 7.75" x 6" sheet of headed notepaper (2 Frognal Mansions, London N.W.3.  25.9.52). Ferrier thanks a fan for a kind letter ("it gives me great pleasure to know you and your family enjoy my work"), encloses a signed photograph and offers to sign a book if this is "unsuitable". There's an excellent ink signature at the conclusion of the letter.

The second item is the photograph itself - a very pretty Austrian postcard, signed and inscribed ("For John Street, with best wishes. Kathleen Ferrier."

ref:13914  £400.00
Williams, Kenneth

Williams, Kenneth  (1926-1988)

Great British comedy actor.
A very fine black and white photograph (5.5" x 3.5"), beautifully signed and inscribed ("To John, Kenneth Williams") in black ink to the lower white panel.
ref:10101  £125.00