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A 8x10" vintage photo from a large collection of hundreds of hand-signed photographs that we acquired from the estate of a collector named Al. From an analysis of his collection it appears that he collected the vast majority (or all) of these in person or via mail.
Due to the consistency, spot verifications we made, and size of this collection we are confident in the autograph\'s authenticity and are happy to warranty the full price of your purchase to this fact.
Photo Overview
Adrian Booth, the actress formerly billed as Lorna Gray, appears in this hand signed 8x10 black and white movie still from her 1940s Republic Pictures heyday. Wearing an elegant dark cocktail dress and stylish tilted hat, she gazes at a mustachioed leading man in a pinstripe suit who holds a letter, a classic dramatic moment from one of her Republic features. The photo is boldly inscribed and signed along the lower margin, To Albert, Blessings, Adrian Booth Brian - her full married signature after wedding actor David Brian.
This piece comes from a large collection of hundreds of hand signed autographs acquired from the estate of a lifelong collector named Al, making the personal inscription especially fitting. A wonderful signed keepsake for collectors of Republic serials, B-westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood actresses.
Historical Notes
Born Virginia Pound in 1917, Lorna Gray began at Columbia opposite Buster Keaton and the Three Stooges before moving to Republic Pictures, where the studio rechristened her Adrian Booth in 1946. She became one of Republic\'s great serial queens and villainesses, memorably menacing Captain America as Gail Richards\'s evil counterpart and starring in Daughter of Don Q and Federal Operator 99. She graduated to Trucolor westerns opposite Monte Hale and William Elliott before retiring in 1951 after marrying actor David Brian, to whom she remained wed until his death in 1993. In her long retirement she became an accomplished painter and devoted herself to religious charity work, famously adding the word Blessings to her autographs, exactly as seen on this photo. She remained a beloved guest at film festivals and western conventions well into her nineties, and passed away in April 2017 at age 99, one of the last surviving stars of the Republic serial era.
Text Present
Handwritten in black ink across the bottom margin of the front: "To Albert - Blessings - Adrian Booth Brian"
A studio negative code is printed in the lower left corner of the image.
Print analysis
This is a later print made from the original 1940s Republic Pictures studio negative, most likely produced in the 1980s or 1990s for autograph signing purposes. The bright white, clean paper stock and blank verso are characteristic of later photographic reprints rather than 1940s studio stills, which typically show toning and often carry studio stamps or snipes. The signature reading Adrian Booth Brian confirms it was signed after her 1949 marriage to David Brian, and the Blessings inscription is characteristic of her later-life signing habit. This is a Type 2 photo, c1980s, with an authentic vintage hand signed autograph.
Condition
In good to excellent vintage condition. Please see scans of the image we have provided for the most accurate and complete state of the photo.
