Beschreibung:

Autograph Letter Signed ("Walter Hampden"), 1 p., 4to, Ridgefield, Connecticut, September 20, 1951, to Joseph L. Mankiewicz, on monogrammed stationery; together with an 8 x 10 in. vintage photograph of Hampden as "Cyrano de Bergerac" inscribed, "To Joseph L. Mankiewicz / Faithfully / Walter Hampden," framed. Walter Hampden appears in All About Eve (1950) in a small part. Together with a replica of a Roman scroll presented to Joseph L. Mankiewicz when he took on the job of directing Cleopatra. Written on the parchment paper of the scroll is "Joe Mankiewicz / You Now Have the Ball / Pax Vobiscum (translation: Peace Be With You)." Signatures on the scroll include Cleopatra executive producer Peter "Petrus" Levathes, Hollywood producer Stan Hough, cameraman Leo McCreary, and Cleopatra cinematographer Leon Shamroy, and many others. Together with a framed original watercolor and marker on board caricature of a pipe-smoking Mankiewicz manipulating two Roman puppets (who look suspiciously like Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton and exclaiming, "But I can't work tomorrow! It's my birthday!" This poster was purportedly given to Mankiewicz by either Vittorio Nino Novarese (men's costume designer for Cleopatra) or John DeCuir, Jr. (assistant art director on the film); a basketball signed by players from the New York Knicks, c.1970s, with signatures from, among others, Willis Reed, Bobby Bennett, and Nate Bowman; and a celluloid from the title sequence of There Was a Crooked Man (1970) picturing an animated Peter Fonda on a horse within a large letter "F" for "Fonda," gouache on celluloid applied to a watercolor background, matted and framed. Celluloid overall: 24.5 x 23 x 1 in.; Mankiewicz caricature: 20.75 x 16.5 in.