LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2007 Oct. Sig. Entertainment Memorabilia #648  / 

22042

Marian Marsh's Wig Braid and Other Hairpieces

Currency:USD Category:Memorabilia Start Price:100.00 USD Estimated At:400.00 - 600.00 USD
Marian Marsh's Wig Braid and Other Hairpieces
<B>Marian Marsh's "Trilby" Wig from "Svengali," and Others.</B></I> Marian Marsh achieved her storybook heroine "look" in such melodramas as <I>Svengali</B></I> (1931), starring John Barrymore, and <I>The Black Room</B></I> (1935), starring Boris Karloff, with the aid of hairpieces. This lot features beautiful blonde hairlace pieces used by Marian in her vintage Hollywood days as a Warner Bros and (later) Columbia star. There are two boxes: the first contains the nearly-full blonde wig that Marian wore in <I>Svengali</B></I> as Trilby, to create the hairstyle of the character based on author George Du Maurier's original illustrations. There is also a hairpiece, presumably worn later in the film as the more sophisticated Trilby, containing a tag reading "Perc & Ern, Max Factor's Studios, Hollywood, No. 1156." Perc and Ern Westmore were the wigmakers; the Westmore family, of course, is legendary for its Hollywood cosmetic magic and Perc Westmore was Warner Bros. make-up chief for decades, including Marian's 1930-32 sojourn at the studio. The box features the name of Perc and Ern Westmore, as well as the name, address, and telephone number of "Max Factor's Make-Up Studios," along with a plug for the "'Percern' natural hairlace creations" and the notice "Property of Marian Marsh Number 1156." The second box (from Bullock's Westwood) holds three partial hairpieces, one a long braid, and one of the pieces has a tag from "Max Factor Studios." This box also has a decorative band of white cloth flowers and several small pieces of flower-like jewelry, obviously worn with the wiglets. There's also a tiny bottle of spirit gum for adhesion. It's possible Marian used one or more of these pieces in Columbia's 1935 <I>The Black Room,</B></I> to help capture the beautiful fairy tale princess appearance of her character Thea, menaced by Karloff. The lot includes a photocopy of a <I>Svengali</B></I> still in which Marian is wearing the Trilby wig, and two photocopies from <I>The Black Room.</B></I> The Max Factor box has some staining and one side cut from the lid; the hairpieces are in Very Fine condition. It's rather touching to realize that Marian Marsh kept these hairpieces for the rest of her life, more than 70 years since she last wore them in films. True curios from the make-believe of Golden Age Hollywood. <I>From the Marian Marsh Archive.</B></I><BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Clothing, Costumes & Jerseys (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
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