Auction Date:2011 Sep 14 @ 18:00 (UTC-5 : EST/CDT)
Location:5 Rt 101A Suite 5, Amherst, New Hampshire, 03031, United States
ALS - Autograph Letter Signed
ANS - Autograph Note Signed
AQS - Autograph Quotation Signed
AMQS - Autograph Musical Quotation Signed
DS - Document Signed
FDC - First Day Cover
Inscribed - “Personalized”
ISP - Inscribed Signed Photograph
LS - Letter Signed
SP - Signed Photograph
TLS - Typed Letter Signed
DS, one page, 8 x 3.5, May 1, 1922. Promissory note, filled out in another hand and signed by Valentino, reads, in part: “After date, for value received, I promise to pay Mrs. Rudolph Valentino or order, at the Banking House of the Commercial National bank of Los Angeles…the sum of Five Thousand Dollars with interest at the rate of seven percent per annum from date until maturity.” Signed at the conclusion in black ink by Valentino. In very good to fine condition, with three vertical folds, two through single letters of Valentino’s signature, some scattered mild soiling, and light creases and wrinkles.
In 1919, Valentino, famed sex symbol of the silent film era, made a dramatically hasty decision; he took Jean Acker, fellow silent film star, as his wife. This impulsive union quickly found a befuddled groom on the wrong side of a locked door of his hotel room, a regretful new bride on the other. The marriage was never consummated, and the couple would finally divorce on March 4, 1922, Acker claiming desertion.
But the manipulative actress did not walk away empty-handed; the use of the name ‘Mrs. Valentino’ and a one-time alimony payment of $12,000 were granted. This promissory note for half of the alimony settlement pre-dates Valentino’s next great, impulsive venture: only two months post-divorce and 12 days after issuing the note, Valentino ventured to Mexicali, Mexico, where he and noted art director and costume designer, Natacha Rambova, eloped. Upon crossing the border back to California, the Latin lover was summoned by the courts on charges of bigamy, having violated the terms of the divorce which, under state law, would only become final and legal one year after filing. Valentino was arrested, having paid one wife off while taking another in just under two weeks, a move that reigned scandal and shame upon his personal and professional life. Signed documents from Valentino are exceptionally scarce, and the timing and circumstances surrounding this particular item make it an invaluable addition to any classic film collection.
Auction Location:
5 Rt 101A Suite 5, Amherst, New Hampshire, 03031, United States
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