Frank Sinatra, Clark Gable and Katharine Hepburn signed photographs in Tamworth autographs auction

Frank Sinatra, Clark Gable and Katharine Hepburn signed photographs in Tamworth autographs auction

AUTOGRAPH albums featuring some of the 20^th century’s biggest names are due to go under the hammer with Richard Winterton Auctioneers.

The sale also includes signed photographs of some of the biggest stars from the golden age of Hollywood including Frank Sinatra, Clark Gable and Katharine Hepburn.

They all go under the hammer at The Tamworth Auction Rooms in Church Street on Thursday, March 24, starting 10am.

Robert French, ephemera specialist at Richard Winterton Auctioneers, said: “The autograph books are an absolute treasure trove of signatures by some of the greatest stars of the 20^th century.

“The original owner of the albums attended many film and theatrical garden parties and events of the 1940s and 1950s.

“When I started to look through them all I was absolutely captivated – I’ve never seen such a comprehensive collection of autographs.”

A rare personalised signed photograph of Katharine Hepburn.

Seven albums feature hundreds of autographs from some of the biggest names from the 20^th century including Frank Sinatra, Sean Connery, Judy Garland, Kenneth More, Marlene Dietrich, Noel Coward, Charles Laughton, Alec Guinness, John Gielgud, Sam Wanamaker, Liberace, Bob Hope, Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh, Orson Welles, Gracie Fields, Ralph Richardson, Tyrone Power, Dirk Bogarde, Albert Finney, Rex Harrison, Claudette Colbert, Stewart Granger, Danny Kaye, Judy Garland, Hank Williams, Alec Guinness, Wilfred Hyde White, Richard Attenborough, Leslie Howard, Jack Warner, Diana Dors, Joyce Grenfell, Norman Wisdom, John Mills, Trevor Howard, Margaret Lockwood, Stanley Baker, Peter Ustinov and Harry Secombe.

More recent celebrities include Brian Conley, Ruth Madoc, Roy Barraclough, Kathy Staff, Michael Aspel, Eric Sykes and many others.

June Allyson's smile and sunny disposition made her the prototypical girl-next-door of 1940s American cinema.

There are also many Polaroid photographs taken at events featuring Michael Palin, Kenneth Williams and Sue Pollard – all signed – plus others of Adam Faith, Dennis Waterman, Sylvester McCoy, Ken Dodd, Francesca Annis, Anthony Head, Frank Finlay, Derek Jacobi, Hayley Mills, Stratford Johns, Nigel Planer, Robert Powell, Keith Barron and more.

“Earlier photographs feature names such as Bob Hope, Kenneth More, Noel Coward, Laurence Harvey, Dulcie Gray, Peter Finch, David Jacobs, Anna Neagle, Joyce Grenfell, Jack Hawkins, Stanley Baker and many more, plus ticket stubs from film garden party events where many of the signatures were obtained,” added Mr French.

The collection across 10 lots includes other film star photographs and theatre ephemera and is expected to sell for around £800 to £1,000.



Another lot in the same auction comprising rare signed photographs of Frank Sinatra, pictured at the top of the page, Clark Gable, pictured above, Katharine Hepburn and June Allyson, all personalised to ‘Gigliola’, is estimated to fetch £400 to £600.

The lady in question is Countess Gigliola (née Stoppani) Mapelli Mozzi, an Italian aristocrat and the grandmother of Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, husband to Princess Beatrice.

Accompanied by a stamped envelope to a Countess A. Mappelli of Park House, Warwick, the photographs were gifted to the family of the vendor, who now lives in Shenstone, as a friendly farewell gift as the Italian family were relocating to Argentina.

The sale also features music memorabilia and concert programmes featuring David Bowie, Bob Dylan, Elton John, Oasis, The Pogues, Dire Straits, Santana and John Martyn.

There is also a rare February 1969 concert programme complete with ticket stub for Tyrannosaurus Rex – before the band morphed into T. Rex – featuring John Peel, an early supporter of Marc Bolan’s group.

Also on the bill of 'For The Lion And The Unicorn In The Oak Forests Of Faun' at Birmingham Town Hall is David Bowie – for a mime performance.

The same sale on March 24 features a rare archive of the Tamworth Herald, dating from as early as 1917 all the way to 1968, stamps and cricketing books and memorabilia.

It also includes the British Empire Medal archive and war trophies of Grenville Grayer, one of the team who took part in the arrest and interrogation of evil SS leader Heinrich Himmler.

The catalogue for the auction is online now via our Auction Dates page.

For auction information, viewing and valuation enquiries, call 01827 217746 or email tamworth@richardwinterton.co.uk.