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Offered here is a vintage original 11x14 in. U.S. lobby card from the 1921 silent film version of RIP VAN WINKLE, released by the W.W. Hodkinson Corporation and directed by Edward Ludwig. Based upon the famous story by Washington Irving as well as the play by Dion Boucicault and Joseph Jefferson, Rip Van Winkle is an adventurer who comes across a group of strange individuals while roaming the Catskill mountains. Upon drinking a strange concoction of theirs, he falls asleep and wakes up 20 years later. The story shows the development of the United States in divergent fields: political, social and economic.
Actor Joseph Jefferson, who stars in the title role of Rip Van Winkle, also starred in the title role in the earlier 1914 feature-length silent film version of this story that was produced by Rolfe Photoplays and distributed by Alco Film Corporation. The 1914 version was actually enjoying a theatrical re-release at the time this film was premiering. The lobby card offered here is from the 1921 version. The charming image depicts an exterior long shot of Rip Van Winkle (Joseph Jefferson) standing with an older woman in the center of the open area as she appears to be explaining something to her as the crowd of well-dressed citizens look at him with curiosity and amazement. The image is framed by a beautiful inner lime green border. The watercolor-like tints are extraordinary and include shades of deep red, light and medium blue, pink and various shades of green. The printing is so rich and vibrant that the mirror image bleeds through onto the back of the card (see photo 2).
This vintage original lobby card is unrestored and has a 2 in. and 1 in. diagonal crease on the bottom left corner, the larger of which just barely misses the corner of the beautiful inner lime green border. There are no pinholes, tears, stains or any other flaws, nor is there any fading to the beautiful color tints.
A knowledgeable silent film collector has noted on the verso in pencil that this scene was filmed at the Lasky Ranch (later renamed the Paramount Ranch) in Agoura Hills, California, which is just north of Los Angeles.
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