Movie Star Writing Tablets
Just
prior to composing this page I picked up the
William S. Hart tablet that is
featured and then decided to search both eBay and Google for other examples of
Movie Star Writing Tablets. I found little general information, managed to
spend just under $50 on eBay, and discovered that there is both some variety in
available tablets, as well as enough rarity to indicate they should be more
highly sought after.
The Hart tablet, labeled "Famous Stars" and presumptively part
of a larger grouping or set of movie star writing tablets, was one of the
earlier examples that I came across, likely dating to the 1910's, or perhaps
early 1920's. This tablet measures approximately 5-1/2" X 9".
Moving along chronologically, the next item I found had been
sold by an eBayer in Italy and was a similarly sized tablet featuring
Viola Dana. The differences,
well, it was in color for one and labeled "Movie Stars" rather than famous
stars. I'd guess it was issued around the same time, if not earlier, than
the William S. Hart piece.
From the 1920's I came across another 5-1/2" X 9" tablet, in
color, featuring Clara Bow as well as a
larger 8" X 10" writing tablet, this one in black and white, featuring
Norma Shearer. The Bow tablet
was marked "Popular Movie Star" while the Shearer was titled "Moving Picture
Stars."
Next was cowboy Hoot Gibson, in color, on a 7-3/4" X 10" tablet
which just said "Movie Star"
The next one was one of the ones I bought. Size to be
determined upon delivery, but it features Ava Gardner in black & white and is
from the 1940's.
And then there are the "Movies" color tablets of which the
Maureen O'Hara tablet cover shown below is an example. I bought a few of
these (guess which!) from a dealer who carried the following 1940's movie stars:
Veronica Lake, Greer Garson, Ann
Sheridan, Jane Powell, Maureen O'Hara, Cary
Grant, Van Johnson, and John Wayne.
This particular issue is the one that I've run across the most, but I must say
they're so attractive that I wonder why their popularity doesn't more closely
replace the vibrant Dixie Premiums of those
years.
Also shown below are a couple of other 8" X 10" movie star
writing tablets with similar but slightly different designs. One features
Rita Hayworth and the other Diana Lynn. The only other text on these are
the movie studios, Columbia Pictures for Hayworth and Paramount Pictures for
Lynn.
Certainly Movie Star Writing Tablets are a somewhat overlooked
area of collecting, one which I've always found very affordable in the past and
confirmed the same holds true at the time of writing this page.
You can search eBay for currently available Writing Tablets in
both the Entertainment Memorabilia category and the
Collectibles category. Good luck!
