Studio Harcourt / Charles Trénet ; Pierre Fresnay ; Bernard Blier etc

Photos from Harcourt, dedicated to Odette Masson. First wife of Claude Autant. These documents constitute a remarkable and intimate collection: a group of era postcards and photographs, signed and united by a single recipient, Mademoiselle Odette Masson, bearing witness to a cinephile passion at the heart of the 1930s and 1940s (the period of the Occupation and the Liberation). Odette Masson is the recipient of the inscriptions present on these photographs. Historically and artistically: • Marriage with Claude Autant-Lara: She was the wife of the famous French director and screenwriter Claude Autant-Lara (married in 1926, divorced in 1935). • Anchored in the show business milieu: Through her links with Parisian cinema and theatre in the 1930s and 1940s, she mixed with the great actors, singers, and directors of the era (as evidenced by the personal and warm dedications addressed to her by Yvonne Printemps, Bernard Blier, Madeleine Renaud, Jean Tissier, Charles Trenet, or Jacqueline Delubac). This collection forms a true personalized golden book created by or for Odette Massonnet. Beyond the simple collection of actor postcards (very fashionable at the time), the fact that the vast majority of these pieces are dedicated in her own name makes it a rare memorial collectible, bearing witness to the popularity of these artists and their closeness to their audience during the dark years of the war. 1. Yvonne Printemps (IMG_6008.jpg) • Personality: Immense actress and operetta singer, an indispensable figure on the Paris scene. • Details: The card bears the header “Photo Films Orange” and a superb blue ink handwritten dedication: “Pour Mademoiselle Odette Massonnet,” signed and dated 1944. 2. Mila Parély (IMG_6005.jpg) • Personality: Actress renowned for her roles with Jean Renoir (The Rules of the Game) and Jean Cocteau (Beauty and the Beast). • Details: This is an art print from the prestigious Harcourt Studio (numbered 253). She sends a warm thought: “Pour Odette Massonnet, amicale pensée de Mila Parély.” 3. Raymond Bussières (IMG_6004.jpg) • Personality: Indispensable supporting actor of French cinema, with a popular and roguish face. • Details: Published by Ch. Vandamme / Les Mirages (no. 167), the portrait shows the actor with a cigarette in hand, with a personalized inscription to Odette Massonnet. 4. Marie Déa (IMG_6009.jpg) • Personality: Leading actress of fantastical and poetic cinema in the 1940s (Les Visiteurs du soir). • Details: Card published by Pathé (no. 32), bearing a black ink handwritten dedication to Odette. 5. Josseline Gaël (IMG_6007.jpg) • Personality: Popular actress of the 1930s, companion of actor Jules Berry. • Details: Postcard-format shot (Continental Films edition, no. 110/A) with a diagonal autograph. 6. Albert Préjean (IMG_6002.jpg) • Personality: Male star of the 1930s, known for his affable rogue roles and for having incarnated Maigret during the Occupation. • Details: Profile portrait published by Teddy Piaz (no. 197), with a cordial closing and his signature. 7. Pierre Fresnay (IMG_6003.jpg) • Personality: Icon of French theatre and cinema (La Grande Illusion, L’Assassin habite au 21). • Details: Simple, elegant profile portrait, published by Photo Pathé Cinema (no. 150) with his autograph. 8. Undeclared actress portrait (IMG_6006.jpg) • Details: Also from Ch. Vandamme / Les Mirages editions, this three-quarter portrait features a smiling actress wearing a patterned scarf, with a long personalized handwritten dedication starting with “Pour Odette…”. Here is the second part of the detailed inventory of your collection of vintage postcards and photographs, all autographed and addressed to Mademoiselle Odette Massonnet: 9. Charles Trenet (IMG_6001.jpg) • Personality: The mythical “Crazy Singing” troubador, an indispensable singer-songwriter of French chanson (Y’a d’la joie, La Mer, Douce France). • Details: Portrait with a matching hat and a handwritten dedication in ink: “Pour Odette, amicalement,” signed Charles Trenet. 10 Aime Clariond (IMG_5999.jpg) • Personality: Member of the Comédie-Française and great actor of theatre and cinema (Le Comte de Monte-Cristo, Si Versailles m’était conté). • Details: Splendid black-and-white Harcourt Studio print (credit G. R.-Aldo at bottom right) showing him in a fur-collared coat. There is inscribed: “Pour Mademoiselle Odette Massonnet. Sympathique souvenir.” 11. Paul Meurisse (IMG_5998.jpg) • Personality: Actor of theatre and cinema with an elegant, flegmatic style, famous for roles in Les Diaboliques and Le Deuxième Souffle. • Details: Portrait signed by photographer Charles Delarue. The card is signed to Odette Massonnet and signed in black ink at the bottom (Paul Meurisse). 12. Eliane Célis (IMG_5997.jpg) • Personality: Popular singer and actress of the 1930s-1940s, known for a light soprano voice (Bécassine, Symphonie). • Details: Card published by Studio Carlet Aine (no. 125) with the characteristic serrated edges, bearing an autographic handwritten dedication. 13. Jean Marchat (IMG_5996.jpg) • Personality: Theatre actor, director, and cinema actor (Chéri, Gorcev). • Details: Notable profile portrait by the Harcourt Studio (no. 55), dedicated on the right edge to Mlle Odette Massonnet. Jany Holt (IMG_5995.jpg) • Personality: Romanian-born theatre and cinema actress, major figure in French cinema in the 1930s and 1940s (Le Bas-fonds, Un ange a tué). • Details: Exceptional Harcourt Paris studio art print, with a note related to her play at the Théâtre Hébertot (Je vivrai un grand amour). She wrote a very beautiful personalized message in white ink: “Pour Odette, pour son gentil minois, son aspect sympathique, mon affection spontanée.” Simone Renant (IMG_5994.jpg) • Personality: Elegant and refined French actress, seen notably in Henri-Georges Clouzot’s Quai des Orfèvres. • Details: Perfectly lit portrait signed by Studio Harcourt, bearing the inscription: “À Odette Massonnet. Sympathique souvenir, Simone Renant.” Mona Goya (IMG_5993.jpg) • Personality: Very popular cinema and theatre actress in the interwar period and during the Occupation. • Details: Card issued under the Continental Films brand (no. 126/A), signed in blue ink: “Pour Odette, sympathiquement, Mona Goya.” Here is the third part of the inventory of your collection of vintage, autographed photographs and postcards for Mademoiselle Odette Massonnet: 1. Bernard Blier (IMG_5992.jpg) • Personality: French cinema’s legendary figure, famed for his inimitable phrasing and iconic roles (Les Tontons Flingueurs, Buffet froid, Les Misérables). • Details: Youthful smiling portrait signed by Harcourt Studio (no. 185) with a handwritten dedication in the center. 2. Serge Reggiani (IMG_5991.jpg) • Personality: Great actor and singer (Casque d’Or, Le Doulos, Le Pianiste dans la forêt). • Details: Brooding portrait with hand under chin, published by Teddy Piaz (no. 142) with autograph. 3. Jacqueline Delubac (IMG_5984.jpg) • Personality: Elegant actress, muse and third wife of Sacha Guitry (Faisons un rêve, Désiré), great art collector. • Details: Remarkable Harcourt Studio print (no. 84) dedicated in blue ink: “Pour Mademoiselle Odette Massonnet, Jacqueline Delubac.” 4. Sessue Hayakawa (IMG_5983.jpg) • Personality: International star of Japanese origin, famous in silent Hollywood and later in France, unforgettable later in The Bridge on the River Kwai. • Details: Portrait published by Studio Carlet Aine (no. 33) with autograph in blue ink. 5. Yves Furet (IMG_5985.jpg) • Personality: French cinema and theatre actor active in the 1940s (Le Capitan, Mission spéciale). • Details: Smiling shot from Harcourt Studio (no. 74) with a handwritten line and ink dedication. 6. Pierre Jourdan (IMG_5986.jpg) • Personality: French actor and director (Chronique provinciale). • Details: Three-quarter portrait signed in black at bottom “Pierre Jourdan” with a personalized dedication to Odette. 7. Yvette Lebon / Actress portrait (IMG_5987.jpg and IMG_5982.jpg) • Personality: French cinema figure of the 1930s-1940s (Abus de confiance, Romance de Paris). • Details: Original print mounted on Harcourt Paris card stock, showing the actress hanging from a rope with a pretty little naïve drawing of a house at top left and a handwritten dedication. Here is the fourth part of the inventory of your collection of autographed photographs and postcards for Mademoiselle Odette Massonnet: 1. Roland Gerbeau (IMG_5981.jpg) • Personality: Charismatic and popular variety singer in the 1940s (Douce France with Charles Trenet, Sérénade sans espoir). • Details: Sepia ink portrait, dedicated: “Pour mademoiselle Odette Massonnet en souvenir amical, Roland Gerbeau,” dated precisely to the summer of 1944. 2. Michèle Lahaye (IMG_5980.jpg) • Personality: Theatre and cinema actress (Je vivrai un grand amour at the Hébertot Theatre). • Details: Superb profile portrait signed by Harcourt Paris Studio, with the printed mention of her Hébertot role and her autograph at the bottom in blue ink. 3. Pierre Hiegel (IMG_5979.jpg) • Personality: Famous radio host, music critic, artistic director, and French communications man. • Details: Three-quarter portrait published by Harcourt Studio (no. 36), mounted on a cardboard passe-partout, with a handwritten dedication visible on the left side of the shot. 4. Madeleine Renaud (IMG_5978.jpg) • Personality: Immense figure of French theatre and cinema (Helena, Le Ciel est à vous), founder with Jean-Louis Barrault of the famous Renaud-Barrault company. • Details: Harcourt Studio print (no. 80) mounted on cardboard, dedicated at the top in blue ink: “À Odette Massonnet…,” and signed. 5. Gaby Morlay (IMG_5976.jpg) • Personality: One of the greatest stars of French cinema from the 1920s to the 1950s (Le Voile bleu, Un revenant). • Details: Smiling portrait (C.P.L.F. edition, no. 45) mounted on cardboard, signed in blue ink: “Pour Odette Massonnet, en toute sympathie, Gaby Morlay.” 6. Geneviève Guitry / Actress portrait (IMG_5975.jpg) • Personality: Theatre and cinema actress of the era. • Details: Large-format art print on a cardboard support by Studi o Harcourt Paris, with an elegant dedication in the upper left: “Tous mes vœux de bonheur à Mademoiselle Odette Massonnet” along with her autograph. 7. Portrait with lute / guitar (IMG_5974.jpg) • Details: Profile shot of an artist in a cape holding a stringed instrument (lute or guitar), mounted on era passe-partout, signed bottom left to Mademoiselle Odette Massonnet. 8. Portrait under the gaze (IMG_5977.jpg) • Details: Stylized black-and-white Harcourt Paris print, depicting a actress looking up at the sky, signed in blue ink bottom left. Here is the continuation of the inventory of your collection of autographed photographs and postcards for Mademoiselle Odette Massonnet: 1. Jean Tissier (IMG_5972.jpg) • Personality: A superb comic actor and brilliant supporting player of French cinema from the 1930s to the 1950s, famed for his unique phrasing and zany characters. • Details: Excellent smoking portrait from Harcourt Paris Studio. He bears a warm handwritten dedication: “Pour Odette Massonnet, cordial souvenir de Jean Tissier,” dated February 1944. 2. Portrait of a young man (IMG_5973.jpg) • Details: An original Harcourt Paris Studio art print showing a young man in a checkered shirt, looking upward in a bright atmosphere.

Estimate:£251.27

View all items fromCatawikiorMedals, Arms & Armour