Vintage original 3.5 x 5.5. in. US postcard depicting silent film actress LILLIAN WALKER c.1915.
Issued during her association with the Vitagraph Company of America (founded by J. Stuart Blackton and Albert E. Smith in 1897), the image depicts an interior studio shot of her smiling for the camera. It is in fine condition.
*"Lillian Walker (April 21, 1887 – October 10, 1975), born Lillian Wolke, was an American film actress of the silent era. She appeared in more than 170 films, most of them shorts, between 1909 and 1934.
Photoplay magazine's trade publication Stars of the Photoplay 1916 stated: "Lillian Walker is a feminine confection composed of dimples, golden hair and curves. She was born in Brooklyn and as an artist's model by her beauty attracted attention and she got her opportunity on the stage. All her picture appearances have been Vitagraph productions, and she is best known for her work in Cinderella's Slipper [1915] and the "Miss Tomboy" series [1914]."
In 1918, she set up her own production company, Lillian Walker Pictures Corporation, to make films in which she starred. At least one transpired, The Embarrassment of Riches (1918), released via the W. W. HodkinsonCorporation. Walker died in Trinidad in 1975.
Vitagraph Studios, also known as the Vitagraph Company of America, was a United States motion picture studio. It was founded by J. Stuart Blackton and Albert E. Smith in 1897 in Brooklyn, New York, as the American Vitagraph Company. By 1907, it was the most prolific American film production company, producing many famous silent films.
Major stars included Florence Turner (the Vitagraph Girl, one of the world's first movie stars), Maurice Costello (the first of the matinee idols), Harry T. Morey, Jean (the Vitagraph Dog and the first animal star of the Silent Era) and such future stars as Helen Hayes, Viola Dana, Dolores Costello, Norma Talmadge, Constance Talmadge, and Moe Howard. Larry Trimble was a noted director of films for Turner and Jean (he was also the dog's owner).
On April 20, 1925, Smith finally gave up and sold the company to Warner Bros. for a comfortable profit. The Flatbush studio (renamed Vitaphone) was later used as an independent unit within Warner Bros., specializing in early sound shorts. Vitaphone closed the Flatbush plant in 1940."
*(source: Wikipedia)
3RB