08/10/2026
Saturday’s Finds: I buy collections. Actually I should have said I like to buy collections. There’s no rhyme or reason why people collect what they collect. Their collection has meaning to them. An item, event, pet or person is significant enough to make an impression leading to an accumulation. Sometimes the collector collects a handful of items and sometimes the collector becomes a hoarder. What ever the case for me it’s nice to find a modest collection such as these early Lucille Ball movie posters and lobby cards.
When I entered the home that they were in and the first thing I noticed was how nicely framed they were and that they were arranged attractively in a long hallway. Original to the 1940’s and 50’s this collection is a nice representation of the actress’s early days before she became a powerhouse on television.
You’re not pretty enough, you’re too tall, you need to do something with your hair, you’ll never make it in the business, you should give up and find another vocation she was told not once but over and over again. She kept trying. Inventing, reinventing, and kept pushing, kept trying.
These fourteen posters are from her early contract days and she, if you’ve ever seen any of these movies, isn’t the zany redhead we all know. She had a style of her own and that set her apart from other actresses of that time. She was her own woman.
Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was a comedian, actress, producer, and studio executive. Time magazine recognized her as one of the most influential women of the 20th century. She was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning five. She won a Golden Globe Award and has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She earned the Women in Film Crystal Award, and was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame. She also received the Governors Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. She was awarded posthumously the Presidential Medal of Freedom 1989. All of these Accolades and awards went to someone studio casting advised to find another line of work.
She and her husband founded their own studio and production company. She was one of the first if not the first female executive In the industry. By the way, a little series in the mid 1960’s was signed, produced and and televised because “Lucy Liked It” - that series was Star Trek.
I didn’t meet the gentleman that found and collected these early posters. I would have liked to; he had good taste and could say without hesitation when asked about his collection “I Love Lucy”
How about you?
