Skip to main content

This auction has ended. View lot details

You may also be interested in

Own a similar item?

Submit your item online for a free auction estimate.

Lot 670¤

A Rudolph Valentino beauty contest trophy

30 November 2016, 12:00 EST
New York

Sold for US$2,500 inc. premium

Own a similar item?

Submit your item online for a free auction estimate.

How to sell

Looking for a similar item?

Our Popular Culture specialists can help you find a similar item at an auction or via a private sale.

Find your local specialist

Ask about this lot

A Rudolph Valentino beauty contest trophy

Brass award cup with two handles, engraved, "Presented by / Mr. and Mrs. Rudolph Valentino / to the / winner of the / Valentino-Mineralava / Beauty Contest / 1923," mounted on a wooden base. When Rudolph Valentino was suspended by Famous Players-Lasky, he found his finances depleted. To rebuild his fortune, he embarked on an intensive cross-country dance tour with his wife Natacha; along the way, he held a beauty contest as a tie-in with the tour's sponsor, Mineralava Beauty Clay. Women in several states were chosen as candidates for the leading lady of Valentino's next film and presented with a trophy like this one. With a contemporary newspaper clipping depicting Valentino holding a similar trophy.
Height: 17 in; cup (diameter): 6 ½ in; base: 7 ½ in

Additional information

Bid now on these items

An Omega Pocket Watch Engraved to Spencer Tracy from Joan Crawford Date: c. 1937

Gary Moore: A Gibson Les Paul Standard Electric Guitar, known as 'Stripe', 1959,

Marianne Faithfull: Two Passports and a Selection of Personal Ephemera, Qty

Bernie Krause (b. 1938) Day & Night in Gombe, 2025

Marianne Faithfull: A diary, a large collection of archival notes and lyrics, and other personal items, Qty

Marianne Faithfull: A Selection of Personal Books, with inscriptions, Various publishers and dates, Qty

Marianne Faithfull: A large collection of personal correspondence, Various dates, Qty

Marianne Faithfull: A Large Collection of Photographs, some professional and some personal,

Marianne Faithfull: A Large Annie Leibovitz campaign poster of Marianne Faithfull for GAP, 1990,

Anita Pallenberg (Italian, 1942-2017): Work on paper, titled "Babylon", 1994, 2

Marianne Faithfull: a Dyptich by Giuseppe Romeo, titled "Falsehood I" and "Falsehood II", Paris, 1995-96, 2

Carrie Fisher (1956-2016): Her personal trunk, Gifted to Marianne Faithfull,

Marianne Faithfull: Two paintings, one by Thierry Bisch, titled 'Butterflies', 2003, and undated, 3