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A John Ford hand-drawn Valentine to Maureen O'Hara and signed book image 1
A John Ford hand-drawn Valentine to Maureen O'Hara and signed book image 2
Lot 79

A John Ford hand-drawn Valentine to Maureen O'Hara and signed book

29 November 2016, 12:00 EST
New York

Sold for US$1,125 inc. premium

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A John Ford hand-drawn Valentine to Maureen O'Hara and signed book

Crayon, pencil, and green ink drawing on John Ford's personal stationery, signed ("Sean"), 1p, 4to, folded, with original transmittal envelope postmarked Los Angeles, CA, February 16, 1955, a name and telephone number written to front of envelope, and a note in O'Hara's hand to its verso: "From / John Ford." WITH: Lever, Charles. St. Patrick's Eve. London: Chapman and Hall, 1845. 8vo. 204 pp. Half green calf. Inscribed: "For Maureen / John Ford / Sean Aloysius Kilmartin O'Feaney" in green ink.
O'Hara and Ford's penultimate film together, The Long Gray Line, had been only recently released on January 22, 1955, when Ford sent O'Hara this affectionate Valentine. The film's shoot had been troubled, with O'Hara singled out for Ford's heavy verbal abuse. Ford frequently played up his Irish heritage, as in this hand-drawn Valentine. In it, Ford caricatures himself in Irish garb with his trademark sunglasses and pipe, with O'Hara standing beside him, her back turned, surrounded by shamrocks. From Ford's pipe, smoke forms a red Valentine's Day heart, with the descending typed words "St. Valentine's Day."

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