Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 106

There are certain “firsts” one usually remembers; first kiss, first date with a spouse, first trip to Disneyland – my list also includes my first Ann Dvorak lobby card.

It was the fall of 1997 and while interning at a Beverly Hills talent agency, I met a fellow named Darin who introduced me to the mad, mad world of movie memorabilia collecting. I had expressed an interest in Ann Dvorak, who turned out to be an economical choice because – well, no one else collected on her, so items from her films were relatively inexpensive.

One day on our lunch break, Darin took me to a shop called The Hollywood Poster Exchange located in West Hollywood at the corner of Santa Monica and La Cienega. By that time, the shop had been around almost 30 years under the ownership of Bob Colman. I was completely new to the memorabilia hobby and was in awe when Bob pulled out a few Racing Lady lobby cards. Up until then, I thought all vintage posters cost a bloody fortune, so to have the opportunity to own something from the 1930s was truly amazing. The card I selected was $15, which was a lot for me at the time and I had never even heard of Racing Lady, but it didn’t matter. It was vintage, it was Ann Dvorak, and it was mine.

It’s now been over 15 years since I bough that first card, and I have purchased many, many more. Still, I will never forget that first one, which marked the day that I officially became an Ann Dvorak collector.