Bert Lahr Autograph – Signed & Inscribed 8×10 Photo c.1939

A Signed Bert Lahr Portrait from Broadway's Shubert Family

For generations of movie fans, Bert Lahr will always be remembered for finding courage somewhere over the rainbow. Mention his name today and almost everyone pictures the Cowardly Lion nervously padding down the Yellow Brick Road beside Judy Garland.

The funny thing is, The Wizard of Oz represented just one chapter in a career that was already enormously successful. Long before he tangled with flying monkeys, Lahr was one of Broadway's biggest comedy stars, a veteran of vaudeville whose rubber-faced expressions, impeccable timing, and unmistakable voice had been delighting audiences since the 1920s. When MGM cast him as the Lion in 1938, they weren't discovering new talent—they were hiring one of America's best-known comedians.

That's part of what made researching this signed portrait so enjoyable when Britannic Auctions had the opportunity to present it at auction.

The vintage 8 × 10 photograph, dating to around 1939, was inscribed to Lawrence Shubert Lawrence Jr. and consigned by Lawrence himself, a member of the legendary Shubert theatrical family. Collections with that sort of direct connection to Broadway history don't appear every day, and they serve as a reminder that some of the most interesting Hollywood memorabilia still comes from longtime personal collections and families who carefully preserved these pieces for generations.

Behind the Camera: The Photographer Who Captured Broadway's Biggest Stars

Movie stars usually get all the attention, but every now and then it's worth looking at the name printed in the corner of the photograph.

In this case, that name belongs to G. Maillard Kesslere (1894–1979), one of Broadway's busiest portrait photographers. If you were a performer hoping to land the next big role—or simply needed a publicity portrait that made you look like a star—there's a good chance you found yourself in front of Kesslere's camera. His work was recognized by the British Royal Academy of Photography, and in later years he often added the initials "B.P." to his signature.

Once you start paying attention to Kesslere, you begin spotting him everywhere. He photographed Mae West, Admiral Richard E. Byrd, Montgomery Clift, Marlon Brando, and countless Broadway performers whose faces filled theater marquees long before television came along. His photographs still have a following among collectors today. A vintage Kesslere portrait of Mae West brought $1,152 at auction in 2019, while portraits of Montgomery Clift and an early-career Marlon Brando have sold for $316 and $199, respectively.

Just Before the Yellow Brick Road Changed Everything

What's neat about this portrait is when it was made.

Dating to around 1939, it captures Bert Lahr at almost exactly the moment his career was about to become permanently linked with a single role. By then, audiences already knew him as a Broadway comedian and vaudeville headliner with decades of experience behind him. Within a remarkably short time, however, millions of moviegoers would know him for something entirely different: a timid lion searching for courage alongside Dorothy, the Scarecrow, and the Tin Man.

Ironically, this photograph has nothing to do with The Wizard of Oz. That's part of what makes it interesting. It reminds us that before Bert Lahr became the Cowardly Lion, he was simply Bert Lahr—a gifted comedian whose name on a theater marquee was often enough to sell tickets.

When One Role Changes an Entire Collector's Market

Of course, The Wizard of Oz forever changed the market for Bert Lahr memorabilia. Collectors naturally place the strongest demand on original movie stills, costume portraits, signed photographs of Lahr as the Cowardly Lion, and production material connected directly with the film. In 2014, Lahr's original Cowardly Lion costume made headlines around the world when it sold for more than $3 million, after surviving one of Hollywood's more remarkable behind-the-scenes stories and eventually finding its way back into the collector market.

But that's only part of the picture.

Collectors recognize that Bert Lahr's career didn't begin—or end—with Oz. Earlier theatrical portraits like this one, especially vintage photographs dating to the late 1930s, document the performer audiences already knew before he stepped onto the Yellow Brick Road. They also tend to be far more attainable than material directly connected to the film, making them an appealing way to collect one of Hollywood's beloved stars.

Auction results reflect that difference. Signed costume portraits of the Cowardly Lion have realized $5,189 and $7,500, while original studio portraits of Lahr out of costume have sold for figures ranging from $181 to around $500, depending on the photograph itself, the quality of the signature, inscriptions, condition, provenance, and autograph authentication. That's why collectors—and auction houses—look at far more than the autograph alone.

The story behind the photograph is often just as important as the ink on the front.

The Story Continues

One of the pleasures of collecting classic Hollywood is discovering that every photograph, autograph, movie still, or theater program has its own path into the present. Some pieces spent decades in scrapbooks. Others were tucked away in dressing room files, family collections, or estates before finding their way back into the collector market.

Britannic Auctions regularly presents vintage Hollywood memorabilia from Hollywood's Golden Age, including original movie stills, studio photographs, autographs, publicity portraits, and entertainment collectibles from longtime collections and inherited estates. If you're considering the consignment of Hollywood memorabilia, we're always happy to provide a free auction evaluation and discuss whether your collection is a good fit for auction.

And if you're a fan of The Wizard of Oz, Bert Lahr, Judy Garland, or classic films, don't miss our vintage Hollywood memorabilia page and collector mailing list. It's where movie fans hear first about upcoming auctions featuring fresh-to-market Hollywood photographs, movie stills, autographs, and other discoveries before they appear on the auction block.