Natalie Wood Memorabilia
Natalie adds James Dean's autograph to the collection on her jacket.
Go to | Movie Memorabilia | Autograph and Personal | gif's, jpg's and AVI's | Commemorative Items
To list all the items that feature Natalie Wood that have been produced over the years would take a large book. I've tried to organize this section along logical lines, but there is considerable overlap in some sections. What I have tried to do is point the reader toward some resources that are available here on the Internet. This is not an endorsement, nor am I affiliated in any way with the groups listed on this page. They are merely places where I have discovered Natalie Wood collectibles in the past. Many of these are businesses that I have never dealt with.
Ebay
Ebay is an Internet consignment auction site. Registered users may bid on a wide variety of items from computer parts to collectible toys. They frequently have several items pertaining to Ms. Wood for sale. This link will take you to Ebay's listing of current Natalie Wood items. Due to the high traffic on their site, server response may be slow.
Film Collectibles: Stills, Lobby cards, Press kits and Posters
For jpg, gif and avi pictures available on the Net, check the links page for Collecting Nat on the Net.
AllPosters.com- All posters usually has several good stills of Natalie available for sale, as well as reprint posters from some of her films.
S&P Parker's Movie Market- A good place to start collecting. Excellent quality reprints of movie star stills and publicity shots (they've got about 20 shots of Natalie Wood on her own or from films.) Since their stock is not one of a kind originals, their prices are fixed and they can always get what you want (I have known them to be temporarily out of stock, but they restock promptly.) They publish a color catalog with pictures of everything in stock (20,000 illustrations) making them one of the easiest outfits to deal with mail order. Supplements are sent out monthly. Prices range from $1.50 to $5 each. They also carry some recent movie posters. Call (714) 376-0327 for free samples of some of their supplements or order their giant catalog for $5 (you'll want it.)
Barbara's Stars, Inc.- Barbara is a school teacher who runs this wonderful business in her spare time (be patient, she's worth it.) She publishes a catalog of about 300 B&W photo's, mostly from classic Hollywood (send two stamps to receive it.) I've only found one (child star) still of Natalie Wood in any of her catalogs, and often you nothing on her at all. I've included Barbara's Stars here because this patient lady also has a magazine clipping collection. If you send her the name of your favorite star, she will tell you if she has a packet on that person. You can have her send it to you to examine. You buy only what you like and are obligated only to pay the shipping charge (usually $3-$4.) Packets may include newspaper, magazine and fanzine articles, photo's, advertisements, and other items ranging from $1 up (most items in my packet were under $5.) This is much cheaper than buying old magazines at $10 to $25 each, and easier than tracking down the information in a library. Much of the detailed information in the magazine section is from clippings I purchased from her. The bad news is that I've already purchased a large packet of Natalie Wood items from her recently, and I don't know if she has much duplicate material. You can always ask, and ask about other stars as well. She can be reached at Barbara's Stars, Inc., P.O. Box 723, Smethport, PA 16749 USA or call (814) 887-5110.
Movie Poster Warehouse has an extensive listing of posters for sale, as well as a FAQ which is quite useful for those new to the hobby. Be advised, hovever, that their photo selection is from the S & P Parker catalog and can be obtained cheaper by buying direct from Parker.
Nostalgia Factory generally has something of interest. They carry posters, press kits, lobby cards and advertisements.
Musicman- An online catalog of movie posters and books. They have some posters from Natalie Wood films, but I haven't dealt with them myself.
Rick's Movie Graphics has a search engine for their online stock of film posters.
Memorabilia Mine carries lobby cards, movie posters, stills, autographs, soundtracks, music sheets, pressbooks, and other items.
See the Natalie Wood Fan Club in the miscellaneous section for more good mail order photo information.
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Autographs and Personal Items
It is difficult to tell an authentic autograph from a fraud. It is also difficult in the case of Natalie to determine the look of an "official" autograph, as her mother, Maria, signed many photos for Natalie's fans. I've listed the items below in order of credibility. Some features to look for are pointed out as well.
Legal Signatures
The first two images are signatures on legal documents from late in her career. The top image is from a contract to appear at a Bette Davis Tribute. This was for sale recently on the web. The second is from her Will, which has been reproduced in books. It was sent to me by Marilyn J. Felling. Note that Natalie also initialed a mistake she made while dating the document.
Note the "squeezed" quality of the A's and O's. The A's generally come to a point at the top. Note that the W continues into the O's in Wood. The looping N is the same on both signatures. Strangely, the T in Natalie is different between the two. In the secondthe cross stroke rises from the tail end of the T, like a continuation of the same stroke. This breaks the flow from the T to the A.
Autographs
The next example is an autograph for Anthony Costello, an acquaintance of Natalie Wood.
Note that the W again leads into the O's. The T and the A in Natalie are not connected, although the cross stroke of the T is a seperate line. The A's and O's are pinched. The N in this example is a print style N.
The next three are autographs for fans. The first is from the collection of Marilyn J. Felling. She received it when she joined Natalie's fan club in 1964. Note the T in "To" differs from the example above. The W does not lead into the O's. The first A in Natalie is inside the N, and the E is unlike the samples above.
The second is an autograph purchased by Linda Bradbeer. It dates from the 1970's. Unfortunately, it's signed over a dark area, and I'm scanning from a xerox. The letters are essentially like the contract sample, except that the W does not continue into the O's.
The third was on sale on the Net some time ago.
Other
The next "signature," while certainly genuine, differs greatly from her legal signature. It's from Mann's (formerly Grauman's) Chinese Theater (1961, Dec. 5)
With the exception of the Mann's footprints and Anthony's autograph, all of these signatures have a large cursive "n" instead of a print "N." Of the signatures I've had a chance to examine, the only other time Natalie used an "N" was in signing her name for "What's My Line?" (no phot available.) On this occasion, as in the Mann's signing, she would have been writing her name with more of a "chalkboard" method. ONLY on these occasions do we have a varified use of a print "N" by Natalie Wood. ALL of the regular signature samples show a looped "n."
The later signatures (including the Bradbeer photo, although you can't see it here) all seem to have a regular lower case cursive"e" at the end of Natalie, while earlier examples from the 50's and 60's end with an "E" which is more like an uppercase cursive. This includes the Mann's and "What's My Line?" examples.
The "t"s very greatly in the examples above. Most have short crosses. The method and angle of crossing varies. She seems to have broken the flow of her first signature between the "t" and the "a" in most cases. The Bette Davis contract is a noteworthy of the exceptions.
None of the signatures have any lead in stroke to the "W." Also the first loop tends to be sharper and rounder, while the second loop often to stretches and even flattens a bit at the base. Similarly, the first "o" in Wood tends to be thinner than the second. The "a"s are just the reverse, the first being larger than the second. The vowels also vary considerably in shape from one example to another.
Printed Signatures
These three are from magazine articles and endorsements. Marilyn J. Felling also sent these. The second is from a write-up circa 1964. I can't easily put a date to the third. These don't quite match the other examples.
All of these have a lead in stroke to the "W." Only the second has a loop to the "n." The third has a fancy lead stroke. Only the first has a break after the "t" and an "E."
The first example seems to have much in common with the signatures above. However, note that the "E" is not only used at the end of Natalie, but in all the words. This is not true in the two autograph examples. It's also very legible. It seems likely that a professional letterer would have been hired to put together this ad, rather than having Natalie involved.
The second, while from the mid 60's, more closely resembles the later era examples. It certainly close enough to be legitimate.
The third example also has a long cross to the "t," a greater slant to all the letters, and a "W" that is wider on the front loop. The "N" lack s the looping quality of the other examples. The whole style of this one seems wrong to me.
Comments and additions are welcome .........
On the Web
TC Vintage Autographs has carried autographs of Natalie in the past.
If you snooze you lose- these adds were found on the net in the past:
Motor Home of the Stars! 4-sale. Used by Natalie Wood in the making of her last film Brainstorm. 1980 Vogue Class "A". wholesale book is 19,000.00 and retail 23,000.00.....will take best offer. call Jim XXX-XXX-XXXX....never in salt...good condition.
I'm afraid you also missed:
714 N Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills: $1,795,000 • 5bed, 4bath. Wonderful large entertaining home. Large lot, former home of Natalie Wood. Good remodel, very private. 2 story-Traditional Amenities: Maids, Brk, FDR, Spa, AC, Hwd, FamRm, Pool, Sec, 3-Firepl Please contact ADRIAN GRANT at John Aaroe & Assoc. BH (XXX) XXX-XXXX
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Collectible Tributes: Jewelry, Art Prints, Plates, Dolls, etc.
The Hollywood Collection offers costume recreations of jewelry of the stars. Their Natalie Wood section includes eight pieces from her life and movies:
Natalie has been the subject of several paper doll sets through the years. Whitman published two books on her. The 1957 set ( #1962) featured two dolls of Natalie. She is wearing her "Gigi" hairstyle and holds a small dog on the cover. The 1958 set (#?) also has two dolls. The set has a green cover featuring Natalie with long hair. More recently, artist Marilyn Henry created a one sheet Natalie doll, which was published by Paperdoll Review, PO Box 584, Princeton IN 47670.
The 1981 Memory Plate by Alton Tobey is a complete circular mural depicting the most memorable people and events of the year 1981. Produced by Fairmont China, this 12-1/4" plate features dozens of celebrities, includung Natalie Wood.
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This page was last updated on April 09, 2004
