Description

Description: This pin-up photograph of a tip-toed, bikini-clad Esther Williams is signed by the movie star in green ink. Williams leans against a boulder on a beach as sunny as her smile. Ostensibly sent to a soldier about to ship off to fight in World War II, the photo is accompanied by its original transmittal envelope which is addressed to Private William Hemstead of Prospect Park, NJ and has a Culver City, California postal cancellation dated November 24, 1944. The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures envelope has a 3-cent “Win the War” stamp.

5″ x 3 1/2″. Item #A01938

Esther Williams (1921-2013) was an American competitive swimmer and actress who starred in numerous films in the 1940s and early 1950s known as “aquamusicals”, which featured elaborate performances with synchronized swimming and diving. Every year from 1945 to 1949, Williams had at least one film among the 20 highest-grossing films of the year. In 1952, Williams appeared in her only biographical role, as Australian swimming star Annette Kellerman in Million Dollar Mermaid, which went on to become her nickname while she was at MGM.

Condition: Very good condition.