Vintage original 3.5 x 5.25 in. Italian postcard depicting the Italian-born silent film actor, LIVIO PAVANELLI. He is depicted in a close studio publicity shot wearing a dark suit and tie while posing in front of a light backdrop. It was boldly inscribed in purple ink by Livio Pavanelli in 1926 (see "Provenance" below) when he was appearing in silent films in Germany (and he noted that he was in Berlin ["Berlino"] when he signed it). Printed in Bologna, Italy, this vintage original postcard is unused in fine- condition with signs of silvering above the bottom border and along the bottom half of the right border and five thin non-contiguous vertical lines that go down the length of the photo in the right half (which only touches the second "g" in his signature of his last name) which are not creases. There are no tears, stains, or other flaws.

Provenance: Approximately 8 years ago, we purchased a collection of two albums of vintage original German postcards from a rare book dealer at an antiquarian book fair in Pasadena, California (see photos). Approximately half of the postcards were signed by the respective personalities and the ones that were dated by the actors are all dated "1926." We were informed by the dealer that these photographs came from a film collector in Germany who acquired the postcards at the time they were issued and then had them signed by the respective actors when he met them in person. We are now pleased to make these vintage original postcards available to other collectors.

Livio Cesare Pavanelli (September 7, 1881 – April 29, 1958) was an Italian film actor born in Emilia-Romagna, Italy. He was an actor and production manager, known for The Ruby of Destiny (1914),  Song to the Wind (1939), and Solitudine (1941). The actor began his career in Italy, where he played in the early silent film Il delitto della via di Nizza - Das Geheimnis der Nizza-Strasse (1913), Fabiola (1916), and Anima allegra (1919) (in which he appeared with the Italian screen goddess, Francesca Bertini, and laid the foundations of his later career in Germany). Pavanelli then conquered the German audience in the 1920's and enchanted the world of the ladies with his appearances in Die schönste Frau der Welt (1924), Der lachende Ehemann (1926), Im weissen Rössl (1926), Die Mädchen von Paris (1927), Madame wagt einen Seitensprung (1927) and Der Hund von Baskerville (1929). His fame faded very fast in the 1930's and he appeared in only few productions, among them Liebeskommando (1931) and La canzone del sole (1934). He died on April 29, 1958 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.