Just Me

New York: George H. Doran, 1919. First Edition. Signed and inscribed by the author / actress Pearl White on the half-title: “To ‘Nils’, Just me as I really am, Pearl”. Front hinge split and starting to the interior with overall handling, edge wear, dust soiling to the cloth, and some spotting without dust jacket. The memoirs of Pearl Fay White (1889 – 1938) who rose to popularity as an actress on the stage screen, given the nickname the ‘Queen of the Serials’, most notably as the spirited ingenue / heroine in The Perils of Pauline, which catapulted her into (truncated) international stardom. Some of her other notable films include The Exploits of Elaine, The House of Hate, and The Lightning Raider. Sadly, Ms. White was unable to find success in feature films and retired from acting in 1923. She was married twice - first to actor Victor Sutherland (1907 - 1914), then to actor Wallace McCutcheon (1919 - 1921). Pearl White's place in film history is important in both the evolution of cinema genres and the role of women in the film industry and she has been honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Tragically, many of her films are officially considered to be lost. The 1947 film The Perils of Pauline is a fictionalized biography of Pearl White, starring Betty Hutton as White, with John Lund, Billy De Wolfe, William Demarest, and Constance Collier. (Inventory #: 22594E)