Picture Show Annual for 1929

London: The Amalgamated Press, Ltd, 1929. First Edition. Hardcover. Pictorial pastedown on boards. Very Good/Good. Scarce with original glassine dust jacket which has some printed content on it, as well as four separate color plates depicting Hollywood duos. 4to. 28 by 21 cm. 160 pp. Profusely illustrated with photographs, black and white or sepia toned, and a full full color photographs, of the top Hollywood movie stars of the day, plus English movie stars then based in the U.K., some of whom became part of Hollywood later. This was a tumultuous time in the movie industry, with the last gasp of the silent era and its stars but sound movies a major part of the mix and within a year to be virtually all that would be made. Many of the stars featured, contrary to legend, were able to make the transition, but as Norma Desmond famously said about the silent era firmament, "We had faces then", and this promotional fluff publication surely demonstrates that in spades. Among the countless stars featured are none other than Gloria Swanson, who had just made a silent version of "Sadie Thompson", of course Joan Crawford, who was to soon make the first talking version, "Rain", of the same work, the Talmadge Sisters, the Gishes, Garbo, Gilbert, and on and on. The Annual, which was directed at a British audience, has backward looking articles as well as pieces on make-up, the stars' homes, their opulent changing room bungaloes, etc. The tenor and tone of all the articles and captions is pure publicity department magic dust and fluff, although there is occasionally an interesting detail or observation that one might not expect and/or which says something about the mood and thinking of the industry at the time. For example, concern is expressed that the movie industry might be running out of published fiction to adapt and so the industry would have to start coming up with original stories of its own. No movie buff won't enjoy the now antique photos that conjure up the old Hollywood in some ways better than the celluloid that survives from the era. The four additional color plates would appear to have been issued in conjunction in some manner with the book, since a caption states that they were presented with "Picture Show". They depicte Gary Cooper and Colleen Moore in "Love Never Dies", Marion Davies and Nils Asther in "The Cardboard Lover", Ronald Colman and Lily Damia in "The Rescue", and Jameson Thomas and Estelle Brody in "Week-End Wives". The book itself has some shelfwear and rubbing along the edges but is otherwise tight and clean. The glassine dust jacket has several tears and chips but is a miraculous survival nonetheless.