1205299 ALFRED LUNT AND LYNN FONTANNE SIGNED 8X10 PHOTO ca 1940

ALFRED LUNT AND LYNN FONTANNE SIGNED 8X10 PHOTO ca 1940

This heavily retouched 8x10 photo of the Lunts dining with Lawrence Farrell, their acting company manager, may have been taken at Schellhase's restaurant in Baltimore MD. The photo is inscribed to the Schellhases and probably dates from the preview tour of "Taming of the Shrew when the Lunts dined there every night they were in Baltimore. The photo, mounted to stiff cardboard, is in Fair to Good condition with very faded ink. The inscription and signatures are readable if you hold it to the light at the right angle.
Schellhase's Restaurant in Baltimore MD, owned by C H Otto Schellhase and Frieda Schellhase, operated from 1924 to 1980 and is "remembered for its heavy draperies and even heavier food." H.L. Mencken made it famous as the meeting place for his Saturday Night club. Mencken's influence led many in the world of the arts to gather there. Henry Fonda and Margaret Sullivan were married in Baltimore in 1931 and had their reception at Schellhase's. Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne ate there every night while touring in "The Taming of the Shrew." The walls of Schellhase's gave testimony to its popularity with theatre types, being covered in signed photos of the many Broadway and Hollywood performers who stopped there in the 1930s, '40s, '50s and into the 1960s.

-Shelved in Schellhase binder [consignment].

1205299

Shelved Dupont Bookstore

Price: $48

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