Berman, Ingrid - 1942 Signed & Dated - "Casablanca" Original Portrait Photo
1942 – Original Black and white, 7 7/16 x 9 2/8, double weight, three quarter portrait photo of a young Ingrid Bergman, smiling broadly and wearing a white jacket, (possibly a trench coat?).
This photograph, dated 1942, was most likely signed by Bergman during the short three-month production of the iconic film, Casablanca, and inscribed by her,
“To Minnie – Ingrid Bergman 1942”
(Minnie most likely worked in some capacity on the film). Signed images made by Bergman during this time period are considered very rare and exceptional.
A similar signed photo, this same unique image, inscribed to a cameraman on the film and hand-dated July ’42, sold at a December 17th, 2023, in “Julien’s Classic Hollywood Auction”, for the other worldly sum of $5,760. This realized price was on an original auction estimate of $500 to $700!
We cannot prove this was also signed on set without more info on Minnie. Without her last name, we can’t trace her to what work she did on the film. The rarity of this image (only two signed images have so far surfaced) makes it a fairly well educated guess that this image was also signed on set.
Supporting Facts... The photo originates from the set of Casablanca. Principal photography for Casablanca took place from May 25, 1942, to August 3, 1942.
Dry pen to the top of the “T” in “To” and to the upper loop of the “M” in “Minnie. The rest of the signature is bold. 1942 of course, is the magical year of “Casablanca”. World premiere on November 26, 1942, in New York City, released nationally on January 23, 1943.
Casablanca won the 1944 Academy Award for "Best Picture" – while Michael Curtiz won for Best Director, and Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein, and Howard Koch won for Best Writing, Screenplay.
In addition, the film saw Humphrey Bogart nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role; Claude Rains nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role; Arthur Edeson nominated for Best Cinematography, Black-and-White; Owen Marks nominated for Best Film Editing; and Max Steiner nominated for Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture.
An amazing image, beautifully signed. The only fault that I can see is an older repaired tear to the upper left corner. Taped on verso of that corner. Otherwise as close to perfect as a 1942 Casablanca signed Bergman as a photo can get.