Janet Gaynor ~ This is card #403 from the Salem Goldfilm cigarette card series. It is a circa 1934 original. The edges show minor wear but it is still a very nice example: VF. The card is about 1½"x2¼".

At age 22, Janet Gaynor won the first best actress Oscar for her performances in Seventh Heaven (1927), Sunrise (1927), and Street Angel (1928). Not bad for the ex-shop girl who had been playing uncredited bit parts just over two years earlier. Some critics credit Sunrise as the finest silent film ever made. She made a successful transition to sound starring in a succession of well acted if lesser films through most of the 1930s. A Star is Born, released in 1937, however, gained her another Oscar nomination. In 1939, she retired from the screen after marrying costume designer Gilbert Adrian.

This lot consists of a genuine German cigarette premium issued between about 1930 and 1937. In general, German cigarette cards and premiums make an interesting and inexpensive addition to any collection. The Nazi government of Germany opposed smoking and eventually put an end to cigarette cards. As a result, the native German card collecting hobby never developed to the extent of that in Britain or the United States. As a result, most German premiums and cards cost only a fraction of what might be expected from their American and British cousins.

Large photos are shown smaller than actual size while small ones are generally enlarged to as much as twice their original size. Almost all photos and cards are scanned through protective sleeves or pages which tends to cut the clarity a bit. Enlarged defects tend to look worse than they actually are.