Scarce and terrific vintage 8x10-inch sepia-tone portrait, boldly signed and inscribed to the students of Brooklyn's predominantly Jewish Straus Junior High School in the 1930s. In good condition for its age. With his flowery, pompous quips; hoarse voice; and red, battered nose, beloved vaudevillian juggler-turned-comic film actor W.C. Fields was the quintessential beleaguered everyman, attacked from all sides by nagging wives, bratty children, noisy neighbors, and pesky strangers. Highlights of his far-too-brief film career include Alice in Wonderland (1933), The Old-Fashioned Way (1934), You're Telling Me! (1934), It's a Gift (1934), David Copperfield (1935), Man on the Flying Trapeze (1935), Poppy (1936), You Can't Cheat an Honest Man (1939)My Little Chickadee (1940), The Bank Dick (1940), and Never Give a Sucker an Even Break (1941).

• Tweet