Uncommon black fountain pen signature on a 4x6-inch lined notebook page, acquired in-person in the 1930s. In good condition, with some gentle toning and a very light stain to the right area. Versatile character actor, author and songwriter Gene Lockhart appeared in more than 300 films, often playing downright evil or improbably virtuous types.  He was memorable as the treacherous informant Regis in Algiers (1938), which earned him his only Oscar nomination; Bob Cratchit in A Christmas Carol (1938); Quid in Of Human Hearts (1938); Thomas Sanders in The Story of Alexander Graham Bell (1939); the bumbling sheriff in His Girl Friday (1940); Stephen Douglas in Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940); Mayor Lovett in Meet John Doe (1941); Dr. Prescott in The Sea Wolf (1941); Squire Slossum in The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941); Emil Czaka in Hangmen Also Die! (1943); Ted Haines, Sr. in Going My Way (1944); Dr. Saunders in Leave Her to Heaven (1945); the judge in Miracle on 34th Street (1947); suspicious Georges de la Trémouille in Joan of Arc (1948); Bill Hawthorne in The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956); and the Starkeeper in Carousel (1956).

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