Vintage original black and white candid snapshot, measuring about 3 x 4.75 inches, boldly signed and inscribed in blue fountain pen for inveterate collectors Frances and Violet Zane in the early 1950s. In fine condition, with gentle edge wear. Tall, dark-haired British character actor Lester Matthews was typically cast as dashing or temperamental leads. He was a regular in horror, sci-fi and fantasy films, memorable as Paul Ames in Werewolf of London (1935), Dr. Halden in The Raven (1935), Dr. Holmes in The Mysterious Doctor (1943), Sir Jasper Harrick in The Invisible Man's Revenge (1944), a steamship dispatcher in Between Two Worlds (1944), Sir John Utterson in The Son of Dr. Jekyll (1951), Commissioner Kingston in Jungle Jim in the Forbidden Land (1952), Mr. Tomes in Mary Poppins (1964), and Ira Jaffee in Savage Intruder (1970). Among his countless other classic film credits are Thank You, Jeaves! (1936), The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), Mysterious Mister Moto (1938), Across the Pacific (1942), and Ministry of Fear (1944).

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