Original period silverprint photograph, ca. 1917,  9 ½ x 7 ½, on double weight paper. Signature and date imprinted in negative (not an original autograph).  Beautiful portrait, blindstamp lower right corner (of the Flying A logo of American Film Company, an early-day motion picture production, initially known  American Film Manufacturing Company. Called Flying "A" Studios, because of its logo of a capital A with wings, that was based in Santa Barbara, California. In 1915, the formal name was changed to the American Film Company.
Mary Miles Minter (1902– 1984) was an American actress, appearing in 53 silent era films from 1912 to 1923. In 1922, Minter was involved in a scandal surrounding the murder of director William Desmond Taylor, for whom she professed her love. Although gossip implicated her mother, former actress Charlotte Shelby, as the murderer, Minter's reputation was tarnished, and she gave up her movie career in 1923. As is with most silent movie stars, much of Minter's work has been lost; of her 53 films, approximately a dozen are known to exist today.
Exhibits strong tonality, clarity and contrast, overall Fine condition