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I am both honored and thrilled to be able to
bring you some of the incredible Vincent Price objects from the
collection of my friend, Robert. Robert's a passionate
collector who has seen to it that many of the items you see below
will be going, eventually, to archival homes where researchers will
have access to them in perpetuity. Without his forethought and
generosity, some very important Vincent Price memorabilia might
never have been seen again. This same generosity has allowed
me to include images of some of his favorite pieces here, in this
truly special gallery!
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The Price family
sewing box! You just never know what will turn up in this
world! The photos are of both Prices and Grants. |
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Another
memorabilia collector named Robert W. bought a costume hat
at an auction some years ago-- it has a costume dept. tag
with Vinnie's name printed on it inside -- but there is no
hint as to when or what production it was for. So Robert W.
photographed it and sent the photo to Vinnie, asking if he
knew what movie or tv show, etc. it might be from.
Evidently Price had no idea either (maybe it was never used,
for that matter), but with typical Vinnie humor he cut out
the hat, glued it to his own photo, and sent it back to
Robert W. with the inscription, "My best hat!" I was happy
to get the hat, but it's the photo that sealed the deal! |
Here's the
hat, on a Price head I have. |
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The shoe was
pressed flat inside the baby book I'd purchased, and when I
found it there, I thought, "Drat, its mate must have fallen
out during the past 90+ years." But there in the book, on
the page where V.L.P., Sr. wrote about Vinnie's baptism day,
15 Oct. 1919, it says that baby Vinnie kicked off the other
shoe somewhere on the way to the church -- and though they
searched for it, it never could be found. So this single
shoe is exactly what Vinnie's family had and preserved. I
"stuffed" it with acid-free tissue and it came back into
shape very well. Note, too, the curl of his baby hair. |
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Vinnie's smaller briefcase, plastered with stickers from his
endless travels [near right]. The wear on this piece
bespeaks how much VP used it over the years. I like the
length of orange yarn tied to the handle -- a "marker" so he
could spot it quickly in the airport luggage pick-up area. |
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Vinnie's
larger briefcase which he carried on endless trips and
tours. Note the heavily worn handle and his gold initials. |
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[left] Vinnie --
tallest in the family! -- behind his mother and father,
Marguerite and V.L. Sr., with his brother and sisters and
their families on the occasion of Mr. and Mrs. Price's
Golden Wedding anniversary in 1944. To celebrate the
occasion, one of Vinnie's nieces models the wedding gown
that Marguerite had worn in 1894. [right] This was from
Vinnie's personal collection. His role as King Charles II
in HUDSON'S BAY (1941). |
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[left] A
poster which once belonged to Forry Ackerman. It was given
to me by a mutual friend after Forry's passing.
[right] I believe
this was taken around the time Vinnie was doing his stint on
PBS' wonderful show, Mystery! |
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This is Vincent Price's little travel
alarm clock which he carried with him on every trip he took
for many years. Behind it are two of his favorite photos of
his beloved mother and father. |
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Vincent Price
collected many things, including rare seashells! This is
the largest shell his collection boasted, a Syrinx aruanus,
the Australian Trumpet Syrinx! This one is about 21" from
tip to tip, one of the prizes of Vinnie's collection. It
has a hole drilled near the tip on one side so that it can
be blown (as the Pacific Islanders can do), and I understand
that occasionally, when they gave parties, Vinnie could be
persuaded to attempt to get a resounding tone from it. To
everyone's delight, he could only achieve a barrage of rude
noises! |
Here you can see
this shell and a smaller one displayed in the Price home. |
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