ID 1033009
Lot 348 | Her first U.S. studio contract
Estimate value
$ 15 000 – 25 000
Two pages, 284 x 218mm on Loew-Metro-Goldwyn G.M.B.H. stationery (losses at upper right corners).
Greta Garbo's first American film contract. Greta Gustafsson was working in a Stockholm department store where she had done some modeling in display advertisements when she was discovered by Swedish director Erick Arthur Petschler who cast her in a short comedy, Peter the Tramp. More roles followed, and in 1923 she changed her surname to Garbo. Her work brought her to Berlin in 1925 where she stared in the film Die freudlose Glasse directed by G. W. Pabst. It was at this time that Garbo came to the attention of Louis B. Mayer who travelled to Berlin to meet her. While there are several versions of the story of how Mayer came to sign Garbo, both versions note how struck the Hollywood mogul was with the twenty-year old actress and signed her to a one year contract with MGM. Garbo agreed to work exclusively for Mayer for one year at $400 per week with options for four additional years with a pay scale ultimately rising to $1,250 per week as well as in "consideration of your providing me with first class steamer and railroad passage from Berlin to Culver City U.S.A…. " Additionally, she agreed that she would "leave for American no later than April 15th 1925, unless you request me to leave at an earlier date, whereupon I shall try to do so." Upon her arrival in California, Mayer was to draft a contract to "be drawn upon the form of employment agreement usually entered into between you and artists and shall contain the provisions ordinarily found therein," and to be "entered into with ina reasonable time after my arrival in Culver City." Additionally, Garbo demanded that Mayer "furnish gratis the clothes required for the films I am to play in." In July 1925, she boarded a steamer for New York, but upon arrival, she waited for six months awaiting further word from MGM. Finally, she travelled to Los Angeles where she waited another five weeks with no word from the studio. Finally a Swedish friend of Garbo's contacted Irving Thalberg at MGM who agreed to give her a screen test. The result, according to biographer Frederick Sands, "was electrifying." (See The Divine Garbo, (1979) pp. 69–73). Her first American film appearance was in Torrent (1926), followed by The Temptress (1926) the film that catapulted Garbo to stardom.
Artist: | Greta Garbo (1905 - 1990) |
---|---|
Place of origin: | Germany |
Auction house category: | Letters, documents and manuscripts |
Artist: | Greta Garbo (1905 - 1990) |
---|---|
Place of origin: | Germany |
Auction house category: | Letters, documents and manuscripts |
Address of auction |
CHRISTIE'S 20 Rockefeller Plaza 10020 New York USA | ||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Preview |
| ||||||||||||||
Phone | +1 212 636 2000 | ||||||||||||||
Fax | +1 212 636 4930 | ||||||||||||||
Conditions of purchase | Conditions of purchase | ||||||||||||||
Shipping |
Postal service Courier service pickup by yourself | ||||||||||||||
Payment methods |
Wire Transfer | ||||||||||||||
Business hours | Business hours
|
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.