An Eleanor Parker Photo Album Featuring the California Zephyr

An Eleanor Parker Photo Album Featuring the California Zephyr 1949. Vintage commemorative album of photographs and ephemera from the Saturday, March 19, 1949, California Zephyr Dedication Ceremonies. Including 18 vintage gelatin silver 8 x 10 in. photographs of the event; 2 event programs; and a typed letter of thanks to Ms. Parker and signed by Gilbert Kneiss, Assistant to the President of Western Pacific Railroad Company Public Relations. The California Zephyr was a passenger train that ran between Chicago, Illinois and Oakland, California via Omaha, Denver, Salt Lake City, Winnemucca, Oroville, and Pleasanton in the United States. It was operated by the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy (CB&Q), Denver & Rio Grande Western (D&RGW), and Western Pacific (WP) railroads. The vintage photos capture the general event with many featuring Ms. Parker christening the Zephyr with a traditional champagne bottle. Exhibiting age, some curling to photos, and handling. If an audience is able to get past her spectacular beauty, actress Eleanor Parker's enormous talent will successfully distract them. And distract them she did in her five-decade career during the Golden Age of Hollywood; so much so that she earned the nickname, 'Woman of a Thousand Faces.' Her journey in the entertainment industry began in the early 1940s, and over the course of her career, she earned critical acclaim and multiple award nominations for her versatile roles. Her multifaceted performance in the 1950 film, Caged, in which she transforms from a wrongly accused gentle young woman into a hardened product of the penal system is one of the strongest presentations given by an actress in the annals of film. One of Eleanor Parker's most celebrated performances is in the beloved 1965 musical, The Sound of Music. In the film, she portrayed Baroness Elsa von Schraeder, a sophisticated and elegant woman entangled in a love triangle with Captain von Trapp and governess Maria. Parker's performance is unique in that she portrayed what would otherwise have been a villainess as a vulnerable, sympathetic, and hence, more realistic and memorable character. Her on-screen presence contributed to the film's enduring popularity. Throughout her career, Eleanor received three Academy Award® nominations for Best Actress, and in her later years, she appeared regularly on episodic television. In 1969, Parker appeared in a film called Eye of the Cat in which she played a wheelchair-bound woman who loses control and is slowly rolling backward down a steep sidewalk towards major traffic. Though considered somewhat campy today (it can often be seen on Instagram), it continues to instill fear and sweaty palms when viewed, in large part because of Parker's authentic performance; she had the talent to transcend camp! Bonhams is proud to offer these personal items from the estate of one of Hollywood's most charismatic leading ladies. Provenance: Directly from Eleanor Parker's son, actor, writer, and artist Paul Day Clemens. 10 x 11.5 in. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing