Unsigned Opera Photos

Lot of 63 large unsigned photos taken by Erika Davidson, New York in the 1970s and 1980s. Artists shown as themselves at the Metropolitan Opera or surrounding facilities. Includes such leading artists as Placido Domingo, Renata Tebaldi, Tito Gobbi, and Franco Corelli, among many others. All photos are 8 x 10 inches and stamped on verso by Erika Davidson. All in excellent condition, sold only as lot.   

Group of 66 unsigned opera photos, ranging from 4 x 6 to 5 x 7 inches. Many different performers from throughout the twentieth century. Artists are shown mostly in role, photos taken in various opera houses, many from the Metropolitan Opera in the late 1980s and early 1990s. All photos are in very good condition, sold only as lot.

Lot of 68 unsigned photos, mostly promotional photos, of leading operatic performers from the 1940s to the 1990s, mostly 1970s and later.  Includes great artists such as Kirsten Flagstad, Astrid Varnay, Placido Domingo and many others. Sizes range from 7 x9 inches to 8 x 10 inches, most are 8 x 10. In excellent condition, sold only as lot.  

Group of 69 unsigned opera photos, sizes range from 4 x 6 inches to 5 x 7 inches. Many major stars and superstars from throughout the twentieth century, including  Mario del Monaco, Guillermo Sarabia, Maria Chiara, Fiorenza Cossotto, Leonie Rysanek, Edith Mathis, Ruggero Raimondi, Tito Gobbi, Piero Cappuccilli, Lily Pons, Birgit Nilsson, Regina Resnik, Fedora Barbieri, Marian Anderson, Richard Tucker, Irmgard Seefried, Martina Arroyo, and Renato Capecchi. Artists are shown in role and as themselves, photos are taken from various opera houses. Most are stamped on verso by photographer. All photos are in very good condition, sold only as lot.

Beautiful set of 5 unsigned photo postcards depicting caricatures of opera composers Arrigo Boito, Ruggero Leoncavallo (2), Pietro Mascagni, and Jules Massenet. Each size is 3.5 x 5.5 inches, some of which have rust stains on the verso. All are in overall very good condition or better. SOLD ONLY AS A LOT, NOT SOLD SEPARATELY.  

Group of 50 unsigned photo postcards depicting singers in role and as themselves, from various European theaters from cities such as Vienna, Salzburg, Berlin, Dresden, etc, mostly from 1940s and 50s with a few older, including 2 color portraits of soprano Giuseppina Strepponi (Giuseppe Verdi´s wife). Sizes range from 3.3 x 5.5 inches to 4 x 5.75 inches, all in very good condition.  A nice and varied lot, not sold individually. 

Group of 63 unsigned photo postcards depicting singers from 1900s to the 1980s, mostly from 1920s through 1940s. Taken from the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco and several European theaters including Bayreuth, Berlin, Rome, etc - all in very good condition. Various sizes, with most being 3.5 x 5.75 inches. Not sold individually.  

Beautiful collection of 40 photo postcards depicting scenes from famous operas. Average size is 3.5 x 5.5 inches, some have ink markings but most of them are like new, in very good or excellent condition. SOLD ONLY AS A LOT, NOT SOLD SEPARATELY.

Lot of 48 unsigned photographs of singers and others, including Rudolf Bing, Birgit Nilsson, Jon Vickers, Placido Domingo, Jose Carreras, Mirella Freni, Renata Tebaldi, Tito Gobbi, Anna Moffo, Carlo Bergonzi, Franco Corelli, Set Svanholm, Zinka Milanov, Jose Van Dam, Carol Neblett, among others.  Size is 8 x 10 inches approximately, in excellent condition. SOLD ONLY AS A LOT, NOT SOLD SEPARATELY.

Lot of 91 unsigned color and black and white photographs of many opera singers in productions by different theaters, stamped on verso (or with a sticker) by photographers in both Europe and the USA. Most of them are 5 x 7 inches, some are 8.5 x 6 inches and 4 x 6 inches, in very good condition or better. SOLD ONLY AS A LOT, NOT SOLD SEPARATELY

A beautiful collection of +150 unsigned photo postcards of different opera singers. Each one's size is 3.4 x 5.24 inches approximately, in excellent condition. Artists include Maria Jeritza, Richard Mayr, Hans Duhan, Alfred Piccaver, Berta Kiurina, Karl Ziegler, Erik Schmedes, Josef Schwarz, Serge Jaroff, Michael Bohnen, Anna Bahr-Mildenburg, Alexander Nosalewicz, Leo Slezak, Lotte Lehmann, Rudolf Hofbauer, Melitta Heim, Fritz Weidemann, Franz Hobling, Josef Dunegger, Erika Wagner, Raoul Aslan, Alfred Gerasch, Selma Kurz, and many others. SOLD ONLY AS A LOT, NOT SOLD SEPARATELY.

Gorgeous collection of +90 photo postcards of mostly French and Italian opera singers, including famous stars such as Mary Garden, Heldy Muratore, Nellie Melba, Marcella Sembrich, Rosina Storchio, Lina Cavalieri, Jean-Francois Delmas, Lucienne Bréval, Albert Alvarez, Henri Albers, and others. Each one's size is 3.4 x 5.4 inches approximately, in good or better condition.

Lot of 8 vintage unsigned photographs plus 2 prints of opera singers, as follows: 2 large photographs of Bidu Sayao shown in role (each one is 10.5 x 13.25 inches, in very good condition); 1 photograph of Enrico Caruso shown as himself, an original photo by Schlattman, Mexico (size is 4.6 x 7.25 inches, in very good condition); 2 cabinet photographs of tenor Gasparini Casari shown as Des Grieux and Goro (each one's size is 6.7 x 9 inches, trimmed border, one in very good and the other in poor condition); 1 original photograph of baritone Tita Ruffo as Amonasro mounted on cardboard for a total size of 7.9 x 9.9 inches, some damage over the lower-right corner, in very good condition; 1 cabinet of the French baritone Jean Louise Lassalle, mounted on cardboard for a total size of 5.1 x 8.6 inches, in very good condition; 1 cabinet-style photograph of tenor Italo Campanini, size is 4.1 x 6.4 inches, crack over the lower-left corner, in good condition; 1 vintage print of star soprano Jenny Lind with facsimile signature over the lower border, size is 7.4 x 10.4 inches, dust spots and cracks, in very good condition; and 1 engraving from 1793 of an unknown singer named "Bates". SOLD ONLY AS A LOT, NOT SOLD SEPARATELY.

Lot of 111 beautiful unsigned photo postcards of mostly opera singers and some few composers and conductors, from the first half of XX century.  Each one's size is 3.5 x 5.5 inches approximately, in good condition or better. SOLD ONLY AS A LOT, NOT SOLD SEPARATELY.

A beautiful collection of 155 unsigned vintage photo postcards of opera singers shown in role and as themselves, including Leo Slezak, Marie Wittich, Berta Morena, Herbert Janssen, Lorenz Corvinus, Paul Bender, Graziella Pareto, Maud Fay, Genevieve Vix, Adelina Patti, Maria Ivogun, Geraldine Farrar, Hermann Jadlowker, Olive Fremstad, Mary Garden, Ernestine Schumann-Heink, Aldo Bonci, Armand Crabbe, Nellie Melba, Louise Homer, Frieda Hempel, Rosa Raisa, Walter Soomer, Francesco Tamagno, Sigrid Arnoldson. Each one's size is 3.5 x 5.5 inches approximately, in very good condition or better. SOLD ONLY AS A LOT, NOT SOLD SEPARATELY.

A fine collection of 17 unsigned vintage composite photographs of opera singers, from different opera houses, mostly from the first half of the XX century.  Size for each one is 3.5 x 5.5 inches approximately (some are larger), all in very good to excellent condition. SOLD ONLY AS A LOT, NOT SOLD SEPARATELY.

Fine collection of 19 personal cards (unsigned) belonging to famous opera singers including Francesco Tamagno, Lily Pons, Pasquale Amato, Eva Tetrazzini, Geraint Evans, Jussi Bjorling, and others, plus two belonging to personalities such as the Met Manager Rudolf Bing and the General Nicolai Nikolaevich. Sizes range between 3.5 x 1.75 inches and 4.8 x 3.3 inches, all in very good condition. SOLD ONLY AS A LOT, NOT SOLD SEPARATELY.

Fine collection of 19 vintage photographs of different opera singers mostly from the 1910s and some other few more modern; some are original photographs by Mishkin. The average size is 6 x 7.8 inches, all in very good condition or better. Artists include Adelina Patti, Anna Fitziu, Antonio Scotti, Emma Trentini, Emmy Destinn, Eva Turner, Frances Alda, Gertrude Kappel, Giacomo Lauri-Volpi, Giovanni Martinelli, Giuseppe de Luca, Lawrence Tibett, Lucrezia Bori, Margarete Matzenauer, Olive Fremstad, Paul Althouse, and Yvonne Gall. SOLD ONLY AS A LOT, NOT SOLD SEPARATELY.

Lot of 21 unsigned black and white vintage photographs of opera singers, opera scenes, and opera theater facilities, stamped on verso by different photographers, from different opera theaters around the world such as Bayreuth, Berlin, among others.  Artists include Lucrezia Bori, Rita Gorr, Florence Austral, Amelita Galli-Curci, Raoul Jobin, Fanny Heldy, Ivonne Gall, and others.  Sizes are 7 x 9 inches and 8 x 10 inches, in very good condition or better. SOLD ONLY AS A LOT, NOT SOLD SEPARATELY.

Lot of 26 beautiful unsigned photographs of different opera singers such as Placido Domingo, Franco Corelli, Richard Leech, Luba Wellitsch, Domenico Trimarchi, and others.  Some photographs are stamped on verso by photographers. Sizes range from 3.5 x 5.5 inches to 5 x 7 inches, all in very good condition. SOLD ONLY AS A LOT, NOT SOLD SEPARATELY.

Lot of 31 unsigned beautiful black and white photographs of opera singers, scenes, and rehearsals, by different photographers.  Most of the photographs are stamped on verso by the corresponding photographer.  Artists include Alfredo Kraus, Beverly Sills, Tito Gobbi, Astrid Varnay, Irene Dalis, Maria Laurenti, among others. Each one's size is 5 x 7 inches approximately, conditions range between very good to excellent condition. SOLD ONLY AS A LOT, NOT SOLD SEPARATELY.

Fantastic set of 33 original photo postcards of opera singers from performances in Vienna and Salzburg between 1920 and 1944. All of them are identified in pencil, including Karl Ettl, Franz Markhoff, Richard Mayr, Juliuis Patzak, Laurenz Hofer, Trajan Grosavescu, Mariella Piccaver, and others. Sizes are 3.3 x 5.3 inches (31) and 4.1 x 5.75 inches (2), in excellent condition. SOLD ONLY AS A LOT, NOT SOLD SEPARATELY.

Lot of 35 unsigned photographs of opera singers, stamped on verso by photographer and/or sticker by Metropolitan Opera Press Department. Artists include Nicolai Gedda, Birgit Nilsson, Carlo Bergonzi, Mirella Freni, Franco Corelli, Tito Gobbi, Set Svanholm, Leonie Rysanek, among others. Each one's size is 8 x 10 inches, in excellent condition. SOLD ONLY AS A LOT, NOT SOLD SEPARATELY.

Lot of 40 unsigned photographs of opera singers stamped on verso by photographers Erika Davidson, Erio Piccagliani, Louis Melancon, Fayer, and Sedge LeBlang. Artists include Lily Djanel, Jose Carreras, Katia Ricciarelli, Joan Sutherland, Franco Corelli, Carlo Bergonzi, Mirella Freni, Natalie Dessay, Tito Gobbi, and others.  Size is 8 x 10 inches each one, in excellent condition. SOLD ONLY AS A LOT, NOT SOLD SEPARATELY.

A nice collection of 44 unsigned photo postcards of opera singers blind-stamped on the front by Magasin Metropol Photo Studio (Vienna).  Size is 3.3 x 5.25 inches each, in excellent condition. Artists include Richard Schubert, Erik Schmedes, and many others. SOLD ONLY AS A LOT, NOT SOLD SEPARATELY.

Lot of 45 unsigned photographs of opera singers including Birgit Nilsson, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Leo Nucci, Carlo Bergonzi, Barbara Bonney, Edita Gruberova, Joan Sutherland, Marian Anderson, Franco Corelli, among others. Most of them are 8 x 10 inches in size and by photographer Erika Davidson. SOLD ONLY AS A LOT, NOT SOLD SEPARATELY. 

Lot of 45 unsigned black and white photographs of different opera singers, stamped on verso (or with a sticker) by photographer Erika Davidson, New York. Artists include Franco Corelli, Carol Neblett, Hans Sotin, Mirella Freni, Anna Moffo, Marilyn Horne, Sherrill Milnes, Joan Sutherland, Richard Tucker, Edita Gruberova, and conductor Giuseppe Patané, among other artists. Most of them are 8 x 10 inches, some are 7.9 x 10 inches, all in excellent condition. SOLD ONLY AS A LOT, NOT SOLD SEPARATELY.

Lot of 48 beautiful black-and-white photographs of different opera singers including Grace Moore, Montserrat Caballé, Shirley Verrett, Franco Corelli, Joan Sutherland, Renata Scotto, Luciano Pavarotti, Nicola Rossi-Lemeni, Maria Callas, Beniamino Gigli, Jan Peerce, Magda Olivero, Nan Merriman, and others, most of them in role, and some of them are signed by the photographer on verso.  Most of them are 6 x 9 inches and 8 x 10 inches in size, except Grace Moore's which is 11 x 8.8 inches, in excellent condition.

Fine lot of 5 unsigned black and white original vintage photographs from different opera productions at Kassel, Germany (season 1937) and Wiesbaden, Germany (season 1938).  All the photographs are mounted on cardboard for a total size of 11.5 x 9.4 inches, all blind-stamped on verso by the photographer, in very good condition. SOLD ONLY AS  A LOT, NOT SOLD SEPARATELY.

A beautiful collection of 50 unsigned vintage photo postcards from the period 1910-1940 depicting famous opera singers shown mostly in an operatic role or as themselves; artists include Marietta Piccaver, Emmy Destinn, Karl Aagaard, Tancredi Pasero, Astrid Varnay, Elise Bauer, Berta Morena, Maude Fay, Alfred von Bary, Fritz Feinhals, Heinrich Hensel, Walther Kirchhoff, Ernst Kraus, Anton van Rooy, and others. Each one's size is 3.5 x 5.5 inches approximately, all in very good condition. SOLD ONLY AS A LOT, NOT SOLD SEPARATELY.

Lot of 50 unsigned vintage photo postcards of opera singers mostly from the early XX century, including Paul Bender, Holger Christensen, Bernhard Bötel, Hans Fidesser, Leon Rains, Heinrich Hensel, Charles Dalmores, Baptist Hoffmann, Walter Kirchhoff, Karl Jörn, Maria Nezadal, Maude Fay, among others.  Each one's size is 3.5 x 5.5 inches, conditions range from good to excellent. SOLD ONLY AS A LOT, NOT SOLD SEPARATELY.

Lot of 50 unsigned vintage photo postcards of opera singers mostly from the early XX century, including Wilhelm Grüning, Robert Philipp, Heinrich Knotte, Rudolf Laubenthal, Marianne Alfermann, Rudolf Berger, Antonio Scotti, Hermann Bachmann, Berta Morena, Edouard de Reszke, Julius Roether, Maud Fay, Marie Dietrich, Hedwig Fichtmüller, Ernst Kraus, Emmy Destinn, Paul Bender,  among others.  Each one's size is 3.5 x 5.5 inches approximately, conditions range from good to excellent. SOLD ONLY AS A LOT, NOT SOLD SEPARATELY.

Lot of 55 unsigned vintage photo postcards of opera singers from the late XIX century and early XX, including Fedor Chaliapin, Fritz Brodersen, Carlo Galeffi, Enrico Caruso, Lina De Benedetto, Richard Tauber, Lotte Lehmann, Adelina Patti, Edyth Walker, and others.  Each one's size is 3.5 x 5.5 inches, conditions range from good to excellent. SOLD ONLY AS A LOT, NOT SOLD SEPARATELY.

A beautiful collection of 58 unsigned photographs and (mostly photo postcards of opera singers including Anton Dermota, Anita Cerquetti, Giacomo Lauri-Volpi, composer Giacomo Puccini, Birgit Nilsson, Gina Cigna, Nellie Melba, Richard Tauber, Maria Ivogun, Maria Jeritza, plus a few actors. Each one's size is 3.5 x 5.5 inches on average, in very good condition or better. SOLD ONLY AS A LOT, NOT SOLD SEPARATELY.

Lot of 62 vintage unsigned photographs from different opera houses including Bayreuth, Vienna, Munich, and others depicting mostly opera singers including Edouard Kriff, Jan Kiepura, Viorica Cortez, Maria Cebotari, Beniamino Gigli; and few photos from scene productions, most are in black and white and some few colorized, some are stamped on verso by photographers.  Various sizes ranging from 3.3 x 5.4 to 3.9 x 5.7 inches, in very good condition or better.

Nice collection of 86 unsigned photo postcards of many important opera singers, all of them blind-stamped on the front by different photographers. Each one is 3.4 x 5.25 inches approximately, in very good condition or better. Artists include Erik Schmedes, Arthur Fleischer, Richard Kubla, and many other important names. SOLD ONLY AS A LOT, NOT SOLD SEPARATELY.

Lot of 96 unsigned color and black and white photographs of opera singers in different productions, very few of them are stamped on verso by photographer, though most of the lot is not. Artists include  Marcello Cortis, Biancarosa Zanibelli, Minnie Klotz, Lyne Cumia, and many others. Most of them are 7 x 5 inches in size, some are smaller (postal size), in very good condition. SOLD ONLY AS A LOT, NOT SOLD SEPARATELY.

Nice collection of 15 unsigned vintage original photographs of opera singers mounted on album pages including Adelina Patti, Christine Nilsson, Annie Louise Cary, Clara Louise Kellogg, Emma Thursby, Gabrielle Krauss, Italo Campanini, Marguerite Mace-Montrouge, Marie Roze, Maude Ganger, Minnie Hawk, Victor Capoul, plus one additional unidentified artist. The total size of the album pages is 5.2 x 9.6 inches each, photos are 4 x 5.7 inches on average, in very good condition. SOLD TOGETHER, NOT SOLD SEPARATELY.

Beautiful collection of 5 vintage (unsigned) photographs of the Polish bass Edouard De Reszke (3) and Austrian tenor Franz Naval (2), shown in role. Each one's size is 11 x 14 inches, ink-stamped on verso by Brown Brothers Photo Studio, in excellent condition. SOLD TOGETHER, NOT SOLD SEPARATELY.

Fine set of 30 advertisement cards with pictures of opera stars by Orfeo Records. Artists include Maria Callas, Placido Domingo, Beniamino Gigli, Tito Schipa, Luciano Pavarotti, Jussi Bjorling, Mario Sammarco, and many others. Each card is 1.5 x 2.75 inches, in excellent condition. SOLD ONLY AS A LOT, NOT SOLD SEPARATELY.

Set of 2 original vintage photos of the Opera de Paris, large size, mounted on cardboard mats, ready to be framed. Photos are 8.5 x 11.75 and 11.75 x 8.5 inches, and they are matted to a total size of 11.75 x 15 inches. Sold together, not separate.

Lot of 10 Paris-Theatre magazines from 1874, each one is 8 pages, with a woodbury-type original photo attached to the front page, depicting a French actor (a few with opera singers). Names include: French actors Gilles de Saint-Germain (1833-1899), Madame Pasca (or Alice Pasquier, 1833-1914), Henri-Polydore Maubant (1821-1902), Adolphe Dupuis (1824-1891), Virginie Dejazet (1798-1875), Berthe Ferrucci (1831-1909), Denis-Stanislas Talbot (1824-1904), Dieudonné, tenor Jules Bosquin (1843-1909) and mezzo-soprano Paola Marié (1847-1919, sister of Celestine Galli-Marié, the first Carmen). Each magazine is complete with all pages and covers, 11.25 x 15.4 inches, in overall good to very good condition. See scans of covers. SOLD ONLY AS A LOT, NOT SOLD SEPARATELY.

Star Spanish-born soprano (1843-1919), one of the greatest singers of all time.  Spectacular, large size, original salt print photo from around 1860, showing Patti at age 17. Size is 14 x 18 inches, repaired crack over the right border and near the bottom corner, visible from the back but almost invisible from the front. In very good condition. Very rare!. Original Salt prints of celebrities from the 1800s are rare and usually sell for several thousands of dollars. This is a superb find, offered at a bargain price.

Superstar Italian soprano (1843-1919), one of the greatest singers of the 19th century. Front cover ONLY of the magazine "La Lune" issued in Paris, November 15, 1866, with the hand-colorized caricatures of Adelina Patti and her sister Carlotta Patti. Size is 12.5 x 18.25 inches, folds, minor stains, in overall very good condition.

Italian tenor (1880-1967).  Unsigned photo of the tenor shown as himself, mounted on a photographer mat with the photographer's signature printed on front.  Total size is 7.5 x 10.1 inches, some scratches on front and decoloration on photo, wear on edges, in good condition.

French-American coloratura soprano (1898-1976), a Metropolitan star for nearly 30 years. Large collection of 90 photographs of her depicting her trips, career, and social life. Some photos are ink-stamped on verso by photographers. Sizes are 7 x 9 inches on average and up, in very good condition or better. The items of this collection come directly from her estate liquidated after her decease. SOLD ONLY AS A LOT, NOT SOLD SEPARATELY.

French-American coloratura soprano (1898-1976), one of the most celebrated stars of the Metropolitan Opera for nearly 30 years. Group of 36 unsigned photos of her both in role, as well as herself, with friends and colleagues, including several personal photos. Most are 8 x 10 inches, some stamped on verso by photographer, several are 7 x 9 inches. All in very good condition. Not sold individually, only as a lot. 

French-American coloratura soprano (1898-1976), one of the most celebrated stars of the Metropolitan Opera for nearly 30 years. Group of 57 unsigned photos of her both in various operatic roles, including in Lakme, Barbiere di Siviglia, and Fille du Regiment, as well as herself, including with celebrities such as Eleanor Roosevelt. Most are 8 x 10 inches, some stamped on verso by photographer, several are 7 x 9 inches. All in very good condition. Not sold individually, only as a lot.