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Clarine Seymour was born in 1898 and she was an actress solely from 1917 to 1920, and she is completely forgotten today. But that would not be the case had she not had terribly bad luck. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, and when she was 19, her father had to close his successful business because he became very ill, which forced her to seek work. She was hired by the Thanhouser Film Company, which led her to a role in a Pearl White serial at Pathe. She then had successful roles in comedies, and in 1919, D.W. Griffith hired her to star in The Girl Who Stayed at Home and True Heart Susie, and to appear opposite Lillian Gish in Scarlet Days. The following year, she starred in The Idol Dancer, which was a very big success, and Griffith signed her to a 4 year contract, intending to have her star in Way Down East. However, halfway through filming that movie, she was stricken with "an intestinal ailment", and she was operated on and returned to work, but shockingly passed away, and she was only 21 years old. There were rumors that her operation was actually for an abortion, and that she caught pneumonia filming Way Down East (in the freezing temperatures), but those are only rumors. Mary Hay took over her role in Way Down East, and the footage with Clarine Seymour was not used. One wonders what would have happened had she not passed away so young, and on the verge of major stardom.

Important Added Info: Note that this is one of three signed stills from this tragic star that we were consigned. We auctioned one in March 2019, and it sold for $111. We auctioned the second one in May 2019, and it sold for $117. This is the third one we were consigned, and we have no others after this, so if you didn't get one of the first two, this is the only other chance to get one of these from us, unless we are consigned another one, which seems extremely unlikely.

Note that this still has been personally autographed (signed) by Clarine Seymour! Note that this is a deluxe still printed on double weight paper stock and it has an embossed photographer's stamp in one of the bottom corners. Someone wrote "March 1919 - Katharine Howell" on the back of this still, and we don't know why that name is there, but perhaps Miss Seymour was planning on changing her name to that, or there certainly could be any other reason. Also note that this still measures 7 3/4" x 9 3/4" [20 x 25 cm], but it has not been trimmed. Our consignor is a longtime collector who purchased this signed item from a reputable dealer. He does not have a certificate of authenticity, but we believe the signature to likely be authentic.

As is true of all the signed items we are currently auctioning, we give every buyer 30 days in which to review what they purchased and they can return any item as long as it is within 30 days of the end of the auction. On non-signed items, we give a "lifetime guarantee" on everything we auction, but on signed items, we give the above modified guarantee of 30 days after the auction closes.

Our address for UPS or FedEx only is:
Bruce Hershenson,
306 Washington Avenue, West Plains, MO 65775