Clyde De Vinna's 1928/1929 "Best Cinematography" Academy Award for White Shadows in the South Seas. ...

Description

Clyde De Vinna's 1928/1929 "Best Cinematography" Academy Award for White Shadows in the South Seas. (MGM, 1928) Historical Clyde De Vinna Academy Award trophy, only the 2nd "Best Cinematography" Oscar ever presented, for his work on the silent film White Shadows in the South Seas. De Vinna was cinematographer on over 120 film and television projects from 1916 through 1953. Some of his notable work includes The Three Muskateers (1916), Unfatihful (1918), Blindfolded (1918), Adele (1919), The Wild Party (1923), Shipmates (1931), Unseen Guardians (1939), Within These Walls (1945) and many more. In the entertainment industry and the world over, the "Oscar" statuette is indisputably the most treasured and iconic symbol of the filmmaker's accomplishment and the public's romance with Hollywood glamour and movies. This vintage male statuette stands 12 in. tall with the cast metal, gold-plated figure measuring 3.5 in. wide by 10.25 in. tall. The beveled black base is 5.5 in. round at the bottom, tapered to 4 in. where the base attaches to the film reel that forms the integral foot of the metal statue. Sculptor George Stanley (who also fashioned the famous Muse Fountain at the Hollywood Bowl) sculpted Cedric Gibbons' original design in clay and Sachin Smith cast the statuette in 92.5 percent tin and 7.5 percent copper and then gold-plated it. The original Oscar mold was cast in 1928 at the C.W. Shumway & Sons Foundry in Batavia, Illinois. Since 1983, Oscars are fabricated each year in Chicago by Illinois manufacturer R.S. Owens & Company. A 1.25 x 1 in. cast metal plaque reads "Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences First Award 1929" and is affixed to the front of the base. Embedded in the bottom of the base is a 1.75 in. round engraved gold-plated disc, which reads, "AMPAS 1929 Academy First Award to Clyde De Vinna for Distinguished Achievement in Cinematography of White Shadows of the South Seas". The statuette's finish exhibits mild tarnish and minor rubbing. Metal plaque and plated disc in the base also exhibit minor rubbing. The base has a small chip on the front lip of the lower tier. The ring of original green felt buffer remains attached on the bottom of the base. One of the earliest examples of this instantly recognizable and world-famous prize and one of extremely few Oscars ever made available to the public. Overall in vintage very good to fine condition. Special shipping arrangements will apply.

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