THEDA BARA as CLEOPATRA [1917] Photo

Theda Bara as Cleopatra. 1917. Photo. [Los Angeles: Fox Studios, 1917]. Vintage original 7 3/4 x 9 3/4″ (19 x 24 cm) sepia-toned double weight photo. Pictorial Parade photo stamp on verso for magazine use. Minor rippling down right edge, near fine. 

Legendary holy grail of lost film history. The past few years, though, have seen at least sixty seconds of footage found, and a documentary pieced together images to tell the story of the epic production. The sets and costumes captured in images such as this point to the film’s innovations. Photo 96 depicts Theda Bara in one of the fifty costumes created for her to wear in the film. George James Johnson designed the production, costumes and sets.

It is believed that the two known complete prints of the film were destroyed in vault fires in the late-1930s.