West Mae

Mae West DS, PSA/DNA Certified & Encapsulated!

Customized bank check signed by Hollywood entertainer Mary Jane "Mae" West (1893-1980) as "Mae West" on the payee line, appearing below her typed signature "Mae West." Check No. 1412 was issued from Hollywood & Cahuenga Branch Security-First National Bank of Los Angeles on October 20, 1934, made payable in the amount of $25 to her father, John West, Sr. (1865-1935). Endorsed verso. Typical bank stamps and perforations to the check's yellow patterned ground. Expected wear, else near fine. Graded as NM 7. The check measures 8.25" x 3", while the slab measures 12.375" x 5.5".

Mae West was the eldest daughter of Brooklynite John West, Sr. and naturalized German immigrant Mathilde Delker. His obituary and census records indicate that "Battling Jack West" had been a prizefighting boxer, rigger, masseur, private investigator, and real estate agent among other occupations. He cashed this check for the 2019 equivalent of almost $500 in October 1934, just two short months before his sudden death of a heart attack in early January 1935.

Mae West was a boundary-pushing comedienne, actress, singer, and writer firmly anchored in the early twentieth-century vaudevillian tradition. She later emerged as a potent Hollywood sex symbol whose racy inuendoes shocked and delighted pre-censorship audiences. West worked on the stage, television, movies, and radio over her 70-year-long career. The American Film Institute listed West as 15th among the top American female movie stars of all time.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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