Lot 136: Fred Zinnemann , 1907-1997 'astor theater, times square' (the champ)

warm-toned, signed, titled, dated, and numbered '9' (circled) by the photographer and with annotations in an unidentified hand in pencil on the reverse, matted, 1931

measurements note 8 1/4 by 13 5/8 in. (21 by 34.6 cm.)

At the time of this writing, only two other prints of this image have been located: one in the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, and another sold in these rooms on 17 October 2006 (Sale 8227, Lot 54), now in a private collection. Award-winning film director Fred Zinnemann, who directed such films as High Noon, From Here to Eternity, The Men, The Day of the Jackal, and A Man for All Seasons, among others, began his career as a photography student. He arrived in New York from his native Austria on the day of the stock market crash in October, 1929. After visiting Hollywood, he returned to New York in 1932 with plans to publish a book of photographs of the city. In the depths of the Depression, the cost of producing an illustrated book proved too expensive, and Zinnemann eventually turned to filmmaking. An early effort was The Wave, on which he worked with Paul Strand. Very few early prints of Zinnemann's New York photographs survive. Over the years, his prints and negatives were consigned to storage or lost. Most of what remained of his personal archive was donated to the Victoria & Albert Museum, London.