BOB HOPE ORIGINAL PHOTO FROM USO TOUR by Hope, Bob - 1943

n.p.: Centralia Publicity Committee, 1943. Soft cover. Near Fine. Original 8" x 10" photograph of the famous comedian, Bob Hope, on one of his USO tours, either in 1943 or 1944. Many years ago I purchased two photos in New York State attributed to a freelance photographer named Connolly. We have not been able to verify this. We find no copy of this photo anywhere online, including the well-known major repositories of photography.This is not your typical black and white glossy press photo.It is on a softer paper and is slightly sepia.The only print existing? We simply don't know, but we have not found another in the years we have researched it. The aircraft is a Cessna T-50. The left bar on the side of the plane, a U. S. Air Corps aircraft, identifies the insignia as one used on aircraft between 28 June 1943 and August 1943. Whether Hope would have been transported the following year on a plane retaining that insignia I do not know. Hope went to Italy and North Africa in 1943 and the South Seas in 1944 according to our information.Vg to fine condition but with some dark area on the back.