Signed and inscribed studio portrait.

Circa 1947. . Black and white studio portrait signed and inscribed on the image 'For Barrie / Best to you / Lauren Bacall / Bogart', in green ink, half-length seated portrait, showing Bacall hugging her knees and looking down; 24 x 19 cm (9½ x 7½ ins) [together with]; Typed letter signed Louis Bromfield, to Barrie Tait (the dedicatee of the photograph), stating that he does not know when he will be back in New York. One side, single 4to sheet, 'Malabar Farm, Lucas, OH, 17 October 1947', with original envelope; mounted and framed.

A unique collection bringing together a superb studio portrait of one of the great film stars of the twentieth century, accompanied by a letter from the prize-winning author on whose farm she was married.

Lauren Bacall (1924-2014), the Hollywood film star, known for her distinctive voice, sultry looks, and acting talent, married Humphrey Bogart when she was 20 years old in 1945 at Bogart's friend Louis Bromfield's Ohio farm. This photographic image is from a well-known series of studio portraits taken in 1945, with the young star wearing a voluminous checked (plaid) skirt, and a fabulous oversized necklace. Bacal's jewellery even in those early years was already spectacular!

Louis Bromfield (1896–1956) was an American, Pulitzer prize-winning author and conservationist who gained international recognition for both is writing and pioneering, innovative scientific farming concepts. His 30 books were all best-sellers, including The Rains Came and Mrs. Parkington.

The signed and inscribed photograph and the letter were addressed to Miss Barrie Tait, when she was a student at Barnard College the private women's liberal arts college founded in New York City in 1889 as a response to Columbia's refusal to admit women. In 1947, when the letter is dated, Miss Tait (class of '49) was on the 'About Town' staff of the Barnard Bulletin, the college's weekly newspaper founded in 1901.