Lot # 1804: 1935 Spanky McFarland (Little Rascals/Our Gang) Handwritten and Signed Letter in Framed Display - Signed at Age 6 - Full JSA LOA

Offered is an extraordinary early Hollywood treasure featuring a handwritten letter by beloved Our Gang (Little Rascals) star George “Spanky” McFarland, dating to when the child actor was just six years old. The youthful letter is neatly framed in an elegant display measuring approximately 25.75 x 22 inches, alongside a still photograph of Spanky and his friend, Porky, as well as a fascinating studio letter from Milton Weiss of Hal Roach Studios.

Spanky's handwritten letter reads in full:

Miss Shirley Spencer

Dear Miss Shirley Spencer:

I am very glad to have a chance to write to you. I have heard a great deal about your work. I go to school every day at the Hal Roach Studio. We like to play jokes on our teacher. Sometimes we hide under the desks to make her think we are not there. One more week of school and then vacation. I am going to the beach and have a good time.

Your friend,

Spanky

The accompanying letter from Milton Weiss of Hal Roach Studios, dated July 16, 1935, is to Miss Shirley Spencer, and thanks her for her handwriting analysis of Spanky McFarland, Freddie Bartholomew, and Nelson Eddy, as well as her interview of McFarland, which Weiss elaborates is appreciated by both Hal Roach and Metro Goldwyn Mayer.

This unique display offers a delightful glimpse into one of the era’s most iconic child actors. The letter, written entirely in Spanky’s youthful hand, displays all the charm one would expect from Hollywood’s most precocious youngster of the 1930s. According to the accompanying Letter of Authenticity from James Spence Authentication (JSA), both the salutation and the signature have been deemed “totally enhanced." The letter is in good condition overall, with scattered wrinkling and fold lines, as well as some dark areas of toning or ink bleed. The Hal Roach Studios letter displays a fold line horizontally across the middle as well as a small tear above the address. This piece remains a charming and conversation-worthy piece of Hollywood memorabilia and represents one of the earliest - if not the earliest - confirmed exemplars of Spanky's signature every offered publicly.

Shirley Spencer was the handwriting expert for the New York Daily, and wrote a popular column at the time Spanky McFarland sent her this letter. The following is the text from her column when originally reported the letter:

• "On July 5th, Shirley Spencer wrote the following in her Handwriting Reveals Character column: "I have an unusual letter from an unusual screen star, 6-year-old Spanky McFarland! In spite of his age, Spanky has been entertaining us for years now as the hero in the 'Our Gang' comedies. We will next see him in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer picture 'O'Shaughnessy's Boy,' for this little veteran of the screen is being borrowed for that full-length picture. Yes, indeed, Master George Robert Phillips McFarland is growing up. He writes 'I go to school every day at the Hal Roach Studio.' This is his first year, and although he looked forward to attending school, at the close of his letter, he writes with some eagerness, 'one more week of school and then vacation. I am going to the beach and have a good time.' And he further proves he is a real boy by telling me of some of the jokes they play on the teacher!
  "If it seems surprising that an active boy of six could sit down and write a long letter in a very legible hand, we must remember that the little stars in Hollywood have splendid teachers and special advantages. Spanky is unusually bright for his age. I was interested to see carefulness in detail in his writing, a characteristic not in evidence usually in the yet unformed scripts of children. Mistakes in spelling have been neatly erased and written over again, and a letter not formed correctly has been retouched carefully.
  "The pen pressure is heavy and firm, portraying the same quality of sturdiness which he displays on the screen. Good judgment is shown in the spacing and margins. The left margin is much straighter than my own! Such sense of proportion as is shown by the salutation and closing, even if he were supervised at the time, shows that he is observant, learns quickly, and can keep his mind on what he is doing until it is finished. Children as a rule are easily distracted. The long letter Spanky undertook would require considerable concentration and patience. I was very touched by the very small signature. Spanky hasn't 'gone Hollywood!' He's a real boy."

Full LOA from James Spence/JSA.

The size/weight of this item requires that there will be an additional shipping charge for this lot.