Posted by 
vp19 on 2014.02.08 at 22:11
Current mood: 
contemplative
This elegant photo by Robert Coburn was among the last portraits ever taken of Carole Lombard, near the close of 1941. Only weeks later, she was the victim of an air crash, and it was left for husband Clark Gable to settle matters of her estate.
A few days ago, we did an entry on a document Gable signed regarding a bill from the Saks Fifth Avenue store in Beverly Hills (http://carole-and-co.livejournal.com/669831.html); as of this writing, 15 bids have been made on the item, topping at $74. But several weeks earlier, that seller had auctioned something else…a signed document from Gable noting payment to another business:
The firm in question was a dry cleaner…
…and here is the bill; while the specific items done aren’t listed, the dates are — and one wonders whether the one marked Jan. 19 had something to do with the dress Lombard was buried in:
Canyon Cleaners was at 937 N. La Cienega Boulevard, just south of Santa Monica Boulevard in what is now deemed West Hollywood (though I’m not certain whether it’s actually within that small city). That address now is occupied by a frame store and art gallery:
Again, there was a certification of authenticity for the Gable signature:
I apologize for having missed this item when it was available — but the auction occurred just after the start of the new year, as I was in the midst of five consecutive entries perusing issues of Screen Guide from 1937 and 1938. (But I do appreciate the seller not only alerting me to this earlier item, but providing me a link so I can show our readers just what they (and I) missed.
Oh, and if you think 15 bids topping at $74 for the Saks Fifth Avenue document is remarkable (that auction won’t end until Wednesday), take a look at what happened with the one from the dry cleaners:
While only four bids were made, the winner paid a whopping $312…more than seven times what Gable paid to close the account.
Carole & Co. 
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