FILM STARS - JOHN SINCLAIR Ltd (1st Series)

FILM STARS (1st Series) (1937)

The Sinclair Film Stars series (1937 – 1st Series) is a British black-and-white collection published by John Sinclair Ltd. in 1937 as a cigarette insert. It consists of 54 cards in the 1 ⅜" × 2 ⅝" format and represents a compact panorama of the film stars of the era, alternating between individual portraits and famous couples. The checklist includes iconic figures such as Shirley Temple, Clara Bow, Jimmy Durante, Claudette Colbert, Margaret Sullavan, Bing Crosby, Ida Lupino, Joan Bennett, Cary Grant, and Greta Garbo alongside John Barrymore. Numerous film couples are also featured, including Gary Cooper and Joan Crawford, Clark Gable and Joan Crawford, Fredric March and Miriam Hopkins, Clark Gable and Myrna Loy, Robert Montgomery and Constance Bennett, as well as two appearances by Ramon Novarro with Madge Evans and Jeanette MacDonald. The series reflects the promotional aesthetic of 1930s cinema and testifies to the role of cigarette cards as a means of disseminating pop culture, offering today a valuable insight into the pre-war Hollywood star system.