Leila Hyams cinema card: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

Hand-colored cinema card of actress Leila Hyams with a short biography on the back. American actress Leila Hyams was born on 1 May 1905 in New York. Coming from a theatrical family, she spent the beginning of her career performing with her vaudeville comedy performer parents, John Hyams and Leila McIntyre. Eventually, she became a model and film actress, and had her film debut in 1924. In 1928, Hyams began getting casted for leading lady roles, such as MGM’s first talkie Alias Jimmy Valentine. Hyams is best remembered for her roles in two horror movies, Freaks (1932) and Island of Lost Souls (1932). She retired in 1936 and over her 10-year career appeared in 50 films. A consistent presence in the Hollywood community for the rest of her life, Hyams died in 1977 at the age of 72.

This card belongs to a set titled "Cinema Stars: A Series of 30 Hand Coloured Pictures" which features popular film actresses from the 1930s. Collectible cards like this were very popular during the 1920s and 1930s, and they were distributed by various brands in both tobacco and food products. In the 1920s, Cavanders Ltd. also released the following sets of cards: "Beauty Spots of Great Britain," "Foreign Birds," and "River Valleys."

Materials, dates and provenance

• date made: 1934
• depicted (sitter): Hyams, Leila
• Object Name: collectible card
• Object Name: card
• Physical Description: paper (overall material)
• Physical Description: paint (overall material)
• Physical Description: ink (overall material)
• Measurements: overall: 2 5/8 in x 1 7/16 in; 6.6675 cm x 3.65125 cm
• place made: United Kingdom: England, London
• Subject: Movie
• Subject: Actors
• ID Number: 2014.0117.08
• accession number: 2014.0117
• catalog number: 2014.0117.08
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.