Little Girl Garbo

Southbey's offersa collection of early Greta Garbo postcards and photographs owned by Garbo's childhood friend, Lisa Fager. The lot to be auctioned in London on July 17th includes:

i) a collection of fifteen photographs of Greta Garbo (Gustaffson), her classmates and 'Aunt Gustafsson', chiefly original prints, one of the portraits the only print to survive from the six copies which Garbo herself ordered from a professional photographer but then tore up, ranging in size from a small passport-size portrait of her in 1918 to large school class photographs of c.165 x 230mm. (plus mounts), chiefly c.1915-1930, traces of mounting

ii) an early autograph postcard signed "G.G." by Garbo (Greta Gustafsson), sending greetings in Swedish, written in pencil, with a mock-postage stamp also drawn in pencil

[literal translation:] "May the sun of joy [shine] its rays in such a way upon you on your celebration day, may happiness not stray from you I wish that out of my heart"

Garbo delivered this card herself after school through Lisa Fager's letterbox.

iii) an autograph four-line note signed by Garbo ("G.G."), in Swedish, written in ink on a magazine illustration

[literal translation:] "...Hanne how sweet I think you are. I have seen you so many times and all equally enchanting..."

iv) two autograph postcards written to Lisa Fager by Greta Garbo's brother Sven Gustafsson, in Swedish, sending greetings from a festive Paris and from London, 1928-1930

Some of this material is illustrated in John Wallin's book Garbo: En stjärnas väg (Stockholm, 1955), a copy of which is included in the lot.