Mae West: Ashtray Issue

Despite all you think you know about MAE WEST, there’s always something new. Did you know why Mae West kept fancy ashtrays in her Hollywood apartment when she first moved in, for instance? 
• • This intimate interview with Mae West was first seen in 2009. This is Part 17 of 29 parts.
• • From the Archive: A Candid (and Entertaining) Interview with Mae West • •
• • Mae West, who once owned swan ashtrays, now said no one could smoke  • •  
• • Charlotte Chandler wrote:  Mae West continued: “You know when I was most serious? When I laughed at myself.”
• • Charlotte Chandler wrote:  Mae gave me a hard look and said, “There’s something I’ve gotta tell you before we really get into it.”

• • Charlotte Chandler wrote: Mae West then added: “If you want to smoke, you’ll have to leave the room and go out into the hall. We don’t keep any ashtrays here. I don’t let anyone smoke in my presence. I don’t breathe it, and I don’t want it getting into the furniture. Let me know when you want to go out into the hall.”
• • Charlotte Chandler wrote:  I assured  Mae West that this would not be necessary because I didn’t smoke and never had. Her approving look indicated that I had passed an important test.   
• • Note: In his 1935 book, Stanley Walker wrote: "Numerous ashtrays in the form of golden swans are scattered about on little tables" in Mae West's drawing room.
• • Blog post link: https://maewest.blogspot.com/2020/03/mae-west-swan-ashtrays.html
• • Mae West's secret for soft skin • •  . . . 
• • This long and fascinating interview will be continued tomorrow.
• • Source: AnOther Magazine; published  Autumn—Winter 2009 issue; rpt on Wednesday, 27 May 2020.     
• • On Wednesday, 4 August 1954 • •
• • "The Mae West Revue," which opened in Las Vegas, was a song-and-dance show that lasted only thirty-nine minutes. Variety printed their coverage on Wednesday, 4 August 1954.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Auction-lovers: Lot#: 40122502 — — Mae West's Ash Tray and Purse were sold by the John Aker Estate Collection along with additional Westiana.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "A thrill a day keeps the chill away."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The Seasoned Collector mentioned Mae West, a smoker who owned ashtrays. 
• • an unusual, 2-foot-tall Art Deco-style ashtray that once belonged to Mae West • • .
• • Q.  I have an unusual, 2-foot-tall ashtray in excellent shape that once belonged to actress Mae West. I got it at an auction in the 1970s for $350. I’m retiring soon and want to sell it, but I have no idea of its current value. Can you help me?  — — T.B., San Jose
• • A. The saucy Mae West (1893-1980), remembered for her quips, once said, “He who hesitates is last.” In this case, it was smart of you to wait to ask for advice before selling your unusual treasure.
• • I shared photos of your Art Deco-style ashtray — stainless steel with two black spheres — with appraiser Stephen G. Turner, a decorative arts and fine arts consultant for Bonhams & Butterfields, the notable San Francisco auction gallery.
• • Turner brought up a key point that helps establish the value of objects such as yours: the provenance, or history of ownership.
• • “Anything that can be proven to have been owned and used by a ‘celebrity,’ whether an actress or the president of the United States, exceeds its lowest common denominator,” Turner said.
• • He told me Mae West’s estate was sold in Los Angeles in 2000 by what was then called Butterfields.
• • If you obtained your ashtray at this show, a sales catalog and, perhaps, the sales receipt would be sufficient proof showing the item was owned by the fabled star.
• • If you cannot prove provenance, then your ashtray is nothing more than an interesting artifact. And it may not even be worth what you paid.
• • If, however, you can identify the item as one that belonged to West, Turner says it could be worth from $800 to $1,200.

• • Source: The Seasoned Collector Steven Wayne Yvaska in Mercury News;  published on Wednesday, 27 January 2010
• • The evolution of 2 Mae West plays that keep her memory alive • •

• • A discussion with Mae West playwright LindaAnn LoSchiavo — —
• • http://lideamagazine.com/renaissance-woman-new-york-city-interview-lindaann-loschiavo/
• • The Mae West Blog celebrates its 16th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past fifteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 4,500 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,532nd blog post. Unlike many blogs, which draw upon reprinted content from a newspaper or a magazine and/ or summaries, links, or photos, the mainstay of this blog is its fresh material focused on the life and career of Mae West, herself an American original.

• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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• • Photo: • • Mae West • • smoking in 1933 • •
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Mae West: Bullocks

MAE WEST enjoyed browsing from her car window.
• • Mae West would relax in her limo — as salesclerks from Bullocks Wilshire department store brought a selection of designer dresses for Mae's inspection.
• • Joan Mitchell, 78, who worked there as a model and salesclerk from 1947 to1971, hand-delivered gowns to West's penthouse at the nearby Ravenwood apartments, she said in a recent interview.
• • A dwindling number of former buyers, salesclerks, and models will return to the 78-year-old Art Deco landmark on 28 July 2007 for two rare public tours and a trip down the aisles of mercantile memory.
• • The retail emporium was built in the 1920s by John Gillespie Bullock and Percy Glen Winnett, both Canadian immigrants and owners of the original Bullock's in downtown Los Angeles. The site at Westmoreland Avenue and Wilshire, about three miles from downtown, was considered the suburbs but was conveniently close to wealthy Hancock Park. Architects John and Donald Parkinson, a father-son team who designed City Hall and Union Station, were commissioned to create a style that appealed to affluent shoppers.
• • L.A. Times Staff Writer Cecilia Rasmussen has written an intriguing backward glance, peppered with Hollywood's notables, that is, the biggest names and the deepest pockets.
• • Enjoy the entire Los Angeles Times article online • • www.latimes.com
• • Section: L.A. THEN AND NOW
• • Title: "A shrine to style and sophistication"
• • Byline: Cecilia Rasmussen
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • •
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