Thanks WRQ.
Oh - the book. Well, I've been collecting books since me mum taught me to read (at the old age of 4). When I matured to the age of 6, I started collecting autographs. I still do. Still later came a love for the theatre and all live performing arts. And thus comes THE BOOK.
Some years ago I met a woman who was recently widowed and was selling off some of her husband's posessions. Included was a book that had belonged to his first wife. (She had died a few years before they met.) The first wife grew up in London and was a teenager there during the war. And she was a total theatre fanatic. She went to every play she possibly could and then she would wait after the show at the stage door and get the actors to sign her programs. (Isn't that strange behavor?) She regularly attended the plays put on by the Bristol Old Vic Repertory Company. They had moved into a new theatre when their original theatre was bombed out. A gentleman (who's name escapes me now) wrote a book about the origins of the company and about their theatre. The book was full of photographs taken during the plays produced the previous season. This girl's aunt knew about her love of theatre and bought the book for her. The girl had attended most of those plays pictured in the book and she attached her programs - with their autographs - into the back of the book.
She then took the book with her when she went to the theatre and gathered more autographs.
So this lovely book ended up having three wonderful old programs attached to the back. These were tiny little 4 page programs, about 3x5 inches (paper was being rationed during the war). They were wonderful to look at and each contained instructions to the audience about how to act if the bombs should start to fall! One program (Peer Gynt) was signed by it's star - Ralph Richardson. Two others were signed by Lawrence Olivier. She then got Ralph Richardson to sign the title page. She came back later, with a pencil, and got Sybil Thorndyke, Margaret Leighton, and Michael Warre to sign it. At least 3 of these people eventually ended up being awarded by the Queen but none were "Sirs" or "Dames" then.
Anyone who loves theatre can understand why this book was such a treasure to me. I'm trying to simplify my life by getting rid of a lot of things but I just never knew what to do with it. When I tried to describe it to my family, I'd see glazed over expressions when I started talking. Finally I decided - someone who was a professional actor themselves, someone who loved the art so much that they made it their life's work just might be the right one to give it to. So, when Mr. Jbara invited me to come visit backstage and he gave me the personal tour, I gave him the book. I told him that it was his to do with as he wanted. But I did ask that if he didn't want it, could he please try to find someone who would appreciate it and give it to them. Well, he was thrilled! So much so that he went home that afternoon and told his wife all about it. She came back to the theatre that night and he introduced us. She said he was completely won over by the book. I can't tell you how happy I was to finally get it into a pair of appreciative hands!
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mamie4 5/14/03
) but I have enjoyed so much learning more about the posters I knew nothing about and more about the ones I thought I did. 
