Vintage original 11x14 in. U.S. lobby card from the 1921 silent film version of RIP VAN WINKLE, released by the W.W. Hodkinson Corporation and directed by Edward Ludwig. Based upon the famous story by Washington Irving as well as the play by Dion Boucicault and Joseph Jefferson, Rip Van Winkle is an adventurer who comes across a group of strange individuals while roaming the Catskill mountains. Upon drinking a strange concoction of theirs, he falls asleep and wakes up 20 years later. The story shows the development of the United States in divergent fields: political, social and economic.

Actor Joseph Jefferson, who stars in the title role of Rip Van Winkle, also starred in the title role in the earlier 1914 feature-length silent film version of this story that was produced by Rolfe Photoplays and distributed by Alco Film Corporation. The 1914 version was actually enjoying a theatrical re-release at the time this film was premiering. The lobby card offered here is from the 1921 version. The image depicts an exterior long of a disheveled-looking Rip Van Winkle (Joseph Jefferson) lying on the group holding his cane as he looks up at the man who is trying to calm the crowd that has gathered around to look at him. The roofs of two country homes can be glimpsed in the background along with a green hillside with a pink hue across the top. The watercolor-like tints are extraordinary and include shades of deep burgundy, light and medium blue and pink. The printing is so rich and vibrant that the mirror image bleeds through onto the back of the card (see photo 2). 

This vintage original lobby card is unrestored and has a 2 in. and 1 in. diagonal crease on the bottom left corner, the larger of which just barely misses the corner of the beautiful inner lime green border.The random markings in the borders occurred when this card was printed and are not flaws to the card itself. There are no pinholes, tears, stains or any other flaws, nor is there any fading to the beautiful color tints.