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For sale is an authentic, vintage 1927 photographic portrait of Ernest Whitworth (E.W.) Marland, featuring his original fountain pen signature and date. Size: 13.5” x 10.5”
E.W. Marland was a legendary American industrialist, founder of Marland Oil Company (later Conoco), a U.S. Congressman, and the 10th Governor of Oklahoma. He famously built the historic Marland Mansion in Ponca City, Oklahoma.
This photograph is personally inscribed in ink in the bottom left corner: "Sincerely, E.W. Marland 1927". This inscription dates the piece to the absolute peak of his oil empire, right before the onset of the Great Depression.The signature in the corner reads Trompetter 1922.This mark belongs to Solomon Trompetter, a prominent early 20th-century portrait photographer based out of Oklahoma.The Connection: Solomon Trompetter operated a professional photography studio upstairs in the Shobe Building on Independence Avenue in downtown Enid, Oklahoma. During the early 1920s boom, Oklahoma oil barons and politicians frequently commissioned premium studios like Trompetter's for high-end publicity and personal portraits.The Discrepancy in Dates: You will notice Trompetter signed and dated the print 1922 on the right, but E.W. Marland inscribed it 1927 on the left. This means Marland kept a stock of these high-quality, professional portraits from his 1922 photo session and hand-signed this specific print five years later to give away as a gift or keepsake.Condition Details:
Please review the photos carefully before purchasing. This is a nearly 100-year-old original artifact and shows visible signs of age. There is prominent silvering, surface cracking, and paper/emulsion loss on the right-hand side of the photograph. The signature and central portrait remain clear and legible. It is being sold as-is.Shipping:
Will be shipped securely between thick cardboard layers in a mailer to prevent any bending or folding during transit.
