OT - James Dean autograph

[aelefson]

Hi-
I purchased the movie advertisement scanned below over the winter for 10.00 so I could have a career contemporary picture of Dean in my miscellaneous ephemera binder. I know he died in September of 1955 and the movie was not released until a year later. Did they make any promotional items like this during filming? I ask because I would assume they would mention Dean's death in some way if this came out closer to when the movie was released. Obviously, there is a signature and salutation at the bottom. The dealer I bought it from and I both assumed it was preprinted. I tried an image search on the front and back of the handbill on Google but I found no similar images.

So, here are my questions. When was this handbill produced? Part of me is thinking it came out much later as part of a reproduction of a bunch of Dean related stuff but it is always good to know for sure. Am I correct in stating that the autograph is preprinted? Or did someone create these to deceive? Of course, please let me know if I am wrong and that I actually have a real Dean autograph (but I am fairly certain I know this is not true).

Alan

[btcarfagno]

I am not familiar with his signature, but I can tell you that none of the print advertising for the film Giant mentions his death.

Tom C

[David Atkatz]

Nope. No good. Plus, he died while filming was still in progress. I doubt any advertising was printed until long after that. There's post-production, editing,...
Dean was already dead when that ad was printed. And signed.

[aelefson]

Thanks David and Tom! I still like the item for the original reason I bought it (although long term I probably will look to replace it with something from Rebel Without a Cause). I really appreciate the information both of you provided.

Alan

[Bpm0014]

101% not a genuine James Dean autograph.