A large 7 x 4½ page from an autograph album, boldly signed in ink by Elsa Lanchester (1902 – 1986), the British actress who studied dance as a child and after the First World War began performing in theatre and cabaret, where she established her career over the following decade. She met the actor Charles Laughton in 1927, and they were married two years later. She began playing small roles in British films, including the role of Anne of Cleves with Laughton in The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933). When Laughton found work in American films the couple moved to Hollywood, and Lanchester began to find success herself in the movies. Her role as the title character in Bride of Frankenstein (1935) brought her much recognition and she played the lead in Passport to Destiny (1944) and had many supporting roles through the 1940s and 50s. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Come to the Stable (1949) and Witness for the Prosecution (1957), the last of twelve films in which she appeared with Laughton. Following Laughton's death in 1962, Lanchester resumed her career with appearances in such Disney films as Mary Poppins (1964), Pajama Party (1964), That Darn Cat! (1965) and Blackbeard's Ghost (1968). The horror film Willard (1971) was highly successful, and one of her last roles was in Murder by Death (1976).