Cat. #00312512: ROBERTO ROSSELLINI

From the massive collection of unstoppable autograph hound Ken Smith comes this extraordinarily rare vintage inscribed blue ballpoint pen signature on a 3x5-inch off-white card, acquired in-person in the 1970s. In good condition and just the second we have ever seen. Master Italian filmmaker Roberto Rossellini was one of the fathers of the film genre of Neo-realism, alongside Vittorio De Sica and Luchino Visconti, and of the most influential directors of all-time. His oeuvre influenced France's nouvelle vague movement in the 1950s and '60s, as well as countless other directors, including Elia Kazan and Martin Scorcese. Before his death of a heart attack at the age of 71, Rossellini stirred up quite a lot of drama with his love affair with actress Ingrid Bergman. They were both married at the time and she became pregnant with the first of their three children. After they shed their respective spouses and married, he would cheat on Bergman with another woman, screenwriter Sanali Senroy DasGupta-- and due to the latter's ties to the Prime Minister of India, Rossellini was barred from the country!