"Sardi's" Vincent Sardi Sr Hand Signed Picture Postcard

Description: Up for auction "Sardi's" Vincent Sardi Sr Hand Signed Picture Postcard. ES-5050E Sardi's is a continental restaurant located at 234 West 44th Street, between Broadway and Eighth Avenue, in the Theater District of Manhattan, New York City. Sardi's opened at its current location on March 5, 1927. It is known for the caricatures of Broadway celebrities on its walls, of which there are over a thousand. Sardi's was founded by Vincent Sardi Sr. and his wife Jenny Pallera, who had previously operated a restaurant nearby between 1921 and 1926. To attract customers, Sardi Sr. hired Russian refugee Alex Gard to draw caricatures in exchange for free food. Even after Gard's death, Sardi's continued to commission caricatures. Following the death of Vincent Sardi Sr. in 1969, Sardi's started to decline in the 1980s, eventually being sold off in 1986. After closing temporarily in 1990, it reopened with new staff. The restaurant is today considered an institution in Broadway theatre. Over the years, the restaurant became known as a pre- and post-theater hangout, as well as a location for opening night parties, and was where the idea of the Tony Award was devised. Melchiorre Pio Vincenzo "Vincent" Sardi Sr. (born in San Marzano Oliveto, Italy on December 23, 1885; died November 19, 1969) and his wife Eugenia ("Jenny") Pallera (born in Castell'Alfero, Italy on July 14, 1889; died November 17, 1978[3]) opened their first eatery, The Little Restaurant, in the basement of 246 West 44th Street in 1921. When that building was slated for demolition in 1926 to make way for the St. James Theatre, Sardi and Pallera accepted an offer from the theater magnates, the Shubert brothers, to relocate to a new building the brothers were erecting down the block. The new restaurant, Sardi's, opened March 5, 1927.[ When business slowed after the move, Vincent Sardi sought a gimmick to attract customers. Recalling the movie star caricatures that decorated the walls of Joe Zelli's, a Parisian restaurant and jazz club, Sardi decided to recreate that effect in his establishment. He hired a Russian refugee named Alex Gard (1898–1948; born Alexis Kremkoff in Kazan, Russia) to draw Broadway celebrities. Sardi and Gard drew up a contract that stated Gard would make the caricatures in exchange for one meal per day at the restaurant. The first official caricature by Gard was of Ted Healy, the vaudevillian of Three Stooges fame. When Sardi's son, Vincent Sardi Jr. (1915–2007), took over restaurant operations in 1947, he offered to change the terms of Gard's agreement. Gard refused and continued to draw the caricatures in exchange for meals,[ ultimately drawing over 720 caricatures for Sardi's until his 1948 death.

Price: 99.99 USD

Location: Fort Lauderdale, Florida

End Time: 2024-11-29T15:56:25.000Z

Shipping Cost: 0 USD