Lucille Ricksen (click for larger image)

Back in January, I posted a 1919 calendar print titled “A Little Bit of Heaven.” Published by The K.T. Co from a photo and painting by Beatrice Tonnesen, it featured two little girls in a setting of filmy drapes and daisies. At the time, I knew one model to be Virginia Waller (1913-2006) and I suspected the other to be Lucille Ricksen (1910-1925), who left Chicago for Hollywood in 1920, found stardom and died tragically five years later. After I posted the image, silent film expert Michael Ankerich confirmed Ricksen’s identity.

Now, in May, I find myself frantically trying to organize my Tonnesen collection in preparation for our impending move from England back to the US. In sorting through a box of prints I hadn’t thought of in ages, I found this previously unidentified gem. With “A Little Bit of Heaven” implanted in my recent memory, I recognized Lucille instantly in this unsigned, undated print titled “Golden-Hearted Daisies.” I also recognized it as “Heaven’s” companion-piece, two images- both later published as calendar prints- that no doubt came from one photo shoot.

Copyright 2014 Lois Emerson