[Entertainment] Ball, Lucille, and Desi Arnaz. Typed Contract, signed

Hollywood, June 16, 1952. Single sheet, approximately 10 1/2 x 8 in. (267 x 203 mm). Typed document, signed by Lucille Ball and twice by Desi Arnaz, being a licensing contract for I Love Lucy, between Ball and Arnaz and their television production company, Desilu Productions, for the "exclusive right to use, exploit, license, sub-license, lease, lend, and do anything in the premise hereof of the name 'I Love Lucy' and all of the characters and characterizations of the 'I Love Lucy' program, for the purpose of merchandising and exploiting the sale of any and all kinds of merchandise and services."; counter-signed by Secretary Andrew G. Hickox. In mat with a portrait of Ball and Arnaz, and unexamined out of double-pane plexiglass frame, 16 1/2 x 22 in. (419 x 559 mm).

A scarce and early contract related to the classic television sitcom I Love Lucy, signed by the show's stars and creators, Lucille Ball, and her husband, Desi Arnaz.

Desilu Productions was founded by Ball and Arnaz, in 1950, to produce their touring vaudeville act. Earlier, in 1948, Ball had starred in the hit CBS radio program My Favorite Husband, which the studio sought to adapt to television. Ball agreed to star in the televised version with the stipulation that her husband, Arnaz, be cast as her fictional husband in the show. CBS executives rejected the idea, insisting that American audiences would never accept an on-screen pairing between the "All-American" Ball, and the Cuban-born Arnaz. To prove the studio heads wrong, Ball and Arnaz created a travelling vaudeville act to showcase their chemistry and comedic skills, produced under the Desilu banner (itself an amalgamation of their names). Their 1950 tour was a smash and critical hit, and convinced the studio to cast the duo as husband and wife in the new sitcom, now titled I Love Lucy. The show premiered in the fall of 1951, and by 1952 was a groundbreaking success that pushed the boundaries of American television.

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Darren Winston

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Darren Winston, Senior Vice President at Freeman’s, has served as Head of Department for Books & Manuscripts, Philadelphia, since 2018. He has been a trustee of the Rosenbach Museum and Library since 2022, is a member of The Manuscript Society, The Bibliographical Society of America, and Philadelphia’s Philobiblon Club.

Raised in northern New Jersey, Darren moved to New York City in 1988 and began his career there as a bookseller in 1995. He spent the next 18 years selling to private clients and at East Coast book fairs. In 2003 he moved with his young family to Sharon, Connecticut where, in 2009, he opened his own bookshop. Darren Winston, Bookseller offered rare and vintage books, prints, fine art, and more, and hosted over 50 book signings and art shows. He was a trustee and, later, Board President, of the Sharon Historical Society, and for six years a trustee of Indian Mountain School in Lakeville, Connecticut.

Darren has hosted the radio program "Darren Winston's Book Report" for NPR-affiliate WHDD since 2009, appeared in the 2014 book-themed documentary The Paper Trail, and in 2024 he joined Antiques Roadshow as a books and manuscripts appraiser. From 1999 to 2005, Darren was the buyer and consultant to the Fine and Rare Books Department at Asprey, the British luxury goods company, at its New York headquarters. While there he spearheaded various in-store events including readings by Salman Rushdie and Dominick Dunne.

In 1993, Darren was hired as a Creative Consultant to Columbia Records, where he assisted in the repackaging of their 12-record Aerosmith back catalogue. He later sold his extensive collection of Aerosmith memorabilia, which he began amassing at the age of 14, directly to the band.

Darren now lives on the Main Line, outside Philadelphia, with his wife, two children, and dog. The family travels frequently to his wife's native England and Scotland. When not bookselling, he plays guitar in Pumped, an Aerosmith tribute band. Darren also appears on the top-rated PBS television program Antiques Roadshow.

Fine Printed Books & Manuscripts, Including Americana

[Entertainment] Ball, Lucille, and Desi Arnaz. Typed Contract, signed

Fine Printed Books & Manuscripts, Including Americana

[Entertainment] Ball, Lucille, and Desi Arnaz. Typed Contract, signed

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