Temple Tuesday: Book Smart

Here’s a December 1935 shot of Shirley with her two older brothers, taken at the Temple home, located at 259 19th Street in Santa Monica. Want to buy this place? Sorry, it’s not for sale. According to Redfin, it was last purchased in 1973 for $122,500. What is this 4 bedroom/3 bath home valued at now? Would you believe over $4 million? Yowza.

Back to the topic! Here’s the accompanying publicity blurb for this photo:

Shirley’s adoring brothers — Jack, the tall one is a junior at Stanford, George (Sonny to the family) is a student at the New Mexico Military Academy. No poor little rich girl here!

In case you’re wondering (or want to enroll!), the New Mexico Military Institute is still around. But I digress once again. Want a closer look at the books on the Temple shelves? I know I do! What did the family read? Thanks to my good friend Melissa, aka “The Colonel,” I have a comprehensive list of most of the titles in the photo.

High Noon, Beau Geste, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Kept Woman, Stories from Uncle Remus, National Geographic, and Stories of Farmyard Animals!



Some of the more interesting titles on the top shelf include:

The Shepherd of the Hills: 1907 by Harold Bell Wright. Mostly fictional story of Ozark mountain folklore and forgiveness. Made into a film in 1941 with John Wayne and Harry Carey

The Trail of the Lonesome Pine: 1908 by John Fox, Jr. Romance novel/western set in the Appalachian Mountains. Film version in 1936 directed by Henry Hathaway starring Henry Fonda and Sylvia Sidney.

Beau Geste: 1924 by P.C. Wren. Story of three English brothers who enlist separately in the French Foreign Legion after the theft of a valuable jewel from the country house of a relative. Made into a film in 1939 starring Gary Cooper, Ray Milland, Susan Hayward.

Beau Sabreur: one of two sequels to Beau Geste.

The Chinese Parrot: 1926 – second novel in the Charlie Chan mystery series by Earl Derr Biggers. A silent film was made in 1927, now considered lost, starring Hobart Bosworth (Captain January in Baby Peggy’s version) and Marian Nixon. Also featured Slim Summerville, Shirley’s “Captain January” costar.

On the next shelf:

Seed, A Novel of Birth Control: 1930 by Charles Norris. 1931 film version which premiered at Carthay Circle. Starred John Boles, Lois Wilson, ZaSu Pitts, and Dickie Moore. This one had to be filmed Pre-Code Hollywood!

The Cruise of the Snark: 1911 by Jack London. Nonfiction title of London’s sailing adventure in 1907 across the South Pacific in his ketch.

The Galaxy: by Susan Ertz. Also known as The Milky way, 1929 Best seller that year.

House of a Thousand Candles: Meredith Nicholson. A wealthy and eccentric old man dies in Vermont. His fortune is said to be hidden in the house.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer: by Mark Twain, 1876. 1938 film version produced by David O. Selznick. Marcia Mae Jones (Shirley’s costar in “Heidi” and “The Little Princess”) had a role, as did Victor Jory (“Susannah of the Mounties”) and Donald Meek (“Little Miss Broadway”).

The bottom shelf looks like that might be where the Temple family kept the kiddie books (including Stories from Uncle Remus and Stories of Farmyard Animals) and the National Geographics...as well as a cigar box. Wonder what was inside? The very top book on the kiddie shelf looks like Mother Goose, judging by the cover art.

There are also a few decorative leaves on one of the shelves. They appear too stiff to be the real thing. Coasters? Bookmarks? You be the judge!

See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.