WWII The Memphis Belle 36" x 25.5" Lithograph Signed by (12) with Margaret Polk, Robert Hanson, Robert Morgan, Peggy Evans (PSA LOA)

Lithograph measures 36" x 25.5" in size and is hand-signed in blue ink pen, black ink pen, and pencil by (12) WWII The Memphis Belle Veterans including Margaret Polk, Robert Hanson, Robert Morgan, Peggy Evans, Jim Verinis, Charles Leighton, Casimer Nastal, John Quinlan, Harold Loch, Clarence Winchell, Gary Scott and Joe Giambrone.

Memphis Belle is the nickname of a Boeing B-17F Flying Fortress during WWII that inspired the making of two motion pictures: a 1944 documentary film Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress and a 1990 Hollywood feature film Memphis Belle. The aircraft was one of the first B-17 United States Army Air Forces heavy bombers to complete 25 combat missions with her crew intact. The aircraft and crew then returned to the United States to sell war bonds.  The aircraft was the namesake of pilot Robert K. Morgan's sweetheart Margaret Polk a resident of Memphis, TN. Morgan originally intended to call the B-17 "Little One” after his pet name for her but after Morgan and his copilot Jim Verinis saw the movie "Lady for a Night” in which the leading character owns a riverboat named the Memphis Belle.

He proposed that name to his crew.  Morgan then contacted George Petty at the offices of Esquire magazine and asked him for a pinup drawing to go with the name which Petty supplied from the magazine's April 1941 issue.  The 91st's group artist Corporal Tony Starcer reproduced the famous Petty girl nose art on both sides of the forward fuselage depicting her suit in blue on the aircraft's port side and in red on the starboard. The nose art later included 25 bomb shapes one for each mission credit and eight swastika designs one for each German aircraft claimed shot down by the crew of the Memphis Belle. Station and crew names were stenciled below station windows on the aircraft after her tour of duty was completed.  

The autograph includes an official PSA/DNA hologram and matching LOA for authenticity purposes.

Authentication: PSA LOA

Due to the uniqueness of each item, please refer to the photos provided in this auction. We offer high resolution images of each item rather than a written description of condition.

This item is being shipped from the Pristine Auction warehouse.