Jane Novak (c.1918) Double-Weight Silent and similar items

Vintage original 8x10 in. US double-weight matte photograph by Albert Witzel (trimmed to approximately 7.5 x 9.5 in.), small blind stamp in lower left corner, fine condition. The Silent Era leading lady JANE NOVAK is featured in this vintage original publicity photograph by the Witzel studio of Los Angeles c.1918. The pretty actress is depicted in a close shot wearing a gingham dress and holding a bonnet. Miss Novak had inscribed this photograph later in her life to Chuck in black Sharpie ("To Chuck - Sincerely - Jane Novak"). Other than the light trim, it is in fine condition with a small blind stamp in the lower left corner; one pinhole and signs of wear in the top corners and a light 1.25 in. horizontal crease on the bottom left corner. Jane Novak (January 12, 1896 - February 3, 1990) was an American actress of the silent film era. She was the sister of actress Eva Novak and niece of actress Anne Schaefer. She appeared in a movie on her very first day in Southern California, before there was a film studio in Hollywood. There she met Frank Newburg, who was, at the time, leading man to Ruth Roland at the Kalem and American Mutoscope and Biograph companies. Newburg took her to a studio in Santa Monica where her aunt, Anne Schafer, was a popular star. Newburg and Novak later married in 1915 and had one daughter. However, the marriage was short lived and the couple divorced in 1918. Novak endured as a performer, in part, by sacrificing sensational roles for roles as leading women in more wholesome films. Some actresses who were Novak's contemporaries quickly found stardom, yet were forgotten soon afterward, while she was considered an "old-fashioned girl." As a result, Novak, refused to work in films with other leading ladies. She played opposite Wallace Beery, Tom Mox, Hobart Bosworth, Alan Hale, Thomas Moore and Lewis Stone. At one time, she was engaged to marry Western star William S. Hart, although their marriage never took place. She is celebrated for her westerns and made five films with Hart. Novak's films were often based on outdoor stories.