Photo © Marilyn Sanders Over the past five years, James Curtis has studied--and accumulated--a lot of material on W. C. Fields. From posters and vintage magazines to original photos and books, when he sat down to write Fields' biography there was almost too much. Here, Curtis presents a sample of gems that didn't make the book's final cut. Much is in color and all of it is printable. So take a few minutes to explore the world of W. C. Fields. We think you'll like what you find. 1. Here's the earliest known photograph of W. C. Fields in his tramp juggler makeup, shot in San Francisco in 1900 on the occasion of his first vaudeville appearance. Ethnic comics were a mainstay of vaudeville, and although Fields never intended to be one, he was nonetheless praised for his "Hebraic" look and his "pawnbroker attitudes." He sustained the look throughout his first tour of Europe, and provided this image to the publisher of The Magician's Handbook in 1901. Next photo >> Gallery Mainpage