Old State House Museum Collections Blog

    The subject of this post is a mounted poster of Johnny Cash, who is of course an Arkansas native, looking disheveled and wildly brandishing a machine gun.  The image appears to be a promotional photograph for one of Cash’s film roles.  Cash appeared in numerous films and television shows throughout his career, and though it is uncertain which role the image pertains to, it may be from his 1961 gangster film “Five Minutes to Live.”  The museum acquired the poster as part of a collection displayed in our Sweet Sounds exhibit on Arkansas musicians.   The poster is signed, as pictured below, “Sincerely yours Goddard Lieberson!”

     Initially we believed the signature on the poster to be Johnny Cash signing with his character’s name, but upon further inspection, we were able learn more about Goddard Lieberson and the possible meaning of the inscription.  Apparently Lieberson was the president of Columbia Records, Cash’s record label.  Cash often had a strained relationship with Columbia and the inscription may have been a humorous message to Lieberson, given the context, rather than a signature by Lieberson himself.  None-the-less, this is merely speculation.   The true meaning and author of the inscription may never be known for certain.

Below are links regarding Cash’s film career and Lieberson:
Johnny Cash on IMDB
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goddard_Lieberson
Johnny Cash and Goddard Lieberson (Google Books biography)