THE EYES HAVE IT
The first major addition to
Nicholas's collection, found
via a Christie's auction, was an
array of Bette Davis's personal
belongings, including these
eyeglasses that once adorned
her big, batting (and famously
immortalized in song) peepers. He also bought her travel
makeup bags (shown opposite
top), filled with the expected
accoutrement—pill cases,
powder compacts, some stray
hairs—and slightly more
surprising, a now-empty bottle
of holy water with a ring of
bright red lipstick around its
neck. "She was either thirsty or
desperate," chuckles Nicholas,
who coincidentally did makeup
for Davis's ex-husband and All
About Eve costar Gary Merrill
as in-house makeup artist at
the former Boston talk show
"People Are Talking."
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