Film memorabilia

In the early days, most people sought autographs or original photographs or posters. Collectors had to rely on a handful of news magazines that were full of various sellers offering mail order catalogues or asking to buy bulk lots, or particular items of interest. Occasionally, events would be organized which were structured around a live auction — these, while fewer in number today, still occur, and one can still buy memorabilia in person from trusted sellers on-site. The community was also fairly fragmented, with collectors and dealers spread out across the globe and no real consistent and reliable way to communicate with one another.

Movie studios were slow to recognize the value of their property,{{cite news |title=Once Movie Trash, Now Collectible |author=Larry Rohter |newspaper=The New York Times |date=May 26, 1990 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/05/26/movies/once-movie-trash-now-collectible.html?pagewanted=all}} "generally viewing the material as junk taking up precious backlot real estate."{{cite magazine |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/seedy-underworld-movie-memorabilia-1117268 |title=A Marvel Heist and the Booming Business (and Seedy Underworld) of Movie Collectibles |author=Gary Baum |date=June 8, 2018 |magazine=The Hollywood Reporter}} Often, workers would just take souvenirs or sell items without permission, aware that their employers did not particularly care. One of the more notorious of these was costumer Kent Warner, who amassed a large private collection and made money selling to interested buyers. One of his friends claimed that Warner rescued Humphrey Bogart's Casablanca trench coat, which had been slated for burning.{{cite news |title=The Ruby Slippers: A Journey to the Land of Oz |author=Rhys Thomas |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=March 13, 1988 |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-03-13-ca-1511-story.html}}

The turning point came in 1970. Kirk Kerkorian had bought MGM the year before and installed James Thomas Aubrey, Jr. as president.{{cite news |title=James Aubrey Jr., 75, TV and Film Executive |author=Eric Pace |newspaper=The New York Times |date=September 12, 1994 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/09/12/obituaries/james-aubrey-jr-75-tv-and-film-executive.html?pagewanted=1}} As part of his cost-cutting measures, Aubrey decided to auction off hundreds of thousands of items. The success of this mammoth event made people take notice.

MGM sold the contents of seven sound stages "for a mere $1.5 million" to auctioneer David Weisz.{{cite news |title=MGM bankruptcy: lion's roar has long been a whimper |author=David Gritten |newspaper=Telegraph.co.uk |date=April 22, 2010 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/7618260/MGM-bankruptcy-lions-roar-has-long-been-a-whimper.html}} There were over 350,000 costumes alone.{{cite web |url=http://www.juliensauctions.com/collectors-guide/entertainment-memorabilia.html |title=Collecting Entertainment Memorabilia |publisher=Julien's Auctions |accessdate=April 25, 2010 |archive-date=January 29, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130129083325/http://www.juliensauctions.com/collectors-guide/entertainment-memorabilia.html |url-status=dead }} Weisz hired Kent Warner to help catalog and prepare for the auction. In the course of his work, Warner found several pairs of the ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz (it is common practice to make multiple copies of important props). One pair became the centerpiece of the event and sold for a then-unheard-of $15,000. Warner kept or sold an unknown number of other pairs.

Actress Debbie Reynolds spent $180,000 and "purchased thousands of items",{{cite web |url=http://www.debbiereynolds.com/debbie-reynolds-biography.htm |title=Biography |publisher=debbiereynolds.com |accessdate=April 28, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090803133908/http://www.debbiereynolds.com/debbie-reynolds-biography.htm |archive-date=August 3, 2009 }} the beginning of her large collection.{{cite web |url=http://kcts9.org/programs/productions/conversations/transcript/dreynolds |title=Interview with Debbie Reynolds |publisher=KCTS-9 |accessdate=April 28, 2010}} Weisz "recouped eight times" what he paid "from eager nostalgia enthusiasts."

Among the items sold were:

• the Cowardly Lion costume from The Wizard of Oz
• the time machine from the 1960 film The Time Machine
• the {{convert|82|in|cm|adj=on}}{{cite web |url=http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/5966041 |title=Orig flying saucer miniature from Forbidden Planet |publisher=liveauctioneers.com |accessdate=April 28, 2010}} and {{convert|22|in|cm|adj=on}}{{cite web |url=http://www.monsters411.com/wesshank.html |title=Wes Shank Interview |publisher=monsters411.com |author=Ted A. Bohus |author-link=Ted A. Bohus |accessdate=April 28, 2010}} (diameter) models of the "United Planets Cruiser C-57D" from Forbidden Planet
• Johnny Weissmuller's Tarzan loincloth
• the paddle steamer built for the 1951 version of the musical Show Boat

The unsold items, "... truckloads of costume sketches, movie stills and other memorabilia were sent to the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas to be sold in the gift shop and used as hotel decorations."{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/03/24/movies/film-history-being-lost-by-oversight-and-plan.html?pagewanted=1 |title=FILM HISTORY BEING LOST BY OVERSIGHT AND PLAN |author=Aljean Harmetz |author-link=Aljean Harmetz |newspaper=The New York Times |date=March 24, 1987}} The auction catalogs have now themselves become sought-after collectibles.

Debbie Reynolds' collection was sold by Profiles in History in two auctions in June and December 2011.{{cite news |title=Marilyn Monroe's skirt going up - on auction block |author=Jay Stone |newspaper=Vancouver Sun |date=February 27, 2011 |url=https://vancouversun.com/entertainment/movie-guide/Marilyn+Monroe+skirt+going+auction+block/4352729/story.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609215004/http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/movie-guide/Marilyn+Monroe+skirt+going+auction+block/4352729/story.html |archive-date=June 9, 2011 }} The items put up for bid in the first of these auctions included:

• Marilyn Monroe's "subway dress", whose skirt is raised by the updraft of a passing subway train in The Seven Year Itch.
• one of Charlie Chaplin's trademark bowler hats
• an early, unused Arabian motif version of the ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz
• Audrey Hepburn's Ascot dress and hat from My Fair Lady
• Charlton Heston's tunic, robe, and accessories from Ben-Hur

On June 18, 2011, the subway dress sold for $4.6 million, far in excess of pre-auction estimates of $1–2 million.{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-monroe-idUSTRE75I2NM20110619 |title=Marilyn Monroe "subway" dress sells for $4.6 million |work=Reuters |date=June 19, 2011 |accessdate=June 19, 2011}} Another Monroe dress, worn in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, fetched $1.2 million; it had been expected to go for $200,000 to $300,000. Estimated at $60,000 to $80,000, a blue cotton dress Judy Garland used in test shots for The Wizard of Oz went for $910,000. In total, the auction grossed $22.8 million.{{cite web |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-24/hollywood-auction-ends-myth-of-zaftig-marilyn-virginia-postrel.html |title=Hollywood Auction Ends Myth of Zaftig Marilyn |author=Virginia Postrel |author-link=Virginia Postrel |publisher=Bloomberg |date=June 23, 2011 |accessdate=March 17, 2012}}

In the second Reynolds auction, on December 3, 2011, a still-functioning Panavision PSR 35mm camera used to film Star Wars went for $625,000, breaking records for Star Wars memorabilia and vintage cameras.{{cite news |title=Star Wars camera breaks auction record |author=Ben Child |newspaper=guardian.co.uk |date=6 December 2011 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/dec/06/star-wars-camera-auction-record}}

In the early days of the internet, the larger community began to get in touch with one another through UseNet newsgroups (for example, alt.binaries.pictures.movie-posters). As the internet grew, collectors began communicating in ways never thought possible. In 1995, popular on-line email group [http://www.filmfan.com MoPo] was formed, creating a central place for people to keep in touch about things and events important to the community. This group continues to provide information to new and old collectors alike.

By 1997, the community had changed forever. eBay was quickly becoming the alternative marketplace after two years of steady growth. Professional sellers took notice, causing many to close their bricks-and-mortar businesses and focus their attention completely on internet sites and the future of the on-line marketplace.

In the early days of internet selling, prices varied widely. One could find posters normally valued in the hundreds of dollars selling for twenty dollars, or, alternatively, find posters normally valued at twenty dollars going for a hundred or more. Today, the market place for film memorabilia has mostly stabilised. While one can see a rare film poster go for large amounts, it is far more common to find that items are priced either at or near market value, or are bid up to that point.

The Internet has clearly been an important influence on the business of memorabilia, but just as it has given large access to the purchase of legitimate goods, this has also given the opportunity for fakes be them replicas being sold as originals or even fraudulent signatures.{{Cite web |last=Debord |first=Jason |date=December 4, 2008 |title=A Case Against Buying "Original" TV & Movie Props, Costumes, and Memorabilia as Gifts |url=https://www.originalprop.com/blog/2008/12/04/a-case-against-buying-movie-tv-props-costumes-and-memorabilia-as-holiday-christmas-gifts/ |access-date=August 28, 2023 |website=Original Prop}} Many fall for these scams online making even stars like Star Wars{{'}}s Mark Hamill choose to raise awareness.{{Cite news |last=Hiltzik |first=Michael |date=October 14, 2016 |title=Column: Legislative misfire: Lawmakers targeted memorabilia scams but hit corner bookstores by mistake |url=https://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-hiltzik-autograph-scam-20161016-snap-story.html |access-date=August 28, 2023 |newspaper=LA Times}}

As such the internet has also given access to places that assure you legitimacy with known auction houses and even something as small as certifications of authenticity like the JSA, and the PSA that grant acquired items some proof as reassurance for buyers.

• Film posters
• Lobby cards
• Still photos
• Autographs
• Film props
• Costumes
• Pressbooks and presskits
• Programmes
• Heralds
• Glass slides
• Industry magazines and related material
• Scripts, storyboards, and original concept art
• Promotional material of any kind
• Commercial collectibles

{{Main|List of film memorabilia}}

• Several pairs of the ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz are known to exist. One pair is on permanent display at the National Museum of American History, several others are in the hands of private collectors, and one pair was stolen in 2005. The last auction price, in 2000, was $666,000. Also, the black hat belonging to the Wicked Witch of the West sold for $33,000 in 1988 and $197,400 in 2008.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.forbes.com/2008/12/03/wizard-slippers-collection-forbeslife-cx_mb_1203slippers.html |title=Inside The Search For Dorothy's Slippers |author=Monte Burke |magazine=Forbes |date=December 3, 2008 |accessdate=April 28, 2010}}
• There were several statuettes made for the 1941 The Maltese Falcon — two lead figures weighing {{convert|47|lb|kg}} each, and a seven-pound (3.2 kg), more finely crafted, resin model — all handled by Humphrey Bogart. Christie's auctioned one of the lead figures, part of the estate of actor William Conrad, on December 6, 1994; it was purchased for $398,500 by Ronald Winston, president of Harry Winston, Inc.{{cite news |title=Maltese Falcon Prop Sells For $398,500 At Auction |newspaper=Orlando Sentinel |date=December 7, 1994 |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1994/12/07/maltese-falcon-prop-sells-for-398500-at-auction/}} Within two years, Winston had resold the prop "at an enormous profit" — for as much as $1 million — to an unknown European collector.{{cite news |last=LeDuff |first=Charles |date=June 29, 1997 |title=Bird Made Him a Sleuth |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/06/29/nyregion/bird-made-him-a-sleuth.html |newspaper=The New York Times |accessdate=2014-03-15}} On November 25, 2013, Bonhams, in association with TCM, sold the other lead figure, the only one confirmed to have appeared in the movie, for over $4 million, including the buyers fee.{{cite news |author= |title=Maltese Falcon prop stars at auction |url=http://www.euronews.com/2013/11/27/maltese-falcon-prop-stars-at-auction/ |publisher=euronews.com |date=Nov 27, 2013 |accessdate=21 January 2014}} This version has a prop number WB 90067.Bonhams, [http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/21427/lot/225/ Lot No. 225], online catalog for "What Dreams are Made Of", November 25, 2013 (See also The Maltese Falcon.)
• On November 24, 2014, the piano on which Sam plays "As Time Goes By" in Rick's Café Américain (and in which Rick hides the letters of transit) in Casablanca was sold for $2,900,000 (the buyer's premium bringing the total to $3,413,000) by Bonhams in New York City.{{cite web |url=http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/22196/lot/83/ |title=The Piano From Casablanca On Which Sam Plays "As Time Goes By" |publisher=Bonhams |accessdate=November 25, 2014}}{{cite news |title='Casablanca' Piano Sells for $3.4 Million at Bonhams |author=James Barron |newspaper=The New York Times |date=November 24, 2014 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/25/nyregion/casablanca-piano-to-be-auctioned-at-bonhams.html?_r=0}} In the same auction, the only known surviving copy of the transit papers, though apparently not used onscreen,{{cite web |url=http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/22196/lot/84/ |title=The Production-Made "Transit Papers" From Casablanca |publisher=Bonhams |accessdate=November 24, 2014}} went for $118,750 (including buyer's premium).
• Audrey Hepburn was not only a celebrated actress, but also a fashion icon. In 2006, her "little black dress" from Breakfast at Tiffany's (plus a few other minor items) fetched £467,200 ($923,187) for the City of Joy Foundation.{{cite web |url=http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_details.aspx?intObjectID=4832498 |title=Audrey Hepburn Breakfast At Tiffany's, 1961 |publisher=Christie's |accessdate=April 25, 2010}}
• Steven Spielberg paid $60,500 (including 10% commission) in June 1982 for a "Rosebud" sled from Citizen Kane. Orson Welles stated in a telephone interview that there were three made of balsa (as is Spielberg's purchase) that were intended to be burned in the final scene, and one made of hardwood for the beginning of the film. On December 15, 1996, the hardwood sled was sold to an anonymous bidder in Los Angeles for $233,500."Clark Gable's Oscar and 'Rosebud' sled sold"; Associated Press, December 15, 1996
• The white suit worn by John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever was purchased by film critic Gene Siskel in a charity auction.{{cite web |url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19990307/REVIEWS08/401010357/1023 |title=Saturday Night Fever (1977) |author=Roger Ebert |publisher=rogerebert.com |date=March 7, 1999 |accessdate=April 22, 2010}} In June 1995 it was auctioned at Christie's for $145,500.[http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/memorabilia/saturday-night-fever-1977-327819-details.aspx?from=searchresults&intObjectID=327819&sid=7e32b9b3-db12-42b4-9acc-17fd7b17e0c9 "Saturday Night Fever, 1977,"] sale 7741, lot 155. Christie's, retrieved March 18, 2012

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• [http://www.discoverahobby.com/collectmoviememorabilia.htm Discover a Hobby: Learn About Movie Memorabilia Collecting]