Heritage Vintage Movie Poster Auction Posts Strong Results

Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries' recent auction of Vintage Movie Posters Realized $2,291,938 for 1,301 lots offered, although after auction sales are still ongoing, and are expected to push the final total to even higher levels.

"There were some exceptionally dramatic results in this auction," said Grey Smith, Director of Vintage Movie Poster Auctions for Dallas-based Heritage. "As should come as no surprise to anyone who has been following this hobby for any length of time, many of the top pieces in this auction hailed from the genre of classic horror, including beautiful, and very rare, pieces featuring some of Hollywood's biggest stars."

"One of the most impressive results in this area was the $44,812 Realized for the incredible lobby card from Dracula, featuring a fearsome portrait of Bela Lugosi and co-star Helen Chandler," Smith continued. "To the best of my knowledge, this is a new world record for a single scene card."

Smith continued, "Other horror highlights included the Style D one sheet for The Raven, which brought $53,775, a beautiful pre-war Belgian poster for London After Midnight, a famous lost film starring Lon Chaney Sr., which Realized $35,850, the title card and a wonderful scene card from Son of Frankenstein, which brought $28,680 and $17,925, respectively, a very rare one sheet for Doctor X, that fetched $16,730, and a great one sheet for Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman, which sold for $13,145."

"Classic Hollywood was another popular category," Smith said, with a number of strong results. The great Love Before Breakfast one sheet sold for $47,800, while the Lady from Shanghai Italian 4-folio, our catalog cover piece, brought $41,825. Both the Style B Moon Over Miami one sheet and the Style B three sheet for It Happened One Night sold for $35,850, and a window card for F.W. Murnau's silent classic, Sunrise, brought $19,120."

"Above everything else, however, the thing that really stands out for me about this auction were the number of truly unexpected prices Realized," Smith said. "There were several pieces that became the subject of passionate bidding wars, resulting in prices far in excess of their pre-sale estimates. A perfect example is the beautiful one sheet for the 1929 film, The Rescue, starring Ronald Colman. We estimated this piece at $2,000 - $4,000, but when all was said and done, it sold for $35,850. Another example is the one sheet for the Pete Smith short, The New Audioscopiks, a 1938 film shot in an early 3-D process. We put it in the catalog with an estimate of $600 - $900, and were excited to see two passionate bidders go head to head for this beauty, which eventually brought $13,145. Also, there were several lots of lobby cards from Rex Ingram's 1926 picture, The Magician, estimated in the $400 - $1,000 range. Again, several bidders competed for these rare treasures, driving the final price to $8,365 for the title card, and from $2,031 to 8,962 for the additional lots!"

"I'm thrilled with these results," Smith said, "and I'm eagerly looking forward to our next Signature auction, to be held July 11 & 12, 2008 in Dallas. We're already hard at work putting our new catalog together, so I can promise more rare and desirable movie poster treasures to tempt collectors in every area."

For more information about Heritage's upcoming Vintage Movie Poster Auction, please visit www.HA.com/MoviePosters.

Highlights from this auction include:

• Dracula (Universal, 1931). Lobby Card (11" X 14"): Realized: $44,812.
• The Raven (Universal, 1935). One Sheet (27" X 41") Style D: Realized: $53,775.
• London After Midnight (MGM, 1927). Pre-War Belgian (24.5" X 33.5"): Realized: $35,850.
• Son of Frankenstein (Universal, 1939). Title Lobby Card (11" X 14"): Realized: $28,680.
• Son of Frankenstein (Universal, 1939). Lobby Card (11" X 14"): Realized: $17,925.
• Doctor X (First National, 1932). One Sheet (27" X 41"): Realized: $16,730.
• Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (Universal, 1943). One Sheet (27" X 41"): Realized: $13,145.
• Love Before Breakfast (Universal, 1936). One Sheet (27" X 41"): Realized: $47,800.
• The Lady From Shanghai (Columbia, 1947). Italian 4 - Folio (55" X 78"): Realized: $41,825.
• Moon Over Miami (20th Century Fox, 1941). One Sheet (27" X 41") Style B: Realized: $35,850.
• It Happened One Night (Columbia, 1934). Three Sheet (41" X 81") Style B: Realized: $35,850.
• Sunrise (Fox, 1927). Window Card (14" X 22"): Realized: $19,120.
• The Rescue (United Artists, 1929). One Sheet (27" X 41"): Realized: $35,850.
• The New Audioscopiks (MGM, 1938). One Sheet (27" X 41"): Realized: $13,145.
• The Magician (MGM, 1926). Title Lobby Card (11" X 14"): Realized: $8,365.
• The Magician (MGM, 1926). Lobby Card (11" X 14"): Realized: $8,962.
• Cocoanuts (Paramount, 1929). Lobby Card (11" X 14"): Realized: $23,900.
• Sons of the Desert (MGM, 1933). Half Sheet (22" X 28"): Realized: $20,315.
• Mr. Mouse Takes a Trip (RKO, 1941). One Sheet (27" X 41"): Realized: $16,730.
• Lawrence of Arabia (Columbia, 1962). One Sheet (27" X 41") Style A: Realized: $16,730.

For more information about Heritage's auctions, and a complete record of prices realized, along with full-color, enlargeable photos of each lot, please visit www.HA.com.

To access the Heritage Press Release Archives, please visit http://www.HA.com/MoviePosters/common/info/press

Prospective consignors and sellers of vintage movie posters and related material should contact Grey Smith at 1-800-872-6467, ext. 1367, or 214-409-1367, or email GreySm@HA.com.

To reserve your copy of any Heritage auction catalog, please Client Services at 1-800-872-6467, ext. 1150, or visit www.HA.com/Catalog to order by email.