In line with the 50th anniversary of the James Bond franchise, posters from every Bond movie in the series are hitting the auction block in December, along with stills, lobby cards, scripts and other 007 ephemera.
Auctioneer Profiles in History said the Bond poster collection is expected to take in well over $200,000, led by a rare From Russia With Love special advance Leicester Square world-premiere poster from 1963.
It is one of a handful believed still in existence and is expected to fetch $10,000 to $15,000, said Joe Maddalena, the auction house’s president. “It’s such a rare thing when you get every title like this,” he added, referring to the comprehensive offerings.
The posters and other items were assembled over some 25 years by a private British collector. “He wanted to build the most comprehensive James Bond movie poster collection,” Maddalena said. “It’s really a mind-boggling one.”
The auction house estimates what it called the “holy grail” of film poster collecting to sell for $3,000 to $5,000, but Maddalena said he strives to keep estimates conservative.
Other highlights include posters from the earliest Bond films, including a rare UK advance Goldfinger from 1964 and a British Thunderball poster from 1965, each estimated to sell for $4,000 to $6,000.
The auction, including hundreds of other, non-Bond film memorabilia, will be held on December 15 to 16 in Los Angeles.
Hollywood memorabilia has achieved some stunning prices in recent years. Profiles in History’s 2011 auction of Debbie Reynolds’ costume collection was led by the Marilyn Monroe “subway” dress from The Seven Year Itch which soared to $5.5 million, while Audrey Hepburn’s Ascot dress from My Fair Lady fetched more than $4.4 million.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 27th, 2012.
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