$478K for a Movie Poster and another not sold?

David

Everyone is talking about it, and why not - it's a great piece (albeit I am not so much into horror) and HA should get the congrats, after all when it comes to getting top dollar for high end posters they show everyone else how it is done.

I don't think the question should be is it worth $478K - because it is worth exactly that as that is what the new owner was prepared to pay - the question in my mind is: 

[a] Do you think it got enough coverage, specially given the price and the rarity?

If you do a Google New search for 'movie poster auction' (which is a live update), this is what you get: https://www.google.com/webhp?tab=ww&ei=5MFzVPesMMa48gXa4oDABQ&ved=0CAkQ1S4&gfe_rd=cr&gws_rd=cr&fg=1#q=movie+poster+auction&tbm=nws

Last count there were 64 articles, which is pretty good, then again Katy Perry claiming she was being stalked by Australian paparazzi was at 181 articles

[b] My other question (not being a horror fan/collector), is why does horror garner so much attention in poster collecting? Although truth be told I do think it's a fantastic poster design

John

The interesting thing to me is that no one has seen the film. A recreation was made from a collection of stills but it is likely that it would have been nothing like the original.

I think the price that was achieved just indicates that the buyers of Universal/Horror posters from this era have very deep pockets. It doesn't necessarily mean that posters from this genre are the best or even the most desirable.

There were many films from that era that were truly great and in some cases, posters for those films are incredibly rare but they would not go close to achieving the price that London After Dark fetched.

In any case, it was a great auction with some amazing pieces.

Charlie

:-O

David

Is there a need for a movie to exist or to be great for memorabilia from it to generate heavyweight bidding? Obviously a number of factors contributed to the price, horror and hype certainly played its part here, as did rarity.

And that there were two bidders willing to duke it out.

Matt

I didn't hear about it....then again I don't pay much attention to HA.

David

lol

David

Another Tod Browning production Mark of the Vampire (1935) - apparently did not sell at Bonhams auction this week (anyone confirm or deny?), had an estimate of USD$150k-$200K on it.

I had a quick hunt but could not find a previous sale - EMP sold a WC for $14K in 2003 and HA sold a Daybill for $10.1K in 2010 - so perhaps $150K+ might have been a stretch to ask?

Matt

That Daybill was a big talking point back then because it showed up on Ebay months prior with a few other rare ones from the same seller......all got withdraw from sale before the end date. Then got linen backed and ended up on HA.

John

David said:

Is there a need for a movie to exist or to be great for memorabilia from it to generate heavyweight bidding? Obviously a number of factors contributed to the price, horror and hype certainly played its part here, as did rarity.

Well, whoever purchased the poster has never seen the movie so who knows what motivated them to purchase it. Hype definitely plays a big part.

David

John said:

Well, whoever purchased the poster has never seen the movie so who knows what motivated them to purchase it. Hype definitely plays a big part.

This is very true.

[Deleted User]

David said:

John said:

Well, whoever purchased the poster has never seen the movie so who knows what motivated them to purchase it. Hype definitely plays a big part.

This is very true.

It is.

And also as far as we know this is the only copy.  Dracula, The Mummy, Frankenstein all have multiple copies of their one sheets extant

Mirosae

To me the art is truly outstanding. And there is a huge mystery and appeal around it all. Owning the only known poster from a lost film from one of the most respected directors and silent actor might be a pretty incredible feeling.

David

I do think it is great art, far better than the Mark of the Vampire which is just a poster in comparison, but being one of a kind and a lost film is surely not the reason for it to be priced so high, I have one of those, in fact owning a one one of a kind poster for a lost film is probably not as hard as one might think (nor as expensive).