How Iconic Hollywood Props Get to the Auction Block
Iconic movie costumes and props like Titanic’s Rose DeWitt’s screen-used red dress, Frodo Baggins’ hand-crafted sword, and Indiana Jones’ whip, each played their part in making their respective films all the more memorable. Then, they made their way from the set to the auction block.
Every day, the most memorable movie scripts, costumes, props, Academy Awards, original scores, set designs, and more enter the doors of Hollywood auction house Profiles in History. Brian Chanes, Head of Acquisitions at Profiles, is the person who oversees every single item that comes in and is also the go-to expert to answer tough questions from prospective buyers – often serious collectors, movie buffs, and fanatics – making major investments in beloved memorabilia.
Having worked 25 years at Profiles, Chanes is the first point of contact when an actor, actor’s family, studio, or prominent collector wants to sell their collection. “Dealing with these fantastic artists, all the top of their game, is really eye-opening. You realize just how much talent Hollywood attracts,” says Chanes. “And from my unique Hollywood artifact perspective, after having dealt with costume and set designers, hand prop creators, writers, and producers, I now can fully understand why these productions are so expensive to make.”
Typically, these members of showbiz will come to Chanes with items they want to sell along with a listing and sample images. “Just last week, I spoke with the daughter of a famous comedian and actor. She has some wonderful things of his, like annotated scripts from his famous TV show. We’re going to meet, and these items will hopefully be part of an upcoming sale,” he says.
Before a sale, Chanes’ leads a team of editors in processing lots, photographing them, and creating an auction catalog with detailed descriptions and provenance. Once the catalog is ready, it’s listed on Invaluable for online bidding like their upcoming Hollywood Auction 83 from June 29 – July 1. One week away from this highly anticipated auction, featuring rare memorabilia spanning the era of silent film through today, Chanes selected a few of his favorite items up for offer.
Left: Lot 875, Tom Tyler “Captain Marvel” costume from Adventures of Captain Marvel Republic serial;
Right: Lot 876, Dick Purcell “Captain America” tunic, cowl & belt buckle from the Captain America Republic serial,
Profiles in History (June 30)
“Starting with the vintage fantasy genre, Republic serials helped start the on-film superhero genre. We have a couple of lots, one being the Captain Marvel serial costume and the other the Captain America tunic and mask. These to me are very important. These are milestone pieces, as old serials inspired so many movie makers like George Lucas. In his case, an old Zorro Republic serial inspired a sequence in Indiana Jones.”
“These two are excessively rare because these were somewhat low-budget, and many times the costumes were repurposed for other productions. Many of them were reused until ultimately they were beyond recognition and discarded. But both of these are in nice shape and one-of-a-kind.”
Lot 927, Chesley Bonestell vintage original concept painting
for War of the Worlds, Profiles in History (June 30)
“Another interesting piece is a true artwork; Chesley Bonestell’s concept paintings for War of the Worlds. Chesley was known for his depictions, and so many museums of natural history have his artwork on view, such as his concepts of lunar-scapes and asteroid-scapes and depictions of what the earth would look like from the surface of Mars. He’s a very well-known artist but he also worked in the film business, and created the concept of the martian war machines in War of the Worlds from 1953. This particular lot is very rare; most props and designs related to War of the Worlds were in George Pal’s estate that caught fire back in the early ‘60s, causing them to be completely wiped out.”
Lot 977, Battlestar Galactica complete Cylon
costume & display, Profiles in History (June 30)
“This one is also quite special. It’s the original Battlestar Galactica complete Cylon costume. Most of these were thrashed during the making of the show. They were supposed to be robots, but the team realized on set that the costumes were too reflective and you could see the camera’s reflection in them. Plus, it was a complicated costume with all kinds of pieces – velcro attachments would pop off during productions. Usually you can only find bits and pieces of these costumes here and there; it’s hard to find a full costume like this one.”
Lot 1534, William Shatner hero screen-used Vulcan Lirpa weapon
from Star Trek: TOS episode “Amok Time,” Profiles in History (July 1)
“This year is the 50th anniversary of Star Trek, the original series, so we have an entire section devoted to it. We have the largest offering of original series costumes that’s ever been assembled at auction. We have things from the pilot episode to some of the feature films. We have a complete set of scripts – three seasons worth from the original Art Director, Matt Jeffries. He’s the one who designed Starship Enterprise and was very influential in the look and design of the original series. We also have a William Shatner costume, a Spock costume, and the dresses and uniforms of so many different crewman, plus Romulan and Klingon costumes.”
“This is one of the most iconic weapons. William Shatner used this weapon against Spock in a very famous episode when Kirk and Spock had a fight to the death on the Planet Vulcan. This weapon was acquired from one of the major prop houses in LA. It’s a huge discovery – we have that estimated at $40-60,000 but I think it will easily exceed $100,000.”
Lot 1221, Original screen-used X-Wing Fighter miniature from Star Wars:
Episode IV – A New Hope, Profiles in History (July 1)
“Another nice feature would be from the Grant McCune collection. McCune was an Academy-Award winning visual effects wizard. He created the miniatures for the original Star Wars. We have one of the original X-wing fighters that was used in the final assault of the Death Star in the first Star Wars film in 1977. That’s a major piece of Star Wars history. In our October sale we had a 16-inch miniature model that also came from Grant McCune – Princess Leia’s Blockade Runner ship – which sold for $450,000 including Buyer’s Premium.”
Lot 1399, Christopher Walken “Hessian Horseman”
complete costume from Sleepy Hollow, Profiles in History (July 1)
Lot 829, Bert Lahr “Cowardly Lion” prop “Witch Remover”
from The Wizard of Oz, Profiles in History (June 30)
“Other highlights include Christopher Walken’s complete Headless Horseman costume from Sleepy Hollow, the “Witch Remover” from the Wizard of Oz, the original Wizard of Oz script with MGM markings, and a handful of Academy Awards.”
Lot 32, Marvin Paige’s personal Breakfast at Tiffany’s
vintage original script & ephemera, Profiles in History (June 29)
“Finally, we have a wonderful collection of material from Marvin Paige, an icon in Hollywood history. He was a film historian, and a casting director and knew a bunch of actors. He collected vintage Hollywood items from the Vaudevillian era all the way to modern film, and had a phenomenal collection of vintage photography, portraits of Golden Age actors. These are being sold in large groupings. Then we have his scripts, posters, press kits, and other production items that he had amassed over 5-6 decades. We’re very proud to be handling his estate.”
