An auction record for a scene lobby card was set on May 25 during a vintage poster art auction conducted in Columbus, Ohio, by Morris Everett, Jr. and Marty Davis. The 11 inches x 14 inches card for Freaks, a 1932 MGM release, realized $11,500 with buyer's premium. This card, the only known example, was purchased by Everett for his personal collection.
Held during Cinevent '96, a four-day vintage film festival and movie
memorabilia show, the sale consisted of roughly 600 lots in a live
auction under the direction of Stuart Holman. Another 235 lots of
less desirable posters were offered in a silent auction.
The auction's top draw was a one-sheet poster (41 inches x 27 inches) for Ferdinand the Bull, the only known example from the 1938 RKO/Disney animated film. It realized $21,850, far exceeding its $3000/4000 estimate, and went to a collector who specializes in Ferdinand the Bull items against heavy competition from several Disney collectors.
Another leading poster was the catalog's cover lot, a one-sheet for
The Champion that showed Charlie Chaplin sitting on a step
with a bulldog (est. $7000/9000). This poster for the 1915 release
by Essanay had never been offered at auction, and it brought $14,950.
Other top lots included a one-sheet on linen for the 1932 MGM film Red Dust, starring Clark Gable and Jean Harlow, at $8050; a framed French poster for RKO's 1933 King Kong, 63 inches x 47 inches, $8050; a three-sheet (81 inches x 41 inches) for the 1940 MGM classic Gone With the Wind, restored and on linen, the poster touting "limited engagement, full length, nothing cut but the price," $6900; and a one-sheet for the 1947 Universal re-release of Frankenstein, $6900.
Early movies featuring African-American cast members saw a one-sheet backed with kraft paper for The Girl from Chicago, starring Grace Smith, Carl Mahon, and "an all star colored cast," 1932, Micheaux, sell for $6900, while a one-sheet on linen for The Exile, 1931, Empire, was $5175.
A three-sheet for My Darling Clementine, starring Henry Fonda, Linda Darnell, and Victor Mature and directed by John Ford, a 1946 Fox film, made $5175; Cupid's Round Up featuring Tom Mix, 1918, Fox, drew $3335; and a three-sheet for The Star Packer, 1934, Lone Star Western, led the John Wayne posters at $2587.50.
A one-sheet on linen for Fantasia, 1940, RKO/Disney, cost $5750, while a jumbo window card (22 inches x 28 inches) for the same movie, never rolled or folded, brought $4025. A jumbo window card for Pinocchio, 1940, never rolled or folded, made $4600; a one-sheet for It's a Bear with Mutt and Jeff, circa 1919, Fox, sold for $4312.50; and a 1950 re-release one-sheet of Donald's Golf Game, RKO/Disney, brought $3737.50.
A one-sheet on linen for The Sin of Nora Moran, 1933, Majestic Pictures, realized $5750; a linen-mounted The St. Louis Kid with James Cagney, 1934, Warner Brothers, $2875; Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm starring Mary Pickford, 1917, Artcraft, $3450; and Douglas Fairbanks in The Good Bad-Man, 1916, Triangle, $3105.
According to Everett, the auction grossed about $470,000, with that figure reaching roughly $500,000 when including private sales of unsold lots after the auction.
For more information, contact Morris Everett, Jr., Last Moving Picture Co., 2044 Euclid Avenue, Suite 410, Cleveland, OH 44115, (216) 781-1821, or Marty Davis, Vintage Film Posters, 15875 Van Aken Boulevard, Suite 304C, Shaker Heights, OH 44120, (216) 751-8888.