Captain America Auction at C2E2

Captain America: The First Avenger Auction will be held by Profiles in History at the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo on April 14.

Over 220 lots will go under the hammer, including the Captain America hero costume, a three-piece custom suit  

consisting of long pants with elastic boot stirrups, a short, elastic-bottomed, midriff-length undershirt and red, white and blue sculpted upper body armor with built-in bracers, shoulder pads and patriotic star insignia on the chest. Includes brown leather gloves, ammo belt, holster (with rubber Colt .45 pistol), high brown boots and comes paired with the appropriate form-fitted, leather mask-helmet stenciled with the letter “A” on the front and abstract wings on both sides. The costume exhibits discrete battle distress, and is accompanied by an iconic, round Vibranium shield made of resin. This hero suit is the culmination of all other evolving versions seen on screen and is the hero suit seen in all scenes from the “invasion montage” onward. The suit is also used in most graphic advertising and promotional materials for the film.

Other headlined items are Johann Schmidt’s hero Cube setup costume, worn during the scene when the Cosmic Cube power is first harnessed in Dr. Zola’s lab, and the Hugo Weaving screen-worn Red Skull prosthetic makeup appliance. 

Also available: Hydra and Allied prop weaponry and equipment, several Hydra motorcycles and a full-scale steel-plated Hydra “Fastrac” tank built on a four wheel drive tractor chassis.

Items appearing in several more Avengers-themed movies will be sold, too.

From Iron Man 2: An original full-scale screen-used Mark II “Autopsy” suit appropriated by James “Rhodey” Rhodes, played by Don Cheadle, and disassembled (“autopsied”) to examine the technology. The 75-inch- tall figure is the only complete Iron Man suit ever offered at public auction.

From Thor: The stunt Mjölnir war hammer belonging to Thor, with foam rubber head painted to resemble ancient forged metal. It is entwined with Nordic design and Runes, with a stout handle wrapped in brown leather with lanyard.

[Based on the press release.]

Back to the Future Auction

Profiles in History will run the “Icons of Hollywood” auction December 15-17, featuring items from Back to the Future and a pair of ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz.

A DeLorean auto from Back to the Future III will be on the block:

One of seven DeLoreans used on-screen in the Back to the Future trilogy, this particular car was used in the 1955 drive-in movie scene when Michael J. Fox drives it into the past and lands in 1885 to find Doc. It was built completely for off road use. Of the seven DeLoreans, only three have survived since filming, and this is one of those three – the only one in private hands.

And of course we have to keep track of the ruby slipper market:

There are four pairs of screen used Ruby Slippers known to have survived the seventy years since the making of The Wizard of Oz. One pair is the center piece of the Icons of American Culture exhibition at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History and is one of the most asked about artifacts at the museum. So viewed are these slippers that the carpet in front of them has had to be replaced numerous times due to the crush of shoes that have brought visitors from all over the world to see their glimmer. Another pair was unfortunately stolen from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, and will likely never be recovered. The third pair is in private hands and will not be reaching the market any time soon.

The final fourth pair up for auction are marked on the inside lining, “#7 Judy Garland” and the leather soles are painted red on the bottom. The lack of felt, in addition to light, circular scuffs evident on the soles indicate their use in the extra-close-up or “insert” shots when Judy Garland taps her heels together at the film’s climax. Their condition is near mint and it is also believed that this “beauty” pair was placed on the protruding feet of the Wicked Witch of the East after she was squashed by Dorothy’s house since they exhibit slightly higher heels and the bottoms of the shoes were exposed to the camera.

[Thanks to David Klaus for the story.]

Profiles in History’s Winter Hollywood Auction

Profiles in History will present more than 1300 lots of iconic items from film, television, and music at their at their upcoming Winter Hollywood Auction, December 17-18, 2010.

On the block will be the holiday season’s ultimate treasure — the original prop Santa Claus, sleigh and reindeer from the opening scene of Miracle on 34th Street (photo above; movie clip here).

The item I’d most like to own is The Wizard of Oz vintage clothbound book signed to Jack Haley’s son by virtually the entire cast and crew, including Judy Garland and Toto too (photo below). Judy was a cousin — I never met her, but my father did when they were kids — and this would make a great family heirloom. I hope Santa isn’t offended that I’d rather have that than the statuettes of his reindeer because the book is expected to go for more than $40,000: my only chance of owning it is if he leaves it in my Christmas stocking.

The two-day auction will take place at the Saban Theatre, 8440 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills.

The full press release follows the jump.

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I’m LOST

Oceanic Airlines gear.

In the interest of full disclosure I must admit I never saw a single episode of LOST. Yet I was fascinated by the media phenomenon surrounding the show and read any number of articles about it. That’s why I have occasionally reported on it here.

And while the show may be over the fun hasn’t ended because LOST will follow the recent marketing trend with a public auction of its props and doodads shortly after the denouement of the series. We all know that the Roddenberrys and a few others offered some Star Trek stuff through mailing lists. Now a generation later there are a lot more people interested in buying artifacts from tv series and the networks and production companies have learned to strike while the iron is hot — to sell these things instead of putting them in storage.

Profiles in History, in partnership with ABC Studios, will auction the props, costumes and set pieces from the series LOST on August 21 and 22 at the Barker Hanger in Santa Monica, CA.

The catalog is online. There will over 1000 lots, the proverbial “something for everyone” with many items likely to go for affordable prices. Worldwide bidding begins at 1p.m. PDT both days. Bids can be placed in person, via mail, phone, fax or live on the Internet.

See full details in the press release following the jump.

 

Dial mechanism from the signal room of the lighthouse.

Nuclear bomb core detonated in Season 5 finale.

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Vintage Photograph Auction Coming

Classic glamour photographs of Hollywood’s elite will be auctioned by Profiles in History on March 26-27.

The most famous item going on the block is George Hurrell’s iconic portrait of Jean Harlow on a white bearskin rug. The original camera negative and a custom print will be sold, perhaps for more than $20,000.

Bidders will also have a chance at buying Hurrell’s photo of Johnny Weissmuller from Tarzan, which is the most symbolic ever taken of a male subject in Hollywood.

In addition to the Glamour photography collection, there master prints by Richard Avedon, Robert Mapplethorpe, Man Ray, Helmut Newton, Herb Ritts, Cindy Sherman, Julius Schulman, Jock Sturges, Howard Zieff and Edward Steichen.  There also is fine art by Andy Warhol, Richard Duardo, Keith Haring, Robert Indiana, Roy Lichtenstein, Beatrice Wood and others.  

And there will also be work from photographer Len Prince, whose subjects include actresses like Kirsten Dunst and Teri Hatcher who have stfnal roles to their credit.

The full press release appears after the jump.

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Alice’s Own Copy of Carroll to Auction

Through The Looking Glass

Through The Looking Glass

Alice Liddell dedication copy of Through The Looking Glass

Alice Liddell dedication

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If your pockets are deep enough, you can bid for a fascinating artifact of literary history – the very copy of Through the Looking Glass once owned by Alice Liddell, who inspired Lewis Carroll to write Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

Alice is said to be an especially hot property these days because there’s a new Syfy Network show debuting soon and a Tim Burton film coming out early next year.

Beatrix Potter’s personal copy of The Tale of Peter Rabbit also will be available in the same Profiles in History auction on December 16.

But never mind Alice and Peter when there’s Jack! I foresee taking out another mortgage on the Glyer ancestral lands so Diana can bid up that copy of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe with the tipped-in C. S. Lewis autographed letter.

The full press release follows the jump.

 
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Earhart Goggles Top Item at Auction

The goggles Amelia Earhart wore during her historic 1932 solo transatlantic flight commanded $141,600 at Profiles in History’s October 8-9 auction. The goggles were the most avidly-sought flight-related item up for sale.  Among others, astronaut Gus Grissom’s worn Mercury flight suit brought $47,200 and the baseball cap Neil Armstrong wore after splashdown and recovery from the Apollo 11 mission went for $14,160.

Many collectibles of interest to fans also were on the block. The early Apple Macintosh 128 computer given to Gene Roddenberry by Apple Computer sold for $8,260. Walker Edmiston’s archive of Time for Beany show puppets and memorabilia went for $70,800. A John Steed derby hat from The Avengers yielded $57,500. A Harrison Ford signature hero “Indiana Jones” bullwhip from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade fetched $56,050. 

All amounts include the hammer price plus the 18% buyer’s premium.

The full press release appears after the jump.

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Lost Prop Auction Coming in May 2010

The series finale of Lost is coming in May 2010, and after it airs ABC will auction off props, set pieces, costumes and other collectible artifacts.

Profiles in History provided fans at Comic Con with a sneak preview: Kate’s toy plane, Hurley’s winning lottery ticket, Locke’s hunting knife, Sawyer’s letter, Charlie’s guitar, Mr. Eko’s club and many other items from the sale were on display.

The full press release appears after the jump.

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