Thursday, November 11, 2010

On the auction block

A few new pieces have recently hit the auction block.

A Walther pistol wielded by Sean Connery as James Bond in the photo shoot used for the main image in the poster and advertising campaign for 1963's From Russia With Love (above) is expected to fetch up to $32,000 at Christie's' Popular Culture: Film and Entertainment sale in London on Nov. 25. The iconic image of Connery holding the gun was later used in advertising and promotional material for every Bond film up until 1967's You Only Live Twice and remains a major pop culture paragon.



An impressive collection of Steve McQueen memorabilia including two classic Harley Davidson sidecars used in his famed 1963 flick The Great Escape (above) are being offered for sale Bonhams & Butterfields' Classic California Auction on November 13th at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. The items come from the collection of McQueen's good friend, racer, stuntman and Triumph dealer Bud Ekins. The Harley sidecars date from 1936 and were used in the movie set during World War II, in which Ekins, acting as McQueen's stunt double, made the famous motorcycle jump over the wire fence.



A very rare and original Darth Vader costume, created for the epic Star Wars movie franchise, is going up on the auction block next month. The costume includes the iconic helmet, mask, and shoulder armor that helped make the character one of the most infamous and recognizable in movie history. It's thought to have been created for the second Star Wars film, "The Empire Strikes Back," in 1980 and is expected to sell for as much as $365,000. The current owner, a private American collector, obtained the costume back in 2003 and it will soon change hands again.

The costume will lead off Christie's pop culture auction in London on November 25th and represents the first complete costume to ever be offered at auction.


3 comments:

venoms5 said...

Some awesome stuff there. I wouldn't be surprised if Lucas tried to sabotage the Vader auction considering the way he's treated Dave Prowse in recent months.

Skeme Richards said...

Exactly what I was thinking. What is up with Lucas??!!

venoms5 said...

The man's definitely got more money than he knows what to do with. It's terrible what he did to Prowse. I'm not sure what all the details are, but I don't see what an old man could have done to incite such hostility. I just hope Lucas doesn't do anymore STAR WARS movies. The original three are the only ones that count in my book.