An unprecedented success with many lots outperforming their estimates by thousands, the Propstore’s Entertainment Memorabilia Live Auction made headlines across the prop world while making many a collectors dream come true.
Luckily, SUPERMANIA managed a last-minute pilgrimage to The ODEON BFI IMAX in London to photograph the Superman items on display only hours before they went live. Below are the highlights of the Super-sales along with the astonishing prices realised –
424. Contact Sheets – £1,100
425. Shooting Scripts – £4,750
426. Autographed Still – £700
427. Underwater Tunic – £25,000
429. Large Kryptonian Crystal – £1,700
431. Promotional Ephemera – £1,600
432. Autographed Stills – £700
433. Muscle Tunic – £20,000
436. IV Script – £350
437. Pod Prop – £4000
As expected, the well-publicised underwater tunic (second pic) stole the show with the Muscle tunic (third pic) nipping at its shorts at only five grand less. Less expected were the amounts achieved by some of the smaller lots, with a single autographed still of Christopher Reeve going well above estimate at £700 and a folder full of essentially promotional clippings fetching £1,600 – most of which already present in the SUPERMANIA collection.
While many of these fabulous relics of movie history will take pride of place in private collections, The Starship Pod prop (bottom pic) was bought by Stateside SuperFan and Broadcaster Jay Towers, a prominent figure in Superman collecting and vocal supporter of the classic films. SUPERMANIA wishes Jay all the best with his his purchase and hope he enjoys it for years to come..!
Today would’ve been the late Christopher Reeve’s 63rd birthday. To celebrate his life and career SUPERMANIA presents some of the newest additions to the archive along with some classics shown previously.
Look no further than the Entertainment Memorabilia Live auction held by Propstore only last night to see how highly regarded, sorely missed and totally definitive Reeve’s portrayal of Superman was/is by the fact an autographed 10×8 (similar to those above) sold for an unprecedented £700.
Whereas the lot in question featured a dedication simply from ‘Chris’ all the above feature his full signature and have stories to tell all their own. From the top – colour 8×10 obtained from Amanda as named – only a young girl when her father had this picture signed and recently salvaged after a tree smashed through their property. Shannon’s loss, from the Dixie Trek Convention of 1994 (the only appearance Chris ever made) is documented here.
Sandra is the daughter of Edward Jaffery, a camera grip who worked on the first three Superman Movies –
“I am the Sandra in the photo!
My dad worked as part of the crew, working on this film at Pinewood Studios.
I was only a child at the time and didn’t get to meet Superman myself, but my dad worked alongside him daily and asked if he would sign this photograph for me, which he was very happy to do…”
And finally Mark was a fan and friend of a technician working on Superman II that had Chris sign in between takes.
All the above are great examples of how Chris’ portrayal touched people’s lives and his great dedications reflect what a great custodian and Super man he really was.
Rest in peace, ‘Toph…
Going under the gavel in in a matter of days and currently on display at the IMAX Odeon in London’s Waterloo, this unprecedented collection of production/screenused treasures from the series of Superman films is presented in catalogue form by Propstore here on SUPERMANIA.
High-end pieces all with estimates set to suit a modest or high budget, this gathering of production ephemera and screenused props represents the finest collection of Superman related material to hit the market since the Ilya Salkind collection was offered by Profiles in History in 2007.
Chief among the lots is the full-size Starship ruin from Superman IV: The Quest For Peace, first positively identified and documented on SUPERMANIA here and presumed lost to storage after the closure of the London Film museum in 2013. ‘Superman’s Pod’ was obtained by Propstore and now offered in exactly the same condition as it was seen on display (then incorrectly listed as originating from Richard Donner’s Superman: The Movie) and is a completely unique piece of Super-history.
Other highlights are the Cosmonaut suits (made by costumiers Bermans and Nathans) from the opening scenes of Superman IV and storyboards from Superman III. Fans of the original movie and its sequel are catered for also by a pair of scripts and photographic contact sheets and even Supergirl is represented by a superb piece of (ultimately unused) concept art by Chris Achillieos.
This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to bid and own these pieces starts at 2PM (GMT+1) on 23rd of September. SUPERMANIA would like to extend an advance invitation to the lucky new owners to have their purchases showcased here along with their stories…
Costume month draws to a close on SUPERMANIA with a preview of not one, but two magnificent lots soon coming up for auction from Propstore – the quality, provenance and likes of which that may never be seen again.
With Warner Bros. recent announcement that no further items of wardrobe from the classic Superman movies will released into the collectors market, these two immaculate pieces may well represent the best and last of their archive made available.
And quite the fascinating tales they tell. Studio labelled throughout and complete with COA from WB, these special-effects purpose tunics offer rare insight into the considerable effort made in 1978 to convince audiences a man could fly.
Custom-made for specific scenes, the differences between what, on screen, represent exactly the same outfit in reality are marked. Note the colour differentiation between the blues for the tunic made to not darken when soaked through to a tunic (minus shorts) tailored for flying against a front-projection screen.
Commanding appropriate reserves and going under the gavel on Sept. 23rd, these choice examples of film/comic book history form part of the astonishing collection offered in the Entertainment Memorabilia Live Auction being held at the BFI IMAX in London’s Waterloo. Besides the beautifully presented catalogue (pages reproduced above), live previews of 250 treasures will be available courtesy of ODEON (dates TBA) in a museum grade exhibition…
UPDATE: Video of the lot here.
Costume month on SUPERMANIA gains momentum with this fascinating and unique variation of the iconic outfit made especially for Margot Kidder in Richard Donner’s Superman II.
As originally scripted, the scenes between Lois Lane and Kal-El in the Fortress Of Solitude conclude with the very controversial (at the time) consummation of their relationship before the sacrifice his of powers for love. Later, as Clark/Superman confides in his father that all he craves is the chance to live a ‘normal’ life, Lois appears wearing the Superman tunic as a nightshirt.
This particular tunic (one of three made) was specifically tailored to appear oversized for Margot from the same Bridal weight Spandex as the full costumes and was used to photograph wig tests prior to the filming (top pic). Asked about the footage only days ago – Margot herself recalls –
“I don’t remember wearing that at all but there was a love scene and Lois wore that the next morning. I don’t think the scene made it into the movie but I’m not sure. my hair was never like that in the Donner version. I had my own hair, not those hideous wigs. Harry (Dick) would never have allowed me to wear such an ill fitting piece of crap on my head..”
This entire sequence would be ultimately be excised and rewritten after both Richard Donner’s departure and Marlon Brando’s salary demands forced the Producers (and replacement director Richard Lester) to reshoot all of Jor-El’s scenes with Susannah York. In this theatrical version, Superman would first be de-structured before spending the night with Lois as a mortal man.
It would be almost thirty years before the sequence as originally shot would be discovered in UK vaults and restored for inclusion in Superman II; The Richard Donner Cut, where Margot does indeed appear wearing the tunic (without said hairpiece.)
Amazingly, one of the tunics would survive in pristine condition to this day and form part of the significant collection of the UK office of Propstore, where it was mounted in an acrylic case with its label still attached (second pic). The accompanying sign (third pic) eloquently highlights the differences between the structure of this shirt versus the bodysuits (where its appearance suggests Superman’s costume in the movie framework is a top and tights as opposed to leotard) and its provenance from Warner Bros (Read Jason DeBord’s assessment on The Original Prop Blog here).
Propstore would later offer the tunic on the market (read the listing here) and in the hands of a private collector in the UK it was recently photographed being signed by Margot Kidder at a con (bottom pic).
While an owner has the right to do what he pleases with his property, SUPERMANIA nonetheless urges fellow collectors never to interfere with any original costume in such a fashion as it dramatically affects the value of the piece…
Coming soon, the Super-auction to end all auctions…
