Vintage movie posters worth more than £1.6 million to be auctioned

More than 1,000 vintage movie posters, worth a total of over two million dollars (£1.6 million), are due to be auctioned.

The collection features posters from classic movies including Casablanca, War Of The Worlds, The Maltese Falcon and the Star Wars franchise.

Estimated prices in the Los Angeles auction, organised by Propstore, range from 100 dollars (£80) to 100,000 dollars (£80,000).

(Propstore/PA)

Among the most valuable posters up for sale include one of four known copies of Oscar-winning western Cimarron which is valued at between 50-100,000 dollars (£40-80,000).
The movie, starring Richard Dix and Irene Dunne, earned seven nominations at the 1931 Academy Awards, winning three including best picture.

Other top lots include an ultra-rare and unrestored poster for Fritz Lang’s mystery suspense thriller M, one of only two known copies, which is expected to sell for up to 80,000 dollars (£65,000).

(Propstore/PA)

A first post-war release poster for the classic film The Maltese Falcon from 1946 is expected to fetch between 20-40,000 dollars (£16-32,000).

The film is considered to have helped launch the film noir genre and the poster is one of the most sought-after within the collecting community, according to Propstore.

Also included in the collection are posters from George Lucas’ original Star Wars trilogy, A New Hope and Return Of The Jedi.

(Propstore/PA)

The poster for the former is priced at between 6-12,000 dollars (£5-10,000), while the latter is expected to fetch up to 20,000 (£16,000).

Posters from Son Of Frankenstein, Seven Samurai, Invasion Of The Body Snatchers and 2001: A Space Odyssey are also due to go under the hammer, as are those from more contemporary films including Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time in Hollywood.

Grey Smith, director of posters US at Propstore, said: “I am incredibly excited to be a part of the Propstore team with the opportunity to bring my knowledge and experience of posters, auctions and film history to this amazing company.

(Propstore/PA)

“Personally, I am impressed with the scope of items that we will be presenting in May, from rare classic movie posters to some modern favorites.

“I’m looking forward to working with Propstore, adding to its reputation as a world leader in entertainment memorabilia and collectibles.”

Online bidding for the posters is now open on Propstore.com and lasts until May 17 and 18.