The Barbie Dream House; G.I. Joe; Easy-Bake Oven; Wham-O Super Ball; Chatty Kathy; Hot Wheels; Thingmaker; Stretch Armstrong. If any or all these toys from the 1960s and ‘70s evoke fond memories, you are the target for one of the many “Toy Shows” put on around the country. While today’s kids might be interested when they hear the word “toy,” based on what is displayed (and sold) at the shows, baby boomers are clearly the audience they shoot for – and for good reason. The price tags for those bygone items are for those with deep pockets.
There is nary a person who doesn’t have nostalgia for a particular toy or powerful memory from their childhood. That’s the very essence of collectibles – the tangible remembrance of something that evokes positive memories. And, yes…you can put a price on nostalgia....
That’s equally true for vintage movie memorabilia. Who hasn’t at one time or another become lost in the yarn of an epic film? Be it the romance of Casablanca; the fright of Frankenstein; or the fantasy of The Wizard of Oz; each has created indelible memories.
That sentimentality is part and parcel of our desire to collect. Now, more than ever, people of means seek out and pay record prices for relics of their more carefree days of childhood.
I sometimes wonder if those reminiscences will continue. For instance, few and far between are the vintage movie posters of yesteryear. At one time, those were put up “all over town” when a new release hit the screen. Today, not so much. Even the classic cinemas where the blockbusters of yesteryear were shown to packed houses are in a bit of jeopardy. Too many are being replaced by streaming services on home TVs or even handheld tablets.
And, how is word of these new features advertised to the public? Many times, it is via social media and online ads. The days of the iconic movie posters continue to wane.
It may be hard to quantify how much the vintage posters once meant to moviegoers but recent auctions make it easy to realize the monetary value of that sentimentality. In fairness, that is based on what I’d call a “weighted scale.” I say that because a goodly number of those shelling out the money for them are Hollywood actors or producers with ridiculously deep pockets.
Dialing the clock back to the golden age of cinema, one of the most valuable posters is from the original 1931 Dracula. It sold at a Heritage Auction in 2017 for $500,000. Prior to that, a poster for King Kong sold for over $277,000. (It was purchased by the granddaughter of famed Hollywood director Cecil B. DeMille.). The most expensive of all goes to a poster for the 1927 German expressionist film Metropolis, hammered down in 2005 for $690,000. Others from that era include The Mummy; Bride of Frankenstein; Flying Down To Rio; The Black Cat and many more. For all the posters were in good condition and recently sold for between $200,000 and $400,000.
More contemporarily, posters for such modern-day classics at The Sting; Ghostbusters; Jaws; Star Wars; The Godfather; or pretty much any Hitchcock film can demand prices of $300 to $5,000 or more. As always, condition is key. After all, they are only paper and easily susceptible to damage.
Some may complain they don’t work at a theatre and don’t have access to such items. Perhaps someone in tiny Berwick, PA thought that in 2011. In a house there, stacks of movie posters were found glued together – seemingly used as cheap insulation in the home where they were found. Recognizing some potential value, the posters were very carefully and professionally separated from each other.
In the stack was an original Dracula poster as well as one from the western, Cimarron. Those two sold for $143,000 and $101,000 respectively. The entire batch brought over $500,000. Clearly, there are others hiding and waiting to be found.
American are so enamored with movie posters, a variety of US stamps reproducing them have been issued saluting, The Wizard of Oz; Beau Geste; Stagecoach; Gone With The Wind; and the best, classic horror films.
The postage stamps are affordably priced at their face value of between 25-cents and 32-cents apiece. Most are available from stamp dealers and make for a much more reasonable collecting area than the actual movie posters. Unless you’re from Hollywood in which case anything goes.
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