Post-auction analysis - OMGs!, LOLs!, WTFs!, whatev....

[erik1925]

Most fellow collectors I've had the opportunity to become friends with over the years have some quirks and whirs that could be written about here.  I know I have a "q" or two and at least a "w" times three.  Some will say "speak for yourself", though I think Dracula's cape would have odd effects on all of us, eh?  The manifestation of that effect may vary greatly from ill manners to glee and many points along the scale!

Okie

I recall talking to TF when he had sent his MARK OF THE VAMPIRE US OS to Bonhams, for their TCM-linked auction a couple years ago. I drove to Bonhams here on Sunset Blvd to check all the items, inc his poster and the many others that were going to be put up for auction.

The poster didnt sell, and he told me how Bonhams had "lost" the poster for a while, not able to locate it. It eventually was found and sent back to him... but when you have something like this, that could potentially go missing, even when in the hands of an auction house, it would certainly keep anyone with rare and valuable items on high alert -- without question.

[okiehawker]

Hi Jeff,  Good thing about most reputable auction houses and dealers is they have insurance to cover loss of consigned items.  Of course, the loss of rare/one of a kind items is very unfortunate to the hobby as well as for historians.  Even when I've loaned pieces for exhibition at museums and gallery showings, the institution has covered the agreed upon insurance value.  Kudos to everyone willing to share their goodies in public places.  It certainly can be nerve racking sometimes, though.  My best,   Okie

[okiehawker]

Hi Jeff, Cabman, Neo, and my old friend, Richie!  I think this is also an intriguing discussion in modern times, especially thinking about the access Forrest "Uncle Forry" Ackerman gave to fans of his many factors more in collectibles by comparison.  Some things did "walk off" from the Ackermansion,  though Uncle Forry through his generosity did help teach us sharing our collections might make us better people and certainly helped bring the mainstream interest in these collectibles way up.  This increase in interest surely saved many rare collectibles from the trash heap, even though this interest and more main stream acceptability raised the going prices on certain pieces beyond many of us collectors.  Thank goodness there are still plenty of beautiful, affordable goodies still out there, though! I remember well when Uncle Forry let me wear Bela Lugosi's ring he wore in Dracula: it changed me as a collector.  Kudos to Todd Feiertag for in his own way following in Uncle Forry's footsteps.  I know I'm a weirdo and Cabman would be right to call me so. Who's that in the mirror, eh?! And, I don't have to worry about insuring and protecting for posterity at anything close to Todd's level. How many of us do?  Maybe T (who is very generous sharing his collection online) and a few dozen others and some dealers?   It's fun to me to display collectibles in public, though there are perils depending on social graces and not just $$$.  If we're willing to show our warts in public along with our collectibles, we can give folks inside and outside the hobby enhaced experiences based on our knowledge and the beautiful pieces displayed on APF!  Long winded, Okie

[redman]

L&H 6x8 news photo sells for $1605 @EMP





i would have bet a LOT that louise brooks would have been the top seller (was 3rd at $777)
2nd was rita hayworth at about $780. this suprised me but when i checked EMPs history
i saw that not too long ago they sold a rita hayworth 8x10 for $2500
(if that didn't bring buyers remorse, i'm not sure what would)

one week till EMPs dec major starts. hurry up and get the previews up bruce

[okiehawker]

L&H 6x8 news photo sells for $1605 @EMP

i would have bet a LOT that louise brooks would have been the top seller (was 3rd at $777)
2nd was rita hayworth at about $780. this suprised me but when i checked EMPs history
i saw that not too long ago they sold a rita hayworth 8x10 for $2500
(if that didn't bring buyers remorse, i'm not sure what would)

one week till EMPs dec major starts. hurry up and get the previews up bruce

Hi Redman,  I had bookmarked a couple of those stills and was surprised at the strong results as well.  Wow!  That is a great candid Laurel and Hardy photo.  Okie

[Simes]

I was utterly astounded.

[redman]

PETER STAUSFELD, A COLLECTION OF FIVE BRITISH QUAD POSTERS
Auctioneer's estimate 200 GBP - 300 GBP
sold for £3000 (hammer) today







*shudder* i really don't like this guys posters at all (he must have done busmans holidays in australia )
never has one man made so many great films look so bad would have been a fitting epitaph for him

[Harry Caul]

They are not to everyone's taste 

[oldposterho]

They are genuinely rare from a low production run though.  Can't say that about many movie posters.  I quite like the first three, despite their Australian tendencies.

[eatbrie]

They are not to everyone's taste 

Matt is right,  Rate or not rare, I think they're absolutely awful.

T

[erik1925]

They are genuinely rare from a low production run though.  Can't say that about many movie posters.  I quite like the first three, despite their Australian tendencies.

So true, Peter. Like any art form, one person's "visual trash" is another's "visual treasure," so no one can say, as a matter of fact, whether something is good, bad, or mediocre. It's an opinion, only, based on one's personal taste.

[Harry Caul]

They are genuinely rare from a low production run though.  Can't say that about many movie posters.  I quite like the first three, despite their Australian tendencies.

This and more.  I think it would be a kin to something like the Alamo draft house/Mondo tees posters – – but if the vast majority of them were used in the theater and then thrown away. There really are only a handful Of these left in circulation.

The Beathless has never surfaced before to my knowledge. That’s why I bought it

[Harry Caul]

Matt is right,  Rate or not rare, I think they're absolutely awful.

T

Not at all what I said!    While they might not be to everyone’s taste, I personally think the Strausfeld posters are incredible. The fact that the printing plates for each one was hand carved out of wood or linoleum makes them all the more impressive to me. 

[eatbrie]

Not at all what I said!

I know, but that's what I say.  Didn't we have this conversation 5 years ago   I don't get the appeal of this guy at all, and that's okay.  That's what makes collecting stuff like posters so intriguing to me.  It shows how similar but yet so different we all are.  Even within such a niche hobby.

T

[paul waines]

Yep, I have no idea what people see it these, I wouldn't thank you for one. Almost as bad as Saul Bass stuff...

[Harry Caul]

I know, but that's what I say.  Didn't we have this conversation 5 years ago   I don't get the appeal of this guy at all, and that's okay.  That's what makes collecting stuff like posters so intriguing to me.  It shows how similar but yet so different we all are.  Even within such a niche hobby.

T

We did have this conversation before -- I think it was over my Seven Samurai Strausfeld quad

My favorite part of the Academy Cinema/Peter Strausfeld story...  Strausfeld was an avant-garde/expressionist artist born in Germany.  George Hoellering was a filmmaker born in Austria.  Neither of them wanted anything to do with the Nazi's both immigrated to England between WWI and WWII.  Supposedly Hoellering originally came without much more than the clothes on his back and the sole print of a film he made in Hungary -- eager to find distribution for his art-house effort. 

But just as the US interred thousands of Japanese-Americans during WWII, the UK interred thousands of German/Austrian-English on the Isle of Man at the Onchan Internment Camp.  The two men met and became good friends at the camp between 1940 and 1941.  Hoellering and Strausfeld apparently had many conversations along the lines of, "if we ever get out of this place....".  Well after the war Hoellering was tapped by fellow UK filmmakers to direct programming the Academy Cinema starting in 1944.  He put a policy in place to *not* use studio promotional materials and quickly hired his old friend Strausfeld to create unique poster for the cinema.  The two continued their friendship and collaboration for nearly 40 more years until both Strausfeld and Hoellering died in 1980.  The Academy Cinema muddled along without them for another 6 years but finally closed it's doors in 1986. 

The two men are credited with introducing a generation (or more!) of Londoners to independent darlings like Godard, Fellini, Kurosawa, Ozu, Malick, Bergman, Renoir, Wadja, Eisenstein, Melville, Cassavetes, and yes, even Scorsese when he was still a nobody! 

[50s]

Oh yuck. I'd rather see T and Holiday together in a hot tub

[MoviePosterBid.com]

PETER STAUSFELD, A COLLECTION OF FIVE BRITISH QUAD POSTERS
Auctioneer's estimate 200 GBP - 300 GBP
sold for £3000 (hammer) today

the estimate means nothing. Nobody in his right mind would think these are only worth a few hundred and at least 2 of them are worth pretty good money all on their own and would estimate much higher in single poster lots..

[Starling]

We did have this conversation before -- I think it was over my Seven Samurai Strausfeld quad

My favorite part of the Academy Cinema/Peter Strausfeld story...  Strausfeld was an avant-garde/expressionist artist born in Germany.  George Hoellering was a filmmaker born in Austria.  Neither of them wanted anything to do with the Nazi's both immigrated to England between WWI and WWII.  Supposedly Hoellering originally came without much more than the clothes on his back and the sole print of a film he made in Hungary -- eager to find distribution for his art-house effort. 

But just as the US interred thousands of Japanese-Americans during WWII, the UK interred thousands of German/Austrian-English on the Isle of Man at the Onchan Internment Camp.  The two men met and became good friends at the camp between 1940 and 1941.  Hoellering and Strausfeld apparently had many conversations along the lines of, "if we ever get out of this place....".  Well after the war Hoellering was tapped by fellow UK filmmakers to direct programming the Academy Cinema starting in 1944.  He put a policy in place to *not* use studio promotional materials and quickly hired his old friend Strausfeld to create unique poster for the cinema.  The two continued their friendship and collaboration for nearly 40 more years until both Strausfeld and Hoellering died in 1980.  The Academy Cinema muddled along without them for another 6 years but finally closed it's doors in 1986. 

The two men are credited with introducing a generation (or more!) of Londoners to independent darlings like Godard, Fellini, Kurosawa, Ozu, Malick, Bergman, Renoir, Wadja, Eisenstein, Melville, Cassavetes, and yes, even Scorsese when he was still a nobody!

Great write up Matt, and some excellent paper you picked up 

[redman]

the estimate means nothing. Nobody in his right mind would think these are only worth a few hundred and at least 2 of them are worth pretty good money all on their own and would estimate much higher in single poster lots..

can't see much demand for the anna karina because she looks ugly
somebody might pay a few bob for the Breathless
you must think this is bargain of the century  

[MoviePosterBid.com]

can't see much demand for the anna karina because she looks ugly
somebody might pay a few bob for the Breathless
you must think this is bargain of the century  

no idea where you get that from my comment, because it certainly isn't something I said, or insinuated.

My comment is that the auction estimate, means nothing in this case, because the posters have a much greater value than the estimate to any knowledgeable dealer or collector

facts are that Breathless and the Seventh Seal are rare & valuable posters in any case, and would have done very well all by themselves.

auction estimates also vary in usage depending on what auction house you are referencing.

for instance, Heritage listings in movie posters signature auctions start at 25% to 75% of the low estimate, depending on value range. Low priced items start at lower percentages. Profiles in History's low estimate is the starting bid. Some auction house list estimates of 200-300 for virtually all listings, regardless of value and others, like Heritage comic books signature auctions don't list any estimated ranges or values at all, for anything.

knowledge is everything

[redman]

no idea where you get that from my comment, because it certainly isn't something I said, or insinuated.

bullshit

btw the Seventh Seal has sold for a few hundred

wtf has this got to do with your precious HA?

[Crazy Vick]

The Beathless has never surfaced before to my knowledge. That’s why I bought it

of course "best eye" Matt buys the best one.

 I dig them and there are other strausfelds out there that look awesome.. pretty cool imaging reminds me of the art on some pre 1900 lithos.

[Filmlobbycards]

We did have this conversation before -- I think it was over my Seven Samurai Strausfeld quad

My favorite part of the Academy Cinema/Peter Strausfeld story...  Strausfeld was an avant-garde/expressionist artist born in Germany.  George Hoellering was a filmmaker born in Austria.  Neither of them wanted anything to do with the Nazi's both immigrated to England between WWI and WWII.  Supposedly Hoellering originally came without much more than the clothes on his back and the sole print of a film he made in Hungary -- eager to find distribution for his art-house effort. 

But just as the US interred thousands of Japanese-Americans during WWII, the UK interred thousands of German/Austrian-English on the Isle of Man at the Onchan Internment Camp.  The two men met and became good friends at the camp between 1940 and 1941.  Hoellering and Strausfeld apparently had many conversations along the lines of, "if we ever get out of this place....".  Well after the war Hoellering was tapped by fellow UK filmmakers to direct programming the Academy Cinema starting in 1944.  He put a policy in place to *not* use studio promotional materials and quickly hired his old friend Strausfeld to create unique poster for the cinema.  The two continued their friendship and collaboration for nearly 40 more years until both Strausfeld and Hoellering died in 1980.  The Academy Cinema muddled along without them for another 6 years but finally closed it's doors in 1986. 

The two men are credited with introducing a generation (or more!) of Londoners to independent darlings like Godard, Fellini, Kurosawa, Ozu, Malick, Bergman, Renoir, Wadja, Eisenstein, Melville, Cassavetes, and yes, even Scorsese when he was still a nobody!

 

All very true! And a great story as well...rarity and desirability are driving mechanisms in this hobby...you can see it in every area regardless of the execution of the artwork...there are a number of 5 figure posters that are sophomoric and uninteresting....

That being said...the history of film and the relationships involved can often be the catalyst for collectors...rarity always adds an extra spice..people want to connect to films in a more tangible way....understanding the history of a film and then owning a piece of its history captivates us....

In answer to other posts:

We all witness spectacular results in this hobby where rarity and desirability far outweigh condition or art design....look no further then the Public Enemy one sheet and the Frankie 3 sheet...both really excellent Heritage results....Rarity and desirability will never lose over condition...in fact they are mutually beneficial and have a nice symbiosis...

[Filmlobbycards]

no idea where you get that from my comment, because it certainly isn't something I said, or insinuated.

My comment is that the auction estimate, means nothing in this case, because the posters have a much greater value than the estimate to any knowledgeable dealer or collector

facts are that Breathless and the Seventh Seal are rare & valuable posters in any case, and would have done very well all by themselves.

auction estimates also vary in usage depending on what auction house you are referencing.

for instance, Heritage listings in movie posters signature auctions start at 25% to 75% of the low estimate, depending on value range. Low priced items start at lower percentages. Profiles in History's low estimate is the starting bid. Some auction house list estimates of 200-300 for virtually all listings, regardless of value and others, like Heritage comic books signature auctions don't list any estimated ranges or values at all, for anything.

knowledge is everything

All very true....estimates are more like economical buoy's than signposts

and I will go a step further and welcome the death threats

ESTIMATES ARE LIKE THE BIBLE....THEY AREN'T MEANT TO BE TAKEN LITERALLY!!