Lonesome Ghosts Come to Heritage!

DALLAS, TEXAS: Before Carl Kolchak kept the world safe from supernatural beasties, before Bill Murray and the Ghostbusters first got slimed, even before Scooby Doo and the gang first fired up the Mystery Machine, there was another who kept the world safe from ectoplasmic entities. His name was Mickey Mouse.

By 1937, Mickey had almost a decade of experience under his animated belt. Originally a solo star, Disney execs had started teaming Mickey with Donald Duck and Goofy with increasing regularity beginning in 1935. The results were some of the funniest cartoons of Mickey's career.

Lonesome Ghosts (1937) was by no means Mickey's first encounter with the supernatural; that honor would go to Haunted House (1929). It was, however, his first outing as a "Ghostbuster" with Donald and Goofy, and is fondly remembered as one of the best Disney cartoons of the 1930s.

"When Disney signed with distributor RKO in 1937, they ceased producing one sheets for their shorts, a practice that would continue until late 1938," said Grey Smith, Director of Vintage Movie Poster Auctions for Dallas-based Heritage Auction Galleries. "In the meantime, they created strikingly beautiful - and exceedingly rare - 30" x 40" silkscreen posters to promote their films. The oversized sheets (one sheets typically measure 27" x 41") have proven quite popular with collectors on the infrequent occasions that they are offered."

"Making this particular poster even more desirable," Smith said, "is that this is the only known copy of the 30" x 40" for Lonesome Ghosts, all the rest having been lost to the ravages of time. Paperbacked and in lovely condition, this exquisite poster is sure be one of the stars of our upcoming auction."

"Rare Disney material has proven quite popular in our last few Signature auctions," Smith said. "Earlier this year, in our March 2006 auction, we sold the one sheet to The Mad Doctor for an impressive $138,000. That same auction saw the one sheet to Mickey's Nightmare fetch $54,625. As our offering of Lonesome Ghosts is the only copy known to exist, I'm anxious to see the bidding frenzy that this poster will create."

The Lonesome Ghosts (RKO, 1937) Poster (30" X 40") will be offered in Heritage Auction Galleries' upcoming Vintage Movie Poster Signature Auction, to be held July 12 & 13, 2006 in Dallas, Texas. For more information, or to bid online, please visit www.HeritageAuctions.com/MoviePosters.

Lonesome Ghosts (RKO, 1937) Poster (30" X 40")
Estimate: $25,000 - $45,000

For more information about Heritage's auctions, and a complete record of prices realized, along with full-color, enlargeable photos of each lot, please visit www.HeritageAuctions.com.

Prospective consignors and sellers of vintage movie posters and related material should contact Grey Smith at 1-800-872-6467, ext. 367, or 214-252-4367, or email GreySm@HeritageAuctions.com.

To reserve your copy of any Heritage auction catalog, please contact Nicole Jewell at 1-800-872-6467, ext. 272, or visit www.HeritageAuctions.com to order by email.