Heritage Auctions

E-mail this page to a friend

'Freaks' Poster bought for $10 in the 1970s brings $100,000+

Dallas, TX: When it comes to the collecting of vintage movie posters one thing holds true above the rest: Classic horror is king. If there was a shred of doubt anywhere in the collectibles world, that hesitation was shattered March 20-22, when a 1931 Style B one sheet Dracula poster sold for $310,000 as the anchor of Heritage Auction Galleries' Spring Vintage Movie Poster auction.

The poster is one of only three known existing copies in this style. It pictures the most famous cinema vampire in history from one of the most ground-breaking films of all time. The poster carries with it rock solid provenance from The Collection of Nicolas Cage.

If the Dracula poster performed up to expectations, it was a rare 1932 insert poster for the notorious Irving Thalberg-produced MGM horror movie Freaks that was the breakout star of the auction, emerging as it did in the two weeks before the auction as the singular poster it most certainly is. It realized just more than $107,000 when the hammer came down.

"It's a very rare poster, without a doubt," said Grey Smith, Director of vintage Movie Posters at Heritage. "The movie was quickly pulled from release by the studio, but became a cult classic after it was re-released by an independent distributor in 1949. Movie posters from the original release are virtually unheard of. It's one of the hobbies greatest rarities."

The consignor, Anne Stafford, from Corona Del Mar, Calif., said she agonized over spending $10 to buy the poster for her husband, Phil, at a local antiques store in the early 1970s. Knowing of her husband's love of B-movies, and appreciation for Freaks, she buckled down and spent the sawbuck. Almost four decades later that initial investment has paid off more than 10,000 times.

The winning bidder, Ralph Deluca, is a retired financial executive and a long time collector from the East Coast. He said he intends to hang the poster in a place of honor on his wall next to his other famous horror movie posters.

"Freaks is a film that I loved and always wanted a poster from," Deluca said. "Even in this economy, great things bring great prices," he said.

"Ironically, Freaks bombed at the box office initially, even though the film was green-lighted at the time by legendary MGM executive, Irving Thalberg, as a response to other movie studios' successful films such as Dracula and Frankenstein," said Smith. "We expected the bidding for this poster to top $50,000, but were amazed when it topped $100,000." said Smith.

The other top highlight of the auction, which also brought more than $100,000, was a stunning 1933 stone lithograph for Walt Disney's The Mad Doctor, released by United Artists. A surreal masterpiece of both cartoons and horror in its own right, apart from its early Disney pedigree, the poster attests to the lasting craftsmanship and artistry of the H.C. Miner Lithograph Company. There is only one other copy of this poster known to exist, and it is reportedly in lesser condition.

"The chances of seeing this poster come back on the market anytime soon are very slim," said Smith. "This is a once in a generation poster, if that."

The two-day auction in Dallas and online generated $2.5 million in winning bids, the second highest movie posters auction on record, according to Heritage. The prices above include a 19.5 percent buyer's premium paid by all winning bidders in the auction.

"It doesn't matter what the overall economic climate is like when it comes to posters like these and the other top lots in the auction," Smith said. "Quality and rarity will always sell, and when you combine the two — as we did with these posters — then you can see that collectors will always realize this and do what it takes to acquire these beauties. We couldn't be more pleased with results."

To see the rest of the results from the auction, read detailed lot descriptions and to download full-color, enlargeable images, follow this link to the auction home page.

For additional information, contact Heritage Auction Galleries at (800) 872-6647 or visit online at www.HA.com.

E-mail this page to a friend