Category Archives: TV, Film & Sporting Memorabilia

Posters, Film Ephemera and Comics

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For those of you that have read my previous article on collectible comics you may ask the question, Why combine an article on posters, film ephemera and include comics as well?

Well, the simple answer is that comics now are just as much a part of film ephemera as posters, as one can see when Marvel release a new film from their vast range of available titles, the value of the comic that it is based on soars through the roof!

Look at titles such as Captain America – in April of 2022 the first of the series in a CGC graded 9.4 condition sold for $3.1 million, which even five years ago would have been unthinkable.

What is key to a comic book though, as well as a good title is of course the condition. If there are any marks, stains, tiny rips or even folds, it can wipe tens of thousands of dollars from the books value. Even since my last article on comic books, this has become even more paramount to achieving the ultra-high prices we have seen in the past few years. The way that collectors are now amassing their collections is that it has to be the very best, and if something better comes along – then they need to own it. This has fuelled the market in the last few years with some comics coming out of the woodwork, along with some well known examples.

The film poster market is something that anyone can get excited about – if you have a favourite film, it is very likely that they promoted it with a campaign of posters and as such, it is just as likely that you can source one in 2023. There are a few guidelines for poster that generally include only buying originals and for films that have attained either classic or cult status. So when looking to purchase be sure of authenticity and origin – for example posters in different languages can prove to be worth a lot less money than the native tongue, as seen in items from James Bond films. But in rarer forms, it can be worth even more, seen in the illustrated example of Casablanca from 1942. The film poster market is a tightrope so advice should always be sought out.

Film ephemera has again rocketed, with specific auction houses now specialising on huge sales from major Hollywood studios and collectors. That means you can buy anything from Harrison Ford’s infamous fedora hat (if you have the $300,000 that it recently achieved) to a helmet from a Stormtrooper, from the iconic Star Wars film series.

What has recently come to my attention after looking at quite a few collections over the last few years is actually…Pokemon cards.

This global phenomenon started back in 1996, when Pokemon was released as a trading card game, Pokemon – actually an abbreviated phrase meaning “Pocket monsters”. It quickly became a massive success with over 50 billion cards in circulation, which is a monumental figure. In recent years due to major celebrity endorsement, these items have sold on the secondary market for figures that could never have ever been imagined, as some of the rarest cards trading for over $1,000,000. With mythical collections being kept quiet and never discussed, it’s certainly going to be one of the hobbies and collectible items that stays with us for a long time.

So, should you wish to either buy up some old memories, or maybe invest in some new ones, the market for comic books, film ephemera and even Pokemon cards are clearly satisfying on many levels within the industry!

Licence To Spend, The True Cost of Being Bond

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Finally, this month will see the release of the much anticipated ‘No Time to Die’ – the 25th film in the James Bond series, despite a very long wait since the original release date the world is waiting to see just what Bond can offer in Daniel Craig’s last outing as 007.

It is a phenomenon that in 2021, a character such as Bond can still pull the crowds, but it’s the franchise that always wins and whatever is associated with Bond generally brings in the royalties as well. With a supposed birthday of the 11th of November 1920, he is certainly looking good for his age…

How though, has Bond changed over the years? In 1962 when ‘Dr. No’ was released, it’s doubtful that anyone could have seen just what effect the Scottish/Swiss secret agent (who was named after an expert on American birds, and one of Ian Fleming’s favourite authors) would have on films, products and computer games to name but a few.

Now, what a lot of people don’t realise is that Bond’s car was a Bentley – according to Ian Fleming – the Aston Martin came with the films, but the DB5 is now possibly the most recognisable movie car on the planet, possibly more recognisable than some of the lesser-known Bond actors (sorry, Timothy). Strangely, the most expensive example of this legend is a Bond car, but not as one might imagine. The promotional car for ‘Goldfinger’ (1964) sold a couple of years ago for close to £5,000,000 and was in remarkable condition as Mr Connery had never driven it in anger during production. To put it in context a standard DB5, minus ejector seat and oil slick jets, can be purchased for under a million.

For those with a lesser budget, my choice would always be the Alfa Romeo GTV6 driven by Roger Moore in Octopussy – obviously this was a prop car as when I owned one of these, saving the world from nuclear destruction would not have been on my agenda – just getting it to start was considered a success.

Bond’s watches are another example of how one man (and maybe a great marketing department) can change the course of a product. So, what was the first ever Bond watch on screen? It was the instantly forgettable Gruen Precision 510 (Connery’s personal watch, and worn in many other Bond outings)… but nobody cares about that and so we always talk about the Rolex Submariner 6538.

Again, the source of the watch was reputably Connery, although it has been hinted that it may have belong to production staff… with the passing of Connery, I suppose we will never get the full lowdown… what is true however is the escalating value of the 6538 along with most other vintage Rolex sports models. If you want to` be a part of the ‘Big Crown’ Rolex club, be ready to hand over close to £100,000 for a good one these days.

There are of course, again many other options for classic Bond watches, with Seiko, Breitling and most recently Omega, whom have pretty much rejuvenated a brand tanks to Pierce Brosnan, and Daniel Craig wearing some timepieces that do far, far more than tell the time.

When we look at the clothes that Bond sports, there has always been that sartorial elegance with Bond, with Daniel Craig wearing a symphony of Tom Ford attire, with accoutrements by Sunspel, Orlebar Brown and many others but, for me nothing beats Roger Moore in the Safari Suit though, capturing a moment when being a secret agent required a pair of flared trousers, and preferably with a silk cravat.

So, over the years – many things have changed with Bond from watches, to cars, and clothing manufacturers. Hopefully, ‘No Time to Die’ will be as good as we have come to expect from 007, as nobody does it better…

‘Guitars – Rock ‘n’ Roll Never Dies!

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An early Rickenbacker Frying Pan

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A late 1950s Les Paul

It happens every year, and it’s the ultimate guilty pleasure.

The Eurovision Song Contest this year was hotly anticipated in the wake of last year’s cancellation of the annual parade of the great (and not so great) in European pop, and it certainly didn’t fail to get the viewers talking. Our entry suffered a rather incredible snub from the public of an entire continent which was possibly an achievement in itself. However, the obvious and clear winner on the night was in fact a rock band hailing from… Rome, Italy.

Maneskin, with their entry ‘Zitti e buoni’ stole the hearts of Europe and despite the political voting from the vast majority of the judging panels, took their overwhelming score from the public vote. Now, what made this win special was the band’s clear love of the rock image, which over the decades has defined itself as: lots of guitars, not a lot of shirts.

During their acceptance speech their lead singer Damiano David declared that “Rock and Roll Never Dies” and that comment could never be truer than now. The eternal icon of Rock has to be the electric guitar. It has made heroes, millionaires, and icons, so why are old guitars making incredible prices across the globe?

The electric guitar started out in the 1930s as a way for jazz musicians and some country acts to amplify their sound when performing to an audience and this was the case for the next couple of decades. Rickenbacker, (more about them later), developed a pick-up for a slide guitar made by National, and this was dubbed the ‘Frying Pan’ due to its culinary outline.

The 1950s were really the start of the solid body electric. Leo Fender brought out the ‘Broadcaster’, whilst Gibson, who were already well known for their big-box jazz guitars, brought out the ‘Les Paul’, which was designed by Les Paul, alongside Ted McCarty, who was probably one of the most important people in the music industry that you have never heard of. His innovations at Gibson during this period really can’t be overlooked.

During this golden era of guitars, more models would evolve such as the Stratocaster – which possibly, alongside the Les Paul, is the most recognisable instrument of all time. The Gibson 335 – undoubtedly the most versatile guitar one can play – and lots of other models like the SG, Explorer, Jaguar, Jazzmaster and two of my personal favourites – the Gretsch 6120, and the Rickenbacker 360/12. Fast forward to 2021 and what are the most popular guitar models right now? Well, it’s exactly the same as it was in the 50s, 60s, 70s (not the 80s – blame hair metal) and 90s. They got it right first time.

This leads us into why vintage guitars command so much money. While a modern USA Stratocaster can be bought for under £1000 why does a guitar that looks exactly the same from 1958 cost maybe 40 times as much? Well, whilst my learned friend David Dallas would rightly comment that some artists produce better paintings during certain parts of their career – it’s the same with guitars. The early ones were made with far better components; the pick- ups were wound by hand and the amount they produced in a year was probably lower than gets produced in a day in 2021. The other big factor that simply can’t be accounted for is “feel” …. hardly a technical term, but I was very fortunate enough to once play a 1958 Les Paul Standard, which is now a £500,000 guitar and there are simply no words to describe how different the weight, fingerboard, sound or just overall ‘feel’ are. That’s why musicians and collectors are happy to pay the big money for these items.
So, alongside Rock and Roll, the electric guitar is certainly a survivor and has outlasted the formats it was designed to be played on many times, and no doubt, when downloads are old technology, the guitar will still be at the forefront making the music.

A mid 1950s Fender Stratocaster

Film Posters

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With the Sotheby’s James Bond Poster sale on 5th of November this year, and a huge collection going under the hammer on the same day at Prop Store the market for movie posters has never been stronger, but is it the artwork, the iconic characters, or in fact the memories surrounding the time of their release that fans are buying into?

Dr No movie poster

Dr No movie poster, 1962

One of the highlights at the Sotheby’s sale is of course the original Bond film; “Dr No”- it’s 1962 production created one of the most valuable and recognisable franchises of all time and is still referred to as one of the best of the films ever released – the much delayed latest offering may give it a run for its money, but it’s doubtful. With a top estimate of £25,000 the UK issued poster outshines its American counterpart not only in value, but in style – these posters were designed to bring attention to the masses and of course the ever suave Connery holding a smoking pistol surrounded by scantily clad young ladies certainly did just that.

Away from the Bond sale, Prop Store has some iconic moments in film history all through the sale – “Jaws” from 1975 must be one of the most recognised film posters of all time, with the lone swimmer in the targets of the elusive shark ready to pounce, it instantly brings the legendary theme by John Williams to mind and probably helped to terrify a generation of beach swimmers for years to come, surprisingly with a low estimate of only a few hundred pounds, it seems good value to me.

Jaws movie poster

Jaws movie poster, 1975

So why has the humble poster become so valuable? The truth is that it’s simplicity and infinitely researched creation is designed to appeal to so many people that having the images of a promotional studio item is very appealing – one could argue (and many probably will) that an original film poster could be as important a piece of art socially as many of the wonderful pieces of top tier art that we see every year, just less exclusive.

So what poster would I have on my walls? Well, unfortunately for my wallet – Prop Store happens to have an original poster from “Raiders of The Lost Ark” the first in the fantastic trio of 1980s adventure classics (note purposeful non inclusion of the 2008 effort) and with a lead character so important to the era, one forgets that Indiana Jones wasn’t even part of the title for the first film.

Raiders of the Lost Ark Movie Poster

Raiders of the Lost Ark movie poster

An antiquity searching, Nazi killing, mid 20th century archaeologist with a battle cry of “It belongs in a museum!” Seems an unlikely hero, but for a young history obsessed schoolboy in Gloucestershire “Indie” quickly became my idol, and whilst my searches have never quite matched his, I would like to think there is still time….

How many 00’s in a pair of 007’s cufflinks?

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When embarking on a valuation, a valuer never knows what they will see and sometimes it’s the little, seemingly lower value items at the bottom of the jewellery box that are the most surprising.
I was asked to do a valuation for a large quantity of jewellery and watches. After appraising all the diamond and gem set pieces and the significant collection of watches, there was just an assortment of silver cufflinks remaining. I decided to value them in groups, starting with the designer ones: Tiffany & Co, Tom Ford, Cartier. I imagined they would be £200- £300 a pair. However this was not the case.

Later, when I started to do my research I discovered that Tom Ford do not sell silver cufflinks. The pair in question were oval in outline with a mother of pearl panel and the engraved initials ‘JB’. Apparently Tom Ford had specially manufactured four pairs of these cufflinks for the James Bond movie Spectre. One of these pairs had been sold at the Christies Spectre auction in 2016 for £74,500!

Needless to say I nearly fell off my chair! I re-contacted the client and asked for some information about the provenance of these cufflinks. Had they been purchased at auction? The response was ‘no they were a gift from Barbara Broccoli’.

In the article it mentioned that EON Productions had the two other pairs of cufflinks stored in their archives, so I decided to contact them. They were incredibly helpful and replied to my email almost immediately. They confirmed that Tom Ford had produced the cufflinks for the movie at a cost of £300 per pair. They had two pairs in their archives insured for the value of £3000 each. One pair had been gifted to a friend by the producers and one pair had been sold at auction for £74,500.

So what is the value of these cufflinks – £300, £3000 or £74,500? If the client decided to sell them at auction it could be argued that they would command £74,000 again, maybe even more. Movie memorabilia is highly desirable and sought after, especially when it comes to James Bond.

I explained my findings to the client and it was decided that an Agreed Value should be placed on these cufflinks, a value that the client and insurance company were comfortable with, that would be paid out if anything should happen to the cufflinks.

It was such a fascinating valuation. It really highlighted the fact that many clients have been gifted items of jewellery and they have absolutely no idea of their value, let alone have them listed for insurance purposes. When was the last time you had the contents of your jewellery box professionally reviewed? Diamonds may be forever, but be careful not to overlook the other treasures.