Entertainment Memorabilia

From autographs to stage costumes, musical instruments to locks of hair, posters to film props, entertainment memorabilia encompasses anything that has an association with celebrities in the world of film, popular music and show business.

Certain celebrities or brands can be bankers like The Beatles, Elvis or Bond Films. Broadly speaking, the closer the direct association an item has with the person to whom it relates, the higher the value will be.

Provenance is key in this sector as an important guide to authenticity.


Ghostbusters Marshmallow Man toy

Original Ghostbusters merchandise at specialist toy auction in Bristol

25 July 2016

Who you gonna call? If you have ectoplasm seeping through the floorboards then ‘Ghostbusters’ is the obvious answer, shouted loudly.

Boba Fett Star Wars figure auction record

‘Le Boba’ sets auction record for Star Wars figure, selling for £21,000 at Vectis

25 July 2016

A new record for a Star Wars production figure was established at Vectis' latest sale when a French issue of Boba Fett, the memorable bit-part character in ‘The Empire Strikes Back’, sold for £21,000.

Specialists leave Christie’s as regular poster auctions end at South Kensington saleroom

21 July 2016

Christie’s South Kensington have ceased regular sales of vintage posters. The leading player in the popular collecting field say that they will now offer posters for sale in online auctions when the opportunity to sell an exceptional collection arises.

 La Revue Blanche by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

Toulouse-Lautrec posters sweep into Swann’s auction

15 July 2016

A series of posters by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec headlines the upcoming Vintage Posters sale at Swann Auction Galleries in New York.

Rocket Firing Boba Fett

Star Wars rarity – Boba Fett with firing rocket offered at Vectis’ auction

14 July 2016

The Rocket Firing Boba Fett has assumed legendary status among Star Wars collectors. Modelled in grey-blue plastic in advance of mass production by the Kenner factory in Ohio, it would forever remain a prototype figure.

Stuart Freeborn, Star Wars make-up  designer

Model of the Jedi Master – Star Wars collection of Yoda’s make-up designer comes to auction

18 May 2016

“When 900 years old you reach, look as good you will not.” The wise, if somewhat mangled words of Yoda, are ones that the great and good of the art and antiques trade will sagely nods their heads to. Then again, a nice patina and original condition are often just what’s needed.

Axe from The Shining

Axe from The Shining brings a slice of film history to Tamlyns

19 April 2016

Certain moments in films stay razor sharp in the mind long after you have seen them. Mention ‘Jack Nicholson’ and it is odds-on a mental image will spring up of that terrifying ‘Here’s Johnny’ scene from The Shining.

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Diggelmann doubles auction high for a ski poster

03 February 2016

A new auction high for a ski poster was established at Christie’s South Kensington’s annual Ski sale, held on January 21, when this 1934 colour lithograph advertising the attractions of the Swiss resort of Gstaad sold for £62,000 (plus premium).

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Classic horror poster sets $478,000 record

22 December 2014

“It is a somewhat incoherent narrative, which, however, gives Lon Chaney an opportunity to turn up in an uncanny disguise and also to manifest his powers as Scotland Yard’s expert hypnotist. You are therefore treated to close-ups of Mr Chaney’s rolling orbs, which, fortunately, do not exert their influence on the audience.”

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Life imitates art for Dylan Thomas’ boathouse gate

02 September 2014

In May actor Michael Sheen starred in a BBC Wales TV adaptation of ‘Under Milk Wood’ and has taken part in several Dylan Thomas tributes in this centenary year of the poet’s birth.

£2.3m crime spree ends with massive sale without reserve

03 July 2014

Wilsons Auctions of Mallusk and Portadown in Northern Ireland have sold off more than 1000 pieces of sci-fi memorabilia seized by police from a woman who stole £2.3m from her employers.

Like A Rolling Stone sets $1.7m record

25 June 2014

A draft of Bob Dylan’s seminal recording Like A Rolling Stone set a new auction record for a pop song manuscript when it sold for $1.7m (£1.04m) to an unnamed collector at Sotheby’s New York on June 24.

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Noël Coward’s Fascist secret

09 June 2014

The First World War shattered not just lives but also perceptions of the ‘natural order’ of things across Europe and how it was ruled.

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Beatlemania goes Down-Under

16 May 2014

Leonard Joel of Melbourne will be marking the 50th anniversary of the Beatles arriving to tour Australia by offering a collection of photographs taken of the group in Adelaide.

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Sotheby’s to sell Bob Dylan’s handwritten lyrics to ‘Like a Rolling Stone’

01 May 2014

A near complete working draft written by Bob Dylan for arguably his most famous song, ‘Like a Rolling Stone’, will be offered at Sotheby’s in New York this summer.

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Monster total for original Frankenstein poster

06 August 2013

Heritage Auctions of Dallas, Texas, are claiming a new auction record for an insert movie poster.

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Bidders log on and phone in from the slopes

21 February 2013

Started by Nicolette Tomkinson, head of the posters department at Christie’s South Kensington, 15 years ago, the only dedicated ski poster sale in the UK has successfully mastered a small but lucrative field.

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Railway poster from 1928 taken to new high

13 December 2012

Designed for the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, a 1928 poster by Cassandre (1901-68) sold at Swann Auction Galleries of New York for what is believed to be a record for the sought-after poster designer at auction.

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The earliest surviving poster of Mickey Mouse

13 December 2012

A 1928 movie poster of Mickey Mouse, thought to be the earliest surviving poster of the Walt Disney character, has fetched $85,000 (£56,000) at auction in Dallas, Texas.

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London Underground sale is a one-off for poster collectors

18 October 2012

The eagerly anticipated auction of Underground posters direct from the archives of London Transport Museum was a sell-out at Christie’s South Kensington earlier this month.

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