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.


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Bowie lyrics make a stellar result in Merseyside sale

02 January 2024

The music memorabilia sale at Omega (28.8% buyer’s premium inc VAT) on November 29 included the handwritten lyrics to two tracks on David Bowie’s 1972 classic The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.

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The web shop window: Vintage ski posters for Swiss resort Arosa

18 December 2023

Thousands of items are available to buy from dealers online. Here we pick out one that caught our eye this week.

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Indulge your wanderlust with two travel poster exhibitions

04 December 2023

London poster specialist stages two shows – one held in an embassy

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Dial M for huge 007 memorabilia price

27 November 2023

To say that James Bond memorabilia is hugely collectable is not a statement to cause a huge shock.

Godfather Part II Suit

Robert De Niro’s ‘Godfather’ suit stars in our pick of five auction highlights

17 November 2023

ATG’s weekly selection of items that caught bidders’ eyes includes a suit worn by Robert De Niro in a famous scene from ‘The Godfather Part II’ that more than doubled estimate at an auction in Hertfordshire.

Fiona Bruce and Philip Mould

BBC’s Fake or Fortune? expands into memorabilia

01 November 2023

The BBC’s 'Fake or Fortune?' is known for discovering artworks – from paintings to sculpture. But for its next series it is expanding into memorabilia.

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Handmade model of Dorothy Gale’s Kansas home takes six-figure sum at auction

30 October 2023

A handmade model of Dorothy Gale’s Kansas home, created for the famous tornado scene in the 1939 MGM classic 'The Wizard of Oz', was competed to $445,000 (£367,000) at Studio Auctions (20% buyer’s premium) in Manhattan Beach, California on October 7.

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All you need is light: a Beatles table lamp

23 October 2023

This kitschy Beatles table lamp discovered in a house clearance sold for an impressive £950 (estimate £100-150) on September 14.

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First glimpse of what became the cult classic film Withnail and I

09 October 2023

When 'Withnail and I' was released in 1987 it was a British film that seemed destined to disappear into obscurity.

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Peter Cushing: fangs for the memories

09 October 2023

Peter Cushing’s (1913-94) six-decade acting career featured more than 100 films furnished many fond memories – and of course provided plenty of memorabilia.

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Houdini ready to wow the crowds in Bolton

25 September 2023

The sale of Vintage & Modern Magic at Potter & Potter (20% buyer’s premium) in Chicago on August 26 included this original theatre contract signed by Erik Weisz, the man better known as Harry Houdini (1874-1926).

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Led Zeppelin album cover signs in at £15,000

18 September 2023

A copy of Led Zeppelin’s Houses of the Holy album signed by all four members of the band sold to a phone bidder for £15,000 .

Rainbow-coloured satin arrow jacket

Killer bids as Sotheby’s shows how the celebrity sale is done

11 September 2023

Sensational was the only word for it.

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What price an early Harry Potter book?

11 September 2023

The earliest book on the boy wizard continues to entrance collectors

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Harry Potter: the children’s book series that became a phenomenon

11 September 2023

“I get loads and loads of emails and calls all the time from people whose eyes have lit up when they see those words ‘first edition’…”

Freddie Mercury in concert

Freddie Mercury collection: Major sums for lyrics and piano at Sotheby’s auction

07 September 2023

The handwritten lyrics for Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ and the piano which Freddie Mercury used to compose it were among the major highlights at Sotheby's auction of the singer’s collection in London.

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Ring of ‘Mr Show Business’ shines at Birmingham auction

04 September 2023

A favourite ring of Sammy Davis Jr sold at Fellows (25% buyer’s premium) in Birmingham on August 24.

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Original lyrics for Elvis Presley's 'Heartbreak Hotel' comes to auction

21 August 2023

The original working lyrics for 'Heartbreak Hotel' carry an estimate of $200,000-220,000 at GWS Auctions’ sale titled Artifacts of Hollywood & Music in Agoura Hills, California, on August 26.

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Cheap cape but £21,000 for in demand Star Wars Jawa figure

14 August 2023

The Vinyl Cape Jawa was the first Star Wars action figure to assume mythic status among collectors.

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Epitome of Art Deco that sailed into oblivion

17 July 2023

The SS Normandie was both the apogee and the nadir of the Art Deco movement.

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