Gold Magazine June - July 2013, Issue 27 | Page 97

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movie memorabilia

Movies: magical, meaningful, and memorable.
They have been enchanting audiences for over a century now
and the related movie memorabilia market shows no signs of its thrall
waning. Quite the opposite in fact: the action has only just begun.
By Chloe Panayides

“O

h, do you feel
the breeze from
the subway?
Isn’t it delicious?”
Upon reading
this line, you may not be inspired or overcome
with a sense of recognition. And yet, these are
the exact words uttered by none other than
Marilyn Monroe, seconds before that scene:
yes, the famous subway scene through which
her ivory-coloured dress, clinched at the waist,
seductively flairs up in the wind, exposing her
curves. Though some details are increasingly
lost from people’s consciousness (for example,
that the movie was entitled, The Seven Year
Itch, and released in 1955), this image endures
indelibly: a signature Monroe moment, an
iconic image belonging to 20th century pop
culture, a fond memory of monstrous
value – a monstrous $5.6 million, to be
precise.
The dress worn by Monroe during this scene was initially sold
for $400 in 1971, meaning that
the multi-million dollar figure

it commanded in June 2011 reflects a 27% rise
in value per annum, betraying, furthermore,
just how far collectors will go to own a piece of
movie history.
Industry insiders concur that at the heart of
the movie memorabilia scene are enamoured
eyes, hypnotised, one way or another, by motion pictures. Having only been in existence
since the 1970s, the economic downturn of
late has done little to deter this young market,
with recent sales testifying to the ever-increasing intensity with which hungry movie-predators stalk their memorabilia-prey. It seems
that the allure of redirecting one’s money into
a tangible asset provably on an upward trajectory, and bringing near something inspired
by a dear memory, seems irresistible. Take the
Heuer Monaco watch that graced the wrist of
Steve McQueen in the acclaimed 1971 movie,
Le Mans. Having passed through the hands
of several collectors since the early 2000s,
it finally came up again for auction on
July 31, 2012, courtesy of auction house,
Profiles in History. Utterly devouring the
$300,000 estimate, the private buyer bid a
winning $799,500 (representing an increase of

Recent sales testify
to the ever-increasing
intensity with
which hungry moviepredators stalk their
memorabilia-prey
116.5%) in order to satiate his
ravenous appetite and bring into his
personal possession an item that once
belonged to the actor idolised as the
‘King of Cool’.
Indeed, it is thought that recent financial woes, besides not affecting the movie
memorabilia market, have actually invigorated it, with many unique – and previously
untouchable – pieces finding their way back
into the limelight. Thus, opportunities are
ready and waiting as collectors are hungry and
willing. The lights are bright, the camera is
ready to roll: so where does the action begin?
Broadly speaking, movie memorabilia may
be demarcated into two categories: rare, screenused artefacts (props, costumes, posters, and

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