Actor's Unique "Jaws" Movie Scrapbook to be Auctioned March 18
CLEARWATER, Fla. - The most important piece of Jaws history to hit the market since the blockbuster film’s 1975 release will be sold on March 18 when Blackwell Auctions of Clearwater, Florida, offers the personal Jaws movie scrapbook of the late actor Alfred Wilde. Known for his small but memorable role as Harry Wiseman (a k a “Bad Hat Harry”) in Jaws, and “Select Man #1” in Jaws 2, Wilde carefully documented his time on both movie sets by amassing a unique collection of memorabilia - a virtual time capsule of Jaws’ actors and crew.
This fresh-to-the-market collection includes nearly three dozen pages of photographs and autographs - including handwritten sentiments by Steven Spielberg, Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss and Robert Shaw (and signatures of nearly the entire cast and crew), as well as Peter Benchley, the author of Jaws, who visited the set.
Also included are an original shooting call page, original script pages, tickets from the movie’s premiere in Martha’s Vineyard and more. None of the 100 original candid snapshots has ever been published or broadcast.
Click here to view Google Photos album of the entire scrapbook: https://goo.gl/photos/9qEayDvG4KEidnEJA
Of the many noteworthy aspects of this collection, these stand out:
1 - Steven Spielberg wrote a personal note to Wilde, signed it “Steve Spielberg” and, under his name, in parentheses, wrote “Director of JAWS.”
“It’s like looking at Steven Spielberg’s rookie card,” said Blackwell Auctions’ co-owner and auctioneer Edwin Bailey. “He identified himself as the director because back then, very few people would have had a clue who ‘Steve Spielberg’ was.”
2 - Unlike many movie memorabilia items, which may change hands many times, this collection has never been offered for sale or displayed publicly.
3 - Establishing an opening bid was a challenge, as only one “comp” could be found: In 2014, a Los Angeles-based auction sold an unnamed movie technician’s photo album and four lifejackets used by Spielberg and three Jaws actors. There were no autographs. That collection sold for $50,000.
Blackwell Auctions has set the opening bid for Alfred Wilde’s scrapbook at $25,000, with a pre-auction estimate of $50,000-$75,000.
“There isn’t a movie memorabilia collector out there who wouldn’t want to own something like this,” Bailey said. “It’s an item that utterly transcends a signed poster or a screen-used prop. The scrapbook represents the very spirit of Jaws, a cinematic masterpiece that made Steven Spielberg a household name.”
Internet live or absentee bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers. For more information, please call or text Edwin Bailey of Blackwell Auctions at 727-644-0457. Email info@blackwellauctions.com.
Image: Steven Speilberg in Shark Jaws - Candid photos including Steven Spielberg posing in the gaping shark jaws. Courtesy of Blackwell Auctions.
