The War of the Worlds (Paramount, 1953) British Quad
Some of cinema's rarest artwork from The Blue Angel and Casablanca to 2001: A Space Odyssey and Apocalypse Now will go under the hammer at Heritage Auctions later this month.
The 500 lots come from Chicago-based Dwight Cleveland's collection which includes Golden-Age Hollywood classics as well as one-of-a-kind lobby cards dating back to the early 1900s, and is focused on the impact of their imagery rather than around an era, genre or movie star.
“The best posters in my mind are those that reduce the entire essence of a movie into a single, vivid sheet,” said Cleveland. “My collection represents 125 years of film history and transcends global differences and even literacy through the deceptively simple universal language of the world’s most refined film art.
“I’ve circumnavigated the world hunting down rare film art. My hunt has led me into unusual situations, from tracking down a mysterious collector in Tokyo so secretive he’d changed his identity, to showing up with a sledgehammer and a crowbar at the home of a former theater owner that had been slated for renovation, knowing he had insulated his walls with old film posters.”
Other highlights include:
“The foreign movie rights were often purchased by individuals in various countries," said Cleveland, "and the bureaucrats of those countries weren’t knowledgeable or invested in the poster imagery. So the artists, some well-known and some anonymous, had incredible creative license and freedom.”
This auction is the first of several that will showcase further items from Cleveland’s collection.
The Cinema on Paper: The Dwight M. Cleveland Collection Movie Posters auction runs March 27-28.
Via Biblio.com books WW II,e.g.: Anne Frank's Diary 'Het Achterhuis.'
