Frankenstein Insert Movie Poster Brings $262,900 at Heritage Auctions
DALLAS — An original 1931 poster for Frankenstein set a world record as the most valuable insert movie poster ever sold at auction when it realized $262,900 at Heritage Auctions on July 27.
The sale provided a monster payday for the collector who bought it as a teenager for only a few dollars at a local antique store and later kept it in the closet for over 30 years. The entire auction sold more than $1.86+ million in movie posters and related movie memorabilia.
The poster was previously owned by Keith Johnson, of Ottawa, Ill.
"I got it from an antique store in town in either 1968 or 1969, and I probably only paid $2 to $5 for it," said Johnson.
Johnson's wife, Julie, said the framed Frankenstein poster "was kept in the closet for the 30-plus years we've been married. Every once in a while we would pour ourselves a glass of wine and go take a look at it. We always loved it, and thought it was very cool."
“It was strong sale overall and people were out in numbers participating,” said Grey Smith, Director of Movie Posters at Heritage. “We couldn’t be happier for the consignor.”
Insert posters were printed on card stock paper and designed for movie theater display cases that would fit a 14 by 36 inch poster such as this one, Smith explained.
Heritage Auctions is the largest auction house founded in the United States and the world’s third largest, with annual sales of more than $800+ million, and 800,000+ online bidder members. For more information about Heritage Auctions, and to join and receive access to a complete record of prices realized, with full-color, enlargeable photos of each lot, please visit HA.com.
