This is a rare jewel among poster and art collectors: a 1933 “King Kong” three-sheet movie poster. Heritage Auctions sold it on November 29 for way more than previously estimated, setting a new house record in the movie poster category. Experts believed that the outstanding lot would raise about $80,000, so you can imagine their excitement when bidders went beyond the $3 million barrier and didn’t stop until they reached $388,375.
According to Grey Smith, Director of Vintage Movie Posters at Heritage, the large scale poster is “an astounding piece of art”. It shows the huge gorilla perched on the Empire State Building and holding the lovely Fay Wray on his huge arm.
This, however, was not the only lot to score incredibly high bids. There was also a 1928 Mickey Mouse poster that was initially estimated to raise between $20,000 and $40,000, and which went for $101,575. The sale coincided with the 70th anniversary of the classic film Casablanca, which may explain why a 1942 poster of the movie fetched $191,200 instead of $18,000-$28,000, as previously estimated.
