Per their website, Guernsey’s is beginning to market The Pugliese Collection auction, touted as “Purely and Simply The Greatest Pop Culture Collection Ever!”
No date has yet been noted, apart from “December”, but there is a list of highlights from the auction, which claims to include 450 items from movies alone:
* Margaret Hamilton’s witches hat from The Wizard of Oz
* Christopher Reeve’s complete Superman suit used in the filming of both Superman I & II
* The Maltese Falcon statuette
* Marlon Brando’s overcoat and hat from The Godfather I, plus many other great Godfather items
* Concept Drawing of “Bruce”, Steven Speilberg’s original name for the shark in Jaws
* Alfred Hitchcock lifecast (plus the lifecasts of other legends from the film world)
* Kevin Costner’s Union Uniform from Dances With Wolves
* Many Great Marilyn Monroe items
* Madonna’s glamorous dress and related articles from Evita
* Charlton Heston’s tunic and kaftan from The Ten Commandments
* Frank Sinatra’s officer’s jacket from The Manchurian Candidate
* Fabulous Jayne Mansfield items
* Harrison Ford’s Whip & many treasures from the Indiana Jones series (such as the Grail cup!)
* Elvis Presley… many wonderful items from his movies
* Jack Nicholson’s memorable jacket from The Shining
* Orson Welles’ tailcoat from Citizen Kane
* Wild Jim Carey outfits from his most extraordinary characters
* Michael J. Fox’s signature jacket from Back to the Future
* Brandon Lee’s leather coat worn at the time of his death on the set of The Crow
* Michael Keaton’s full Batman costume from Batman Returns
* Charlie Chaplin’s cane from Modern Times
* Several Tom Hanks’ outfits from Forrest Gump
* Elizabeth Taylor’s dress from National Velvet and costumes from Cleopatra
* A complete suite of costumes from The Flintstones
Also highlights from television:
* Lucille Ball’s top hat worn in the Harpo Marx episode
* “Red Skelton” top hat used by the comedian as “Freddy the Freeloader
* Batman: many full costumes and memorable items from the TV series
* Patrick Macnee’s bowler hat from The Avengers
* Dean Cain’s Superman suit
* Dragnet’s Hammer seen at the conclusion of each episode
* Ed Sullivan’s personal items
* Green Acres costumes
* Bewitched costumes
* “Super” Dave Osborne’s jumpsuit
* Three Stooges outfits
* Happy Days items including Ron Howard’s “letterman” sweater
* Sally Field’s Flying Nun’s Habit
* Dale Evans’ embroidered rhinestone western costume
* I Dream of Jeannie’s most noteworthy prop, the Genie Bottle
* Full Mackie-designed outfits worn by Cher on the Sonny & Cher Show
* Linda Evans’ Dynasty gowns
* Roy Rogers’ and Dan Blocker’s (Hoss) western hats
Who is Anthony Pugliese?
The Pugliese Company, a family held Real Estate Acquisition, Sales and Development company under the direction of President, and business visionary, Anthony V. Pugliese, III has steadily grown the past 35 years to represent over 3 million square feet of commercial projects and a land bank of over 40,000 acres in the vibrant South and Central, Florida and New Jersey marketplace. The Pugliese Company portfolio includes Industrial, Commercial, Retail, Residential projects and the new City of Destiny, Florida, a 61 square mile eco-sustainable city with 41,000 acres in Central Florida.
World Films, Inc. has combined the most powerful components of successful film production and motion picture distribution: an exemplary understanding of diverse world-wide entertainment that appeals to the broadest market, visionary creative, and on-target business strategies. World Films’ key team of creative writers, directors, actors and producers coupled with the business acumen of joint Co-Chairmen Anthony V. Pugliese, III, and Thad “Ted” Pryor, delivers a winning formula for savvy investors. Mr. Pugliese and Mr. Pryor’s successful track records have spanned major real estate development, land acquisition, entertainment/media, hi-tech, and education ventures. World Films’ “Creative Force” delivers a stellar product that accomplishes a dual mission-high global entertainment value, and a strong investment opportunity for our investors in the exciting independent film industry.
World Films, Inc.’s American Action Media Corp (WFI’s production house), and the award-winning post and distribution company, Gorilla Pictures, are focused on WFI’s fast-track ascent in the worldwide film distribution for DVD, cable, television, and “Big Box Retail” markets. With films that have a wide international appeal, WFI’s collection encompasses such high action film stars as martial arts champion Don “The Dragon” Wilson and a surplus of film products including action, suspense thrillers, mystery, comedy, sci-fi, horror and the universal draw of family-focused animation films.
Additionally, there is a “Pop Culture Collection” link on the Pugliese Company website showcasing pieces from the collection, including pieces referenced in the highlights above:
If I remember correctly, the Indiana Jones whip sold at a Christies auction in June 2005 for around $55,000 plus buyer’s premium (though I don’t recall any whip being attributed to use in all three films):
Per the release from LiveAuctioneers.com below, they will be holding the auction some time in December:
Astounding auction of 20th century cultural memorabilia at Guernsey’s in December
Oct. 1, 2007
New York—Approximately 850 of the most extraordinary objects from the worlds of motion pictures, popular music, magic, television and politic will be auctioned at Guernsey’s in December. The collection, built by Anthony Pugliese through decades of buying, is one of the finest collections of 20th century culture ever privately assembled. Indeed, Mr. Pugliese is sharing his wonderful collection with the rest of the world as he shifts his interests to the creation of Destiny, a beautiful, environmentally sensitive, self-contained community he is crafting in central Florida. LiveAuctioneers.com will offer both absentee and live Internet bidding for the auction. Those interested may also preview the fully-illustrated catalog at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.
The Wizard of Oz, The Godfather, Gone with the Wind and Citizen Kane are titles that any movie fan would automatically list as amongst the greatest films ever made. Rare indeed it is when a significant object from one of these classics springs onto the auction scene. The Pugliese Collection will include important artifacts from each of these great films, in addition to many more. Additional lots from this single collection to be sold at one unprecedented auction include those from Rebel Without A Cause, The Maltese Falcon, Modern Times, Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Ten Commandments, Cleopatra, The Caine Mutiny, Unforgiven, National Velvet, The Great Gatsby, Hud and Forrest Gump.
Now, make no mistake about it, were one talking about a movie poster or a minor prop from each of these landmark films, it would be a pretty big deal. But when you start considering that the objects to be sold are major elements from these movies, it takes your breath away. Such items include: Harrison Ford’s whip, Margaret Hamilton’s witch’s hat, Christopher Reeves’ Superman suit, Elvis’ racing duds (from Raceway), Chaplin’s cane, Liz’s headdress (Cleopatra) and dress (National Velvet), and principal wardrobe pieces from Brando, Orson Welles, Sinatra (Manchurian Candidate) and James Dean.
Movie memorabilia is but a portion of the staggering Pugliese Collection. The section devoted to magic features many of Houdini’s most sensational devices: his straight jacket and escape crates, his traveling show trunk and accompanying billboard, his shackles and handcuffs, writings and more.
The section on world leaders has many John F. Kennedy treasures including important hand-written documents and several wonderful humidors that stored the President’s beloved cigars. There are also many historically significant items relating to the assassination, most importantly of which is the very gun used by Jack Ruby to kill Lee Harvey Oswald. Items related to Winston Churchill, Herbert Hoover, Thomas Edison and Andy Warhol are also included, while Olympic torches from Munich and Berlin add further drama.
Rivaling the motion picture items are rarities from the world of Rock & Roll and country music. What more iconic objects could there be than the suits worn by the four Beatles on their first album cover? How about the Fab Four’s document registering their name (The Beatles) in the U.S! Buddy Holly is extremely well represented in the Collection, as is Madonna (with sensational items like her “Like A Virgin” wedding dress). Many of Elvis’ serious get-ups and objects from country stars like Tex Ritter and Gene Autry are also represented. There’s a wild grouping of Bob Mackie originals for Cher, Sharon Stone and Diana Ross, and while on the topic of beautiful women, the Marilyn Monroe garments in the auction will be nothing short of electric.
Any collection of 20th century cultural material would be incomplete were it not to include memorable items from Television. TV fans will rejoice with the opportunity to bid on dynamic items from I Love Lucy, Dragnet, Batman (the TV series and films, as well), Sonny and Cher, The Untouchables, The Munsters, Bewitched, Happy Days and more.
The aforementioned items are but a sampling of the incomparable Pugliese Collection. To preview the fully-illustrated catalog and leave absentee or live bids visit www.LiveAuctioneers.com.
It will be interesting to see how the market can absorb so many high end props in one month, with December seeing live auction events from Profiles in History, Christies, and this Guernsey’s auction – I think this is unprecedented.
Jason De Bord