This work product is part of the ongoing series of articles about Superman costumes in the marketplace, tracking public auction house sales of costume items attributed to use by Christopher Reeve in the Superman films of the 70s and 80s (see “Questions About Superman Costumes in the Marketplace: Authenticity, Sources, Quantity“).
What I have attempted to do is catalog the costumes offered for sale to the public by auction houses and by prop dealers on their commercial websites.
The following matrix is an update to the most recent one published last month as version 1.1 (see Version 1.1 article).
Of the new entries, the first was missed in the last two versions, and the other two were new auctions in June:
- New Entry: Matrix Number AH019A Bonhams Sale 15337, Lot 349 “Christopher Reeve Costume, Superman: The Movie”
- New Entry: Matrix Number AH026 Bonhams Sale 15801, Lot 108 “Christopher Reeve Flying Suit, Superman IV”
- New Entry: Matrix Number AH027 Christie’s Sale 2012, Lot 154 “Christopher Reeve Walking Cape, Superman III”
As noted in the previous update article, I have tried to capture as much of the key details of these offerings as possible to populate a matrix in an effort to share information with collectors about what has been offered for sale and the attributes of those costumes and costume parts. This also offers an opportunity to compare and contrast some of the characteristics of these costumes. Some also appear to have been sold and resold (based on matching wardrobe tags, for instance), as noted in the document.
Obviously, I am at the mercy of the quality and accuracy of the information used to market these pieces by auction houses, dealers, and their consignors, as applicable. In some cases, the information provided is vague and imprecise, so I would ask anyone using this document to please keep all of this in mind and to perform your own due diligence and verify all information to your own standards. I have not verified any of the information presented or claimed via the marketing and advertising of these pieces beyond what was noted in the applicable auction catalog and/or website.
This third draft version of the matrix is named “Version 1.2”, marked with today’s date, as I see this as a “living document” with many updates, revisions, edits, etc.
If anyone has any information to share or changes/edits or any other input, please contact me, as my goal is to make it as accurate and comprehensive as possible.
Here is the matrix: “Superman Costume Matrix: Auction House/Dealer Website Public Offerings ver. 1.2”
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This matrix does not include costumes offered for sale outside of auction houses and dealer websites (i.e. eBay).
Details of the costumes that are included in this matrix can be found in the following OPB articles:
- Original Superman Costume Auction House Reference Archive Part 1: Profiles in History
- Original Superman Costume Auction House Reference Archive Part 2: Christie’s, Sotheby’s, Bonhams
- Original Superman Costume Auction House Reference Archive Part 3: Guernsey’s, Heritage, American Memorabilia, R&R Auctions
All other Superman costume-related articles can be found in the Marketwatch: Superman category.
Jason De Bord