Maltese Falcon hammers for $3.5 million at Turner Classic Movies & Bonhams auction

Bonhams and Turner Classic Movies, “What Dreams Are Made Of: A Century of Movie Magic at Auction as Curated by TCM Hollywood auction was held in New York on November 25th, 2013. According to a Bonhams press release the auction totaled (including BP), close to $6 million dollars.

Over 80% of the auction total was due to the sale of one impressive and widely recognized movie prop: Lot #225: The Maltese Falcon statue from the 1941 John Houston film, “The Maltese Falcon“, starring Humphrey Bogart and Mary Astor. The prop falcon hammered for $3.5 million and sold for a total of $4,085,000 with fees, including a 12% BP or buyers premium factored in.

The auction consisted of 309 lots of which 85 did not sell, for a sales rate of 73%.

Additional highlights of items sold were:

Lot 93: A Vivien Leigh negligée from Gone With the Wind. Sold for US$ 56,250 inc. premium
Lot93
Lot # 103: The 1940 Buick Phaeton automobile from Casablanca. Sold for US$ 461,000 inc. premium
Lot103
Lot 104: Producer Hal Wallis’s working copy of the shooting script for Casablanca. Sold for US$ 68,750 inc. premium
Lot104Casablanca
Lot 138: A Geza Kende portrait of Clara Bow owned by Bela Lugosi. Sold for US$ 30,000 inc. premium
Lot143
Lot 139: An Audrey Hepburn Givenchy hat from Funny Face. Sold for US$ 87,500 inc. premium
Lot139
Lot 231: John Huston’s original typed and handwritten draft of The Treasure of the Sierra Madre screenplay. Sold for US$ 21,250 inc. premium
Lot231
Lot 253: Francis Ford Coppola’s working copy of the screenplay for The Godfather. Sold for US$ 22,500 inc. premium
Lot253

*©TCM, Bonhams, Movie Prop Collectors, Entertainment Minute, and their respective owners.

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