IN HONOR OF THE 96TH ACADEMY AWARDS, A LOOK AT RELATED COLLECTIBLES FROM THE HERITAGE ARCHIVES
By Rhonda Reinhart
The Academy Awards have come a long way since May 16, 1929, when the first Oscars were presented during a private banquet in the Blossom Room of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. This year, Hollywood’s brightest stars will gather in the Dolby Theatre on March 10 for a ceremony that will be televised live and in more than 200 territories worldwide. In honor of the annual celebration of cinematic achievement, we rounded up some of our favorite Oscar-related items from the Heritage archives.
Citizen Kane (1941)
Wins: Writing (Original Screenplay)
Orson Welles was just 26 years old when he co-wrote, produced, directed and starred in Citizen Kane, what many consider one of the greatest movies ever made. Welles won an Oscar for the film’s screenplay and was given this nomination certificate from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The certificate sold for $40,000 in a July 2023 Heritage auction.
Casablanca (1942)
Wins: Directing, Outstanding Motion Picture, Writing (Screenplay)
So enduring a classic is Casablanca that nearly 50 years after its release, it was among the first “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant” films the Library of Congress added to the National Film Registry. This original movie poster, featuring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman in their most famous roles, realized $384,000 in a November 2020 Heritage auction.
A Place in the Sun (1951)
Wins: Cinematography (Black-and-White), Costume Design (Black-and-White), Directing, Film Editing, Music (Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture), Writing (Screenplay)
During her decades-long career, legendary costume designer Edith Head helped shape our vision of Hollywood glamour – and won eight Oscars in the process. In this vintage sketch by Head, which realized $13,750 in a July 2022 Heritage auction, we see one of her award-winning designs for Elizabeth Taylor in A Place in the Sun.
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
Wins: Actor, Art Direction (Black-and-White), Writing (Screenplay Based on Material From Another Medium)
Like the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel it was based on, the film version of To Kill a Mockingbird was incredibly well received, grossing a reported six times its budget. The movie also won three Academy Awards, including one for Gregory Peck’s acting and one for Horton Foote’s screenplay. This vintage To Kill a Mockingbird script, which was custom-bound for Peck’s personal library, sold for $84,375 in a February 2023 Heritage auction.
My Fair Lady (1964)
Wins: Actor, Art Direction (Color), Cinematography (Color), Costume Design (Color), Directing, Music (Scoring of Music – Adaptation or Treatment), Best Picture, Sound
George Kukor’s My Fair Lady won a whopping eight Oscars, including one for Cecil Beaton’s costume design. The British designer captured his work in this 1963 photo of Audrey Hepburn, who played Eliza Doolittle alongside Rex Harrison’s Henry Higgins. This 1964 print of the photo, which Beaton shot for Vogue, sold for $2,375 in an October 2022 Heritage auction.
The Sting (1973)
Wins: Art Direction, Costume Design, Directing, Film Editing, Music (Adaptation Score), Best Picture, Writing (Story and Screenplay Based on Factual Material or Material Not Previously Published or Produced)
Known among movie fans for his iconic posters, artist Charles Moll provided artwork for a plethora of film posters throughout the 1970s and into the 1980s. Among his masterpieces was this original art for The Sting, featuring full-length portraits of Paul Newman and Robert Redford as the film’s grift-happy main characters. Moll’s artwork realized $9,900 in a July 2021 Heritage auction.
Rocky (1976)
Wins: Directing, Film Editing, Best Picture
Not only did Rocky win three Oscars, but it also spawned a slew of sequels and put Sylvester Stallone on the map, making him only the third actor in history to be nominated for Best Original Screenplay and Best Actor in the same year. These hand-painted and screen-used fight promotion banners from Rocky, depicting Stallone as Rocky Balboa and Carl Weathers as his rival-turned-friend Apollo Creed, sold for $52,500 in a November 2021 Heritage auction.
Star Wars (1977)
Wins: Art Direction, Costume Design, Film Editing, Music (Original Score), Sound, Visual Effects, Special Achievement Award to Sound Designer Benjamin Burtt Jr.
This original Stormtrooper helmet, which sold for $275,000 in a July 2023 Heritage auction, originated from the collection of costume designer John Mollo, whose work on Star Wars earned him his first Academy Award. (Five years later, Mollo won again for the costumes in Gandhi.) This helmet was one of about a dozen from the first Star Wars film that were reconditioned for use in The Empire Strikes Back.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
Wins: Film Editing, Sound Effects Editing, Visual Effects, Special Achievement Award to Animation Director Richard Williams
The innovative mix of live action and animation in the critically acclaimed and Oscar-winning Who Framed Roger Rabbit was only possible due to creations like this life-sized figure of the titular cartoon bunny. Figures like these were used on set as tangible stand-ins for the animated characters for positioning, scale, sightlines and for actors to perform with. This one realized $55,000 in a July 2022 Heritage auction.
Dances With Wolves (1990)
Wins: Cinematography, Directing, Film Editing, Music (Original Score), Best Picture, Sound, Writing (Screenplay Based on Material From Another Medium)
Released in the fall of 1990, Dances With Wolves would go on to be a huge box-office success (earning more than $400 million worldwide) and win seven Academy Awards, including a director nod for Kevin Costner, who also starred in the epic Western. This screen-used rifle, framed and matted with three photos from the film, sold for $8,125 in a May 2021 Heritage auction.
RHONDA REINHART is editor of Intelligent Collector.