DALLAS, TX.- Heritage Auctions will present Treasures From the Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Collection, an unprecedented offering from one of the most influential figures in entertainment history. The auction takes place on July 15 and features more than 270 lots — each one a cornerstone of DeMille's monumental legacy in Hollywood.


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From directing the first feature film ever shot in Los Angeles to creating some of the most iconic films in cinematic history, DeMille was a pioneer and architect of the entertainment industry. The auction features the building blocks of DeMille's legacy, including props from his best-known features, storyboards, concept art, scripts, costumes, career awards and prized personal items.


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This landmark auction spans DeMille's unparalleled career, from The Squaw Man, the first feature film made in Hollywood, to The Ten Commandments, one of the most iconic epics in cinematic history. Each lot tells a story not only of DeMille's visionary filmmaking, but of Hollywood's very foundation.

Among the marquee items in the auction:The Pathé camera used to film The Squaw Man (1914), the very camera that launched DeMille's career and the Hollywood film industry

A promotional pair of the red granite tablets from The Ten Commandments (1956), commissioned by DeMille and carved from stone sourced on Mount Sinai

DeMille's Golden Globe Award for Best Picture (The Greatest Show on Earth, 1952)

Anne Baxter's "Nefretiri" gown, designed by Edith Head, and Loretta Young's coronation gown from The Crusades

Key storyboards, including the "Parting of the Red Sea" sequence and concept art by legendary illustrators Harold von Schmidt and Fortunino Matania

Iconic props, including the Golden Calf and Holy Grail from DeMille's biblical epics

DeMille's personal typewriter, bound scripts, costume sketches, and other creative tools directly tied to the filmmaker's process

The auction was made possible through the generosity of DeMille's granddaughter, Cecilia De Mille Presley, a documentary filmmaker and founding board member of the American Film Institute, and his grandson Joseph Harper, both of whom were effectively raised by DeMille on his film sets and at his home. "It was a big home … big enough [for] items from his long and successful film career. These treasures should be in the hands of people who know what film is," Mrs. Presley says. "No one has had a greater impact on the history and development of the motion picture."

"Each item in the collection is a testament not only to DeMille's legacy but also to the story of Hollywood's birth and rise," says Joe Maddalena, Heritage's Executive Vice President. "Whether you're a seasoned collector, film historian or passionate admirer of classic cinema, you'll find an unprecedented opportunity to connect with the very roots of film history."



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