NEW YORK, NY.- It was a one-of-a-kind auction at Swann Galleries on December 18: a single-owner collection dedicated to images of maidens in the clutches of movie monsters. The sale, titled Monsters & Maidens: A Film Poster Collection, drew a whole new audience to the New York City auction house well known for its sales of books, fine art and other works on paper.

Nicholas D. Lowry, Swann Galleries President and Posters Specialist, said, “This was one of the most fun and accessible auctions we have ever held. We knew going into it that it wasn’t a high-value proposition, and we got such a great reception by the public and the media that it was well worth the effort. The exhibition and auction were both well attended by collectors and enthusiasts alike.”

Classic monster movie archetypes proved popular, with Roland Coudon’s classic King Kong poster from the original 1933 film bringing $18,000*; a classic robot feature, Roger Soubie’s Planète Interdite, a French version of the poster for Forbidden Planet, 1956, $7,200; a vampire in Guy Gerard Nöel’s Le Cauchemar de Dracula, titled in the U.S. Horror of Dracula, 1958, $5,040; and a black lagoon-type creature in La Vendetta del Mostro, by an unknown designer, 1955, $4,080.

A run of romantic images—these depicting film heroes carrying off damsels in distress—also attracted bidders. Among them were Coeurs Brulés, i.e. Morocco, 1931, starring Marlene Dietrich and Gary Cooper, $15,600; Gone With the Wind, 1940, $4,080; Jean Denis Malclés, La Belle et la Bête, circa 1951, $2,160; Georg Pollak, Die Tochter der Wildnis, circa 1923, $2,040 and La Grande Alarme, circa 1926, $1,440.

Rounding out the wonderfully campy and fun images in the sale were Renato Casaro’s 1973 poster for Matango Il Mostro, featuring a mushroom monster, $1,200; G. Di Stefano’s Il Fango Verde, which translates to The Green Slime, 1969, $1,200; Gösta Åberg’s photo montage for Dr. Cyclops, 1940, $1,140; and C. René, La Figlia di Frankenstein, or Frankenstein’s Daughter, 1959, $1,080.

For complete results, an illustrated auction catalogue (with prices realized on request) is available for $35 from Swann Galleries, Inc., 104 East 25th Street, New York, NY 10010, or online at www.swanngalleries.com.



*All prices include buyer’s premium.