By RAY KELLY
Fierce bidding sent sparks flying as one of the three surviving “Rosebud” sleds from Citizen Kane rocketed to a jaw-dropping $11.8 million at auction today. With the Heritage Auction premium, the mystery buyer will shell out a whopping $14.75 million for the Orson Welles movie prop.
It was the most ever paid for a Citizen Kane item at auction, though as far as movie memorabilia goes it paled in comparison to the $28 million spent on the ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz last year. The event was live streamed with two bidders dominating the auction.
The 84-year-old prop – touted as “The Lost Rosebud Sled” by Heritage Auctions – has been in the hands of director Joe Dante (Gremlins, The Howling) for more than 40 years.
“I’ve had the honor of protecting this piece of cinematic history for decades,” Dante said in a statement released by the auction house. “To see Rosebud find a new home — and make history in the process — is both surreal and deeply gratifying. It’s a testament to the enduring power of storytelling.”
While filming Explorers for Paramount Pictures in 1984 on a section of the former RKO lot, a crew member clearing storage areas offered Dante an old sled headed for disposal. Recognizing its significance, Dante preserved it as his most treasured item.
To authenticate its origins, Dante commissioned DirectAMS Radiocarbon Dating Service, which confirmed the sled’s wood was harvested before atomic bomb testing — consistent with the era Citizen Kane was filmed. In addition, Dante hired Dr. Harry Alden to provide microscopic identification of the wood variety used to build the sled.
Wellesians are familiar with two “Rosebud” sleds that have previously been sold at auction. “The Spielberg Sled” was one of three balsa wood sleds built for the climactic scene in which “Rosebud” is incinerated amid Charles Foster Kane’s possessions in Xanadu. Only two sleds were used for this fiery sequence, and director Steven Spielberg purchased the surviving sled for $60,500 at Christie’s in 1982. It is now on display at the Academy Museum.
Fourteen years after Spielberg acquired his “Rosebud,” another sled emerged – this one having been crafted of pine wood for use early in the film when young Charles is playing in the snow before he learns that he is to be taken from his family and placed in the guardianship of a bank. In early 1942, just months after the release of Citizen Kane, 12-year-old Arthur Bauer won this sled in an RKO Pictures-sponsored contest. Presented by RKO actress Bonita Granville at the New York office of industry head Wil Hays, the sled remained in Bauer’s possession for over 50 years before selling it at Christie’s in 1996 for $233,500 to an unknown buyer.
All three surviving sleds had their metal rails removed, possibly for the nationwide scrap metal drives to contribute to the war effort (nail holes remain). A unique feature of Dante’s sled is rope threaded through holes in the runners, possibly for studio storage hanging; original rope is included. The piece remains unrestored, with original paint spatters, scuffs, and vertical seat cracks mirroring those on the Bauer pine sled.
Dante included the Citizen Kane sled in Explorers. It can be glimpsed in a scene where Ethan Hawke walks through a junkyard.
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