Various Welles Auctions

[LamontCranston]

Orson Welles on ebay
An Ishafan Rug, a Derby, a Queen Lace Crystal Vase, a "Delft Tile Tray" (I don't even know what that is!) & a Butter Dish with Knife (!!!) all being sold by 'heritageauctiongalleries'.
Who on Earth is responsible for this?
Are they even actually from 'the estate of Orson Welles', or did someone just come across a lot of antique junk and tact his name on it?
If it's genuine, who is selling it?

[Jeff Wilson]

I believe a lot of Welles' personal items were sold at auction after his death, and people who purchased them then are now trying to cash in. Every so often, stuff like this pops up on eBay.

[Iago]

All of those items that show up on ebay are usually junk. Now if it were Welles' robe, typewriter, walking cane, black cape, director's chair, 16mm camera, movieola, personal drawings or private letters, then I'd say there were some legitimately cool items listed. Otherwise, all that stuff belongs in Kane's incinerator.

[RayKelly]

I went to one of the estate auctions 15 or so years ago. I bought a signed sketch of a woman by Welles for $50 -- bidding began at $100 and no one was interested. A friend bought a signed candid photo for $25. The bulk of the items were his jade collection, paintings, canes and dinnerware.
It seemed that most of the buyers were there for Oriental rugs and jade and NOT Welles memorabilia.
The coolest items of the night (I was a losing bidder) were two decorative, signed fans from his magic show. A nightclub owner, I believe, purchased them both.
The auctions were held in several cities. I was at the Boston auction. There were black and white signed makeup test stills from Heart of Darkness to be auctioned in Detroit. Otherwise, there was little to do with movies, theater or stage.

[kanefan]

The auction house that sold Orson's Oscar several months ago (Nate D. Sanders) is now selling his typewriter and about ten other items that he signed including a fishbowl that he painted sea animals on. His legend and notoriety continues...

[mido505]

PROFILES IN HISTORY is an esteemed Hollywood memorabilia auction house. On the week end of October 17-19, they are auctioning off a massive cache of memorabilia that they say may be the largest since the notorious 1970 MGM auction. I was leafing through the beautiful catalogue, available online, and ran across this interesting item: the jacket worn by Orson Welles in the iconic poster of Charles Foster Kane that forms the backdrop to Kane's rousing political speech, given just before Boss Jim Gettys tries to blackmail him out of the race. The asking bid is $60-80,000, so it looks as if Welles memorabilia can still command top dollar. The whole catalogue is worth a look; there's some other, lesser Welles stuff in there, as well as a hoard of breathtaking items reaching back to the silent era. Check it out here: https://www.profilesinhistory.com/aucti ... uction-65/

[mido505]

Welles's KANE Oscar was put up for auction by the Dax Foundation in 2007 and withdrawn when the reserve price was not met. The statuette netted $861,542.00 when it went back on the block in 2011.

A three piece suit worn by Welles in KANE was sold by Profiles in History at the end of last year for $132,000.00, a substantial premium over the pre-auction estimate of $60-80,000.00. At the time Wellesnet felt the sale was important enough to do an entire post on it: http://www.wellesnet.com/?p=8658

In 2003, at the same auction from which the Oscar was pulled, Christie's of London sold a tail coat worn by Welles in KANE for $9,560.00, which was at the high end of the expected $8-10,000.00. I believe this jacket ended up in the famed Pugliese Collection, which went on the block in 2008, where it fetched $27,000.00. The story behind that auction is worthy of Welles, and Kane: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/m ... ennedy.usa

Debbie Reynolds auctioned a fur jacket from KANE, along with the rest of her extensive collection of memorabilia, in May of this year, although I can't find a price.

From my cursory inspection of the catalogue, after the motorcycle from EASY RIDER, the KANE jacket has the highest expected price in the auction. To paraphrase Orson's prediction to Peter Bogdanovich, oh how they love him when he's dead.

[mido505]

It's interesting information, and a very interesting world, that of Hollywood memorabilia. Who would have guessed that Debbie Reynolds once possessed such an extensive and beautiful collection? It's nice to see that Welles's stuff commands top dollar. There are some very serious items up for grabs in that auction, and very little comes close to what is expected for the KANE jacket.