Several important pieces of Hollywood memorabilia sold at an auction in Beverly Hills by auction house Profiles in History over the weekend.
A number of pieces went for more than their initial estimates, but the auction’s signature item — the only working Chitty Chitty Bang Bang car — failed to meet its presale low estimate of $1 million.
The highlights:
— The crystal ball the Wicked Witch uses to observe Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz sold for $126,500, more than double the presale estimate of $40,000-60,000.
— The original acetate crawl from beginning of The Empire Strikes Back (“It is a dark time for the Rebellion …”) fetched $46,000.
— The letter from Walt Disney to famed animator UB Iwerks discussing the plans to start Disney Studios and Iwerks’ imminent move to California sold for the $241,500. The presale estimate was $60,000-$80,000.
— The tweed jacket James Dean wore in the opening scenes of Rebel Without a Cause sold for $63,500.
— John Lennon’s original handwritten lyrics for “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds” went for $230,000.
— The working Chitty Chitty Bang Bang car, which was the most-talked-about item in the auction, fetched only $805,000. The initial presale estimate suggested a $1-2 million sale price.
Profiles in History does not release the names of buyers.
