Disneyland Posters Heat Up Hollywood Auction

On May 14 and 15, 2011, Profiles in History held its latest auction of Hollywood memorabilia in Beverly Hills. The pre-auction buzz was all about the Dude’s sweater, which was worn by Jeff Bridges in “The Big Lebowski” and had a pre-sale estimate of $4,000 to $6,000. As it turned out, the sweater was withdrawn, so Lebowski fans will have to content themselves with the Dude tribute sweater from Pendleton, which at $188 is a better value anyway.

What did sell like hotcakes, though, were a number of late-1950s silkscreened posters from Disneyland (click images above for larger versions). Each measuring roughly 36-by-54 inches, the posters advertised attractions at Disneyland in the style of railroad and airline travel posters. Space Station X-1 (probably 1957) was predicted to bring between $1,500 and $2,000 but managed $3,245. The Grand Canyon Diorama poster (probably 1958) was expected to fetch between $1,200 and $1,500 but commanded $4,425. The Skyway poster (1957) had a pre-sale estimate of $1,000 to $1,500 but brought a whopping $4,720. And the Monorail poster (my favorite, from 1959, at top) had a pre-sale estimate of $1,000 to $1,500 but went for only $2,655, a relative bargain among this pricey bunch.

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