1931 “Frankenstein” Movie Poster Was An Attic Find In Pennsylvania

More Than 100 Sci-Fi And Horror Rarities To Be Offered

movie by the legendary Universal Pictures art director Karoly Grosz, there are only seven known surviving examples of this “Frankenstein.” It was tucked away in the perpetual night beneath the eaves of a home in the Keystone State. And now it comes out to roar at Heritage Auction’s Movie Posters Signature Auction to be held Saturday and Sunday, April 29 and 30.

Indeed, this Frankenstein one-sheet, folded and unrestored but in near-mint condition nearly a century later, is a centerpiece of the auction house’s sale. It is being offered alongside other coveted rarities that seldom see the light of day, including 116 horror and sciencefiction offerings from the collection of Modern Props, once described by the Los Angeles Times as a “Hollywood institution.”

Heritage has only offered this “Frankenstein” poster twice and only once in near-mint condition, 19 years ago, when the monster scared up a record-setting price of $189,750.

Indeed, this poster might very well have saved Frankenstein’s big-screen career. Stephen Rebello and Richard Allen noted that Universal’s studio heads

“read the shrieks and walkouts of preview audiences as trouble” when they began screening director James Whale’s adaptation of Mary Shelley’s novel. “This evocative poster was devised to help salvage some of a $291,000 investment.”

“It’s a major event in the field when previously unknown Holy Grails like the “Frankenstein” Style A come to light,” said Zach Pogemiller, associate director of movie posters. “A discovery like this presents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to private and institutional collectors alike and enriches our worldwide cinema culture. It’s an honor and a privilege for Heritage to bring these items salvaged from obscurity to their proper place in the public spotlight.”

The original “Frankenstein” is also joined by its ghost, 1942’s “The Ghost of Frankenstein,” whose threesheet is so rare Heritage has never before seen one, much less brought it to auction. The fourth installment in what by then had become Universal’s Franken-franchise, with Lon Chaney Jr. replacing Boris Karloff in the monster suit and Bela Lugosi as his companion, Ygor, the film wasn’t well

Continued on page 5 regarded upon its release. The New York Times’s Bosley Crowther moaned that “the thought that he may yet return for further adventures with his body and Lugosi’s sconce fills us with mortal terror.” It’s also regarded as the movie that turned “Frankenstein” and Universal’s roster of monsters from A-listers to Bmovie stars, given the slashed budgets and reuse of old footage.

Its posters remain the most valuable keepsake from its release. Nine years ago, Heritage sold one of the few surviving one-sheets for

$26,290. The far superior (and far larger) three-sheet is considered more valuable, given its status as the sole survivor from this transitional period in horror-movie history.

Horror posters abound, too, along with historic sci-fi offerings found in the legendary collection of John Zabrucky, who in early 2020 shuttered his Modern Props after 42 years of providing props to everything from “Blade Runner” to “Star Trek: The Next Generation.”

Zabrucky told the Los Angeles Times three years ago he hoped an institution would vie for his vintage poster assemblage.

Instead, Zabrucky has done what all passionate collectors do, release his children into the wild so others can appreciate and caretake the collection of which he was so profoundly enamored. His offerings in April’s auction constitute just a fraction of the collection, and in June, Heritage will hold a dedicated auction featuring more of Zabrucky’s star attractions.

From Modern Prop’s estimable collection comes a poster Heritage is thrilled to offer for the first time, “The Invisible Man,” which, was created by one of the few printers in the 1930s that had short-lived deals with movie studios that allowed them to print alternative posters. They were allowed to make these alternate posters to compensate for the lack of “official” advertising materials, which were tossed out, lost, or too worn out when the films were sent, often by bus, to different cities.

Also a Heritage first, the original 1964 silkscreened poster for director-narrator

Bruce Brown’s immortal surf documentary, “The Endless Summer,” which didn’t garner wide distribution until 1996. The poster, created by then-art student and fellow surfer John Van Hamersveld, ranks among the most iconic of the 1960s; one of the few surviving originals resides in the Smithsonian Institute’s National Museum of American History, which calls it a “1960s neon masterpiece.”

Heritage has never before offered one of these original posters, which makes it even more thrilling to begin with what’s likely the very best of the sole survivors: “This Endless Summer” is signed by Van Hamersveld, who counts among his album covers “Magical Mystery Tour” and “Exile on Main St.,” and comes from the collection of record producer and manager Denny Bruce. Catch the wave.

For more information, visit www.HA.com.

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