Posters, Potter...and impressive charity work from Excalibur Auctions!

Posters… and Potter!

Excalibur’s March sale was notable not so much for the lots that went under the hammer but rather for the charitable work with which the auction house is involved. Over the last three events Excalibur has raised an impressive £54,000 for charity: how’s that for starters?

On to the last sale, which saw a Star Wars poster realise a cool £5,000. This 1970s paper example had come from the personal archive of special effects designer and technician Roger Nichols and had been used in the studio as a reference by the special effects department for scaling the models and the miniatures for Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back. The artist involved was Ivor Beddoes, who worked as the sketch artist for the film. This depicted an early working draft (with no Yoda). It measured 49.5 x 19.5" (126 x 49.5 cm) and was in flat/unfolded condition as issued.

Another interesting poster to sell on the day was the 30 x  40” (76 x 101.5cm) British UK quad cinema poster for The Wicker Man which was made in 1973 and which starred Edward Woodward (of Callan fame). A slightly surreal thriller cum horror, it’s well worth watching if you haven’t seen it. This example sold for £800.

And so to toys: a Steiff (1950s) large scale Noah’s ark certainly floated a few boats, and bidders pushed this all the way to £700. The ark came with 14 assorted Steiff animals belonging to the same period.

Exactly the same money was enough to find a new home for an A JK Rowling first edition hardback, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. It contained a signing ticket and had been signed by the author herself.

To conclude, let’s not forget model railways. An OO gauge Wrenn W2275 (Bulleid) Battle of Britain class steam locomotive in BR green named Hurricane was bid to £250; whilst a W2296 rebuilt West Country class Dartmoor example fetched the same money.