Movie Memorabilia – What Would You Like to Own?

On the Today show last week, representatives from Julien’s Auction House in Los Angeles were interviewed and showed off all of the old Hollywood memorabilia they had ready to sell, including one of the famous gingham pinafores worn by Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. Items like that fetch big bucks during auctions (in fact, the Dorothy dress could go for half a million dollars), and it got me to thinking: what piece of movie history would I like to own? 

Would it be something iconic, like Dorothy’s red slippers? Or something from a favorite movie, like maybe Maria’s guitar from The Sound of Music? I used to love Disney movies growing up (specifically Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty), so maybe a piece of film or an original Mary Blair piece of art would do. One interesting piece of memorabilia that was shown on Today was a video shot by a member of Ella Fitzgerald’s band. It was of Marilyn Monroe famously serenading JFK on his birthday, but because this was a different perspective, it’s garnering attention. This isn’t as flashy as having an actual item on display all the time, but it’s definitely a piece of history.

That’s not the only auction going on. This month, Christie’s is presenting POP CULTURE, featuring items from every decade. We’re talking a compass used by Captain Jack Sparrow, a guitar smashed by Kurt Cobain, Indiana Jones’ whip, and signed Tarzan comics. These items up for bid won’t come cheap; expect pieces to start at $1,600. I would be terrified that my dog would somehow chew on the whip or I would drop the compass, so if for whatever reason I did end up with some items, I think they’d be safe under lock and key.

If you could own any piece of movie memorabilia, what would it be?