Today is a wonderfully different kind of post for CollectingCandy.com, because it’s about an auction. But not just any auction or any ordinary auction-offerings – this is the magical stuff that a candy collector’s dreams are made of – and many a movie fans’ dreams, too.
This coming Saturday, on July 28th 2012, Profiles in History will hold “The Dreier Collection – Part 1” auction, and included with it will be the greatest candy props from movie history.
For those that aren’t aware, Profiles in History is the premier auction house for movie and television-related props. They’ve even got a television show built around their business called Hollywood Treasures (now in its second season on the SyFy channel).
It’s going to be an auction filled with amazing treasures, but for me the most astounding offerings are the ones Joe Maddalena (Profiles in History head) describes as “…the world’s greatest assemblage of wardrobe and props from the 1971 classic Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.” There is a PDF available of the entire auction catalog here, and I highly recommend you check it out.
For the sake of today’s post, I’m going to share some of the highlights from the auction catalog that blew my mind. If money were no object, I’d love to own one of these. But since money is an object, for now I’ll enjoy the images and be satisfied with pure imagination…
The absolute highlights for me are the Willy Wonka costume pieces worn by the legendary Gene Wilder:
Gene Wilder Willy Wonka Top Hat. Source: The Dreier Collection – ProfilesInHistory.com
Gene Wilder Willy Wonka signature costume. Source: The Dreier Collection – ProfilesInHistory.com
Gene Wilder Willy Wonka signature costume. Source: The Dreier Collection – ProfilesInHistory.com
The auction catalog also includes a pair of Grandpa Joe costumes as well as an Oompa Loompa costume that are amazing to see.
Next up on my dream list are some of the candy props themselves. I have long-wondered if any of these pieces survived filming and existed out there somewhere, so it’s wonderful to finally learn that they did, and do. Here they are:
Willy Wonka Everlasting Gobstopper. Source: The Dreier Collection – ProfilesInHistory.com
Willy Wonka Golden Egg. Source: The Dreier Collection – ProfilesInHistory.com
Aren’t those simply amazing?
Next up: A way to finally own one of the sought-after Golden Tickets from the original film:
Willy Wonka Golden Ticket. Source: The Dreier Collection – ProfilesInHistory.com
Just a few weeks ago, I sat down to watch the Blu-Ray release of the original Willy Wonka film (I don’t think I’d watched the entirety of the movie in twenty years). I paused during the first scene in the candy shop and thought, “I wonder if one of those Scrumdidilyumptious bars is out there somewhere?”.
Amazing that only a few weeks later, I’d learn that one was (though sadly, more than a wee bit out of my candy-collecting budget).
Willy Wonka Scrumdiddlyumptious Bar. Source: The Dreier Collection – ProfilesInHistory.com
Finally, not to be outdone – a collection of screen-used Wonka Bar props:
Willy Wonka Wonka Bars. Source: The Dreier Collection – ProfilesInHistory.com
In just two days, all of these incredible cinematic Wonka treasures will be finding new homes. I won’t be bidding myself, but I wish the best of luck to those that do – each of these is infused with quite a lot of confectionery movie magic!
Not exclusively an assortment of unbelievable movie props, the Dreier Collection also houses an incredible array of Pez dispensers, which will also be on the blocks this Saturday. I’ve selected a few Pez-related pages from the catalog to share today, but I’ll again encourage you to check out the whole auction catalog via the downloadable PDF (it’s free to download!), from the Profiles In History site.
Here are just a few of the PEZ offerings:
Pez Auction Offerings. Source: The Dreier Collection – ProfilesInHistory.com
Pez Auction Offerings. Source: The Dreier Collection – ProfilesInHistory.com
Pez Auction Offerings. Source: The Dreier Collection – ProfilesInHistory.com
Pez Auction Offerings. Source: The Dreier Collection – ProfilesInHistory.com
There’s so much more about the contents of this collection and this auction that I could gush over, but for now I’ll leave you with the images to consider. It’s easily the most amazing array of candy-related goodies I’ve ever seen in one place. I’ve no doubt I’ll be talking about this auction and referring to it for many years to come.
And that’s all for today. See you next time!
Interesting…I did not know that the Dreier’s collected movie memorabilia. They currently are auctioning off one of the most impressive baseball card and memorabilia collections ever with Legendary Auctions…Unfortunate for them though is that the principal owner of Legendary Auctions was indicted by the federal government yesterday for shill bidding and doctoring cards and memorabilia.
A lot of cool cereal boxes in that auction too!
Thanks for the mention of our TV show HOLLYWOOD TREASURE on Syfy 🙂