There has long been a market for objects once owned or touched by film, rock and sport stars, but until recently it was not an area known for blockbuster sales at the world’s leading auction houses.
But that’s changing.
An auction at Christie’s New York in February gave people the chance to buy items once owned (and worn) by Sir Elton John.
‘Elton John: Goodbye Peachtree Road’ was a series of sales comprising more than 900 objects from the singer’s Atlanta home. The sale smashed its estimate, with sales totalling $20.5 million more than double the low estimate of $10 million.
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More than 450,000 collectors and fans browsed the sales online in the weeks leading up to the sale and Christie’s livestream auction attracted nearly one million views from around the globe.
The Elton John auction is the latest in a string of successful popular culture celebrity memorabilia sales where fans and collectors are increasingly willing to pay huge sums for items owned by those who have made an indelible mark on pop culture.
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Last year’s ‘Freddie Mercury: A World of His Own’, made $50 million at Sotheby’s. Other recent successes include the sale of pieces from Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G’s personal collection, and Eddie Van Halen’s guitar, which all sold at Sotheby’s.
The appeal of these items is global. At the Elton John sale, there were bidders and buyers from 60 countries. Perhaps tellingly, 47 per cent of bidders and buyers were new to Christie’s.
The market is going from strength to strength
Claire Tole-Moir, head of the collectors’ and popular culture departments at Bonhams, says that while this collecting category started in the 1980s, it has ‘since gone from strength to strength’.
‘Whilst still a relatively “young” category, it is fully established and we are now seeing buying trends in line with the demographics of those collectors associated with each genre and era,’ she tells Spear’s.
Such is the growing market for popular culture items that Sotheby’s has expanded its science and popular culture department into the UK and Europe from its base in New York. In the three years since its launch the department has staged sales including Buzz Aldrin: American Icon ($8.2 million total); Maximus the T. rex skull ($6.1 million) and the source code for the world wide web ($5.4 million).
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Katherine Schofield head of department for rock, pop & film; popular culture, UK & EMEA at Sotheby’s said she has seen an uptick in interest in recent years. She cites nostalgia as a major factor, not just for the famous person it has links with, but for the time, a feeling or its worth to the original owner.
‘There’s definitely a nostalgic element and I think that’s part of the reason I’ve stayed so excited about this category for so long,’ she says.
‘Because whenever you talk to somebody who’s either selling an item or buying it, it’s all to do with the love of the item. These items weren’t designed to be kept – a concert poster on a wall, or signatures – they were acquired because somebody loved the artist or that moment, or it was a souvenir. And I think that is what comes through when people want to collect. They’re looking for unique pieces and the fact that they’ve been looked after and well loved since the 60s, 70s, even 80s.’
Tole-Moir also points to nostalgia. ‘To own an item that was once owned or used by someone’s icon is incredibly special and can evoke a lot of emotion when bidding at auction. It can be a form of self-expression, investment, or simply as a conversational piece.’
The nostalgia factor
While there have been some big sales, the value of items like these lies not so much in the investment but in the personal satisfaction.
Schofield says: ‘Whenever there’s any economic uncertainty within the community, collected sales always continue to perform well, because I think the reminiscing but also I think, because they’re such unique pieces and unique items. That we offer. There aren’t always comparables, and I think it appeals to the collectors mentality to have to have something.’
But while there is an increasing financial element, Schofield cautions people looking to start buying at auction to ‘buy what you really affiliate with what you enjoy the person you relate to that moment in time and history and pop culture. Was it a concert you went to? Is it a film that you’ve watched again and again, so that you have that item and enjoy it and then if it becomes a financial investment in the future, then that’s an added bonus.’
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It is hard to predict how much pieces will be worth simply because there are few comparisons.
‘You can’t kind of look at the database and say, “Oh, yes, we’ve had so many of these and it should be in this realm”,’ says Schofield.
‘You can find other similar items that you might want to compare with. But most of the pieces are pretty unique. There’s definitely different market areas and it can kind of gauge you and where demand is. But I would say it is different to the art market where as you probably saw with the Freddie Mercury sale, some of those prices far exceeded any presale estimate, as you would expect because of the level of interest. But also I don’t think anyone needs them.’
Disco, pop and punk are king
The 60s is a strong market, Tole-Moir says, but items from the 70s and 80s are soaring, ‘especially in music for disco, pop and punk’.
‘We are also seeing prices heat up for the 90’s and early Brit pop/US grunge eras. As we move forward in time, the demographics of collectors will change and so it should be considered as a continuously developing and evolving market – which is always exciting,’ she says.
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‘Those items that are well-known and instantly recognisable are the most popular. As such, they tend to hold their value due to the continued appetite to own such an iconic piece of musical/cinematic history. Depending on your budget, try to buy the best example out there.
‘Do your research and see what has been on the market before and how prices have performed over the years.
‘Condition is always something to consider too, and scarcity. Is this a once-in-a-lifetime chance to own it? If so, then that can make items more appealing and could dictate how competitively someone bids.’
Names to know
‘Provenance is paramount,’ says Tole-Moir. ‘Memorabilia that is offered “from the source” or in other words, straight from the musician, actor, film studio etc is always sought after by collectors.
‘The next most popular would be items that were gifted to someone by the celebrity. Items that perform well at auction would be a musician’s favourite instrument such as a guitar, a stage or screen-worn dress or item of clothing from an award-winning film, the handwritten lyrics for a chart-topping hit, or even a personal item that was treasured deeply by the actor/musician – all are important pieces of pop culture history.’
Schofield says memorabilia linked to The Beatles command big sums, while Tole-Moir adds ‘The Rolling Stones, Elton John, Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Led Zeppelin, Prince, Nirvana, Queen, James Bond, Harry Potter, Star Wars, Marvel, Wizard of Oz, Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, Steve McQueen, Marlon Brando – the list is endless!’
