Vintage horror movie memorabilia to go under the hammer today in Hertfordshire

Rare ‘lobby cards’ found in cinemas almost a century ago are among a collection of vintage horror memorabilia to go under the hammer at an Hertfordshire-based auctioneer.

Film and TV entertainment memorabilia specialist Prop Store UK is holding an online Unique Collectible Posters auction over the next two days (April 18 and 19).

The items are expected to fetch hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Among the items are ‘lobby cards’ – collectible film photographs which were displayed in US cinema lobbies to promote upcoming movies. The oldest features the ‘lost film’ London After Midnight (1927) - a movie whose last known copy was destroyed in a fire in MGM studios in 1967 – which is expected to fetch between $15,000 and $30,000. Meanwhile, a lobby card for The Mummy (1932), with Boris Karloff as the titular character, is expected to bring up to $40,000.

The highest expected hammer price among the posters is for Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943), which could fetch between $16,000 and $32,000.

Other horror poster highlights, spanning from the 1940s to the 80s, include cult classics from Son of Dracula to the first film adaption of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, to Dawn of the Dead and An American Werewolf in London.

Director of Posters US at Propstore, Grey Smith said: “Propstore is proud to present these incredible horror pieces in our latest poster auction – horror films have been made since the advent of film and the wide selection of pieces in this auction from the past 100 years reflects that.”