Star Wars At Bonhams

A remarkable collection of costumes created and supplied by Angels The Costumiers, for some of the most iconic international film and television in history sold at Bonhams in Knightsbridge, London, on Tuesday 6 March 2007, in what is believed to be the UK’s largest and most important archive of film and television costumes to come to auction. More than 400 costumes were available to collectors and amateur fans alike.

In a jam-packed saleroom, bids were relayed to the auctioneers of the day, Pippa Stockdale and Jon Baddeley. Ownership of Obi Wan Kenobi’s cloak was battled for by two telephone bidders. Four enthusiasts for Doctor Who fought a bidding war for related TV costumes. Items throughout the sale fetched between eight to 20 times their estimates. Costumes from James Bond, Monty Python, Braveheart, Only Fools and Horses, Four Weddings and a Funeral also proved very popular with the bidders.

Jon Baddeley, Group Head of Collector’s Department at Bonhams, comments: ”We are delighted at the results of this sale. There has been a tremendous international interest in what is normally considered to be British cult television and film which is very exciting to see.”

Tim Angel, Chairman Of Angels, comments: ”We are delighted at the success of today’s Bonhams sale of Angels costumes. We always intended for this sale to appeal to both the big international collectors of memorabilia and also to members of the general public keen to get their hands on a piece of movie history, and we are pleased that today has seen our wishes fulfilled and established that there is a clear market for such memorabilia. We will be giving serious consideration to another search of the Angels archive in the near future.”

The top costume prices in the sale were:

Cloak worn by Alec Guinness as Obi Wan Kenobi from Star Wars - £54,000
Dinner suit worn by Sean Connery from Thunderball, 1965 – £33,600
Full outfit worn by Mel Gibson as William Wallace in Braveheart – £25,200
Promotional costume worn by Tom Baker as Dr Who – £24,600
A grey linen overcoat worn by Gary Oldman as Sirius Black from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – £15,600
Fur Coat worn by Diana Rigg from On Her Majesty’s Secret Service – £12,960
Navy Battle dress jacket worn by Roger Moore from The Spy Who Loved Me – £11,760
Batman & Robin suits worn by David Jason & Nicholas Lyndhurst in Only Fools & Horses – £10,200
A full medieval suit worn by Kevin Costner in Robin Hood Price of Thieves – £7,200

Tim Angel, Chairman of Angels, and fifth generation of the family firm comments further, “The joy of being in this business is that you know you are creating something that will help an audience immerse itself in a different world. Our costumes are famous for fulfilling the exact requirements and needs of the film, and are researched and tailored to the highest standard.

“Whether it is the cloak of a Jedi knight from a galaxy far, far away, or the most elegant suit worn by Her Majesty’s best secret agent, our job is done if the audience are convinced by the authenticity and effectiveness of the costumes shown on the screen. The flip-side of creating such iconic costumes, that become so very famous and so firmly associated with key movies, is that they can never be used in other films or productions, nor can they be made available from our fancy dress shop…for obvious reasons!

“With over a century and a half’s worth of costumes on the racks, each with ever increasing insurance requirements, and space at a premium, it seemed the right time for us to allow collectors and fans the chance to take home a piece of the movie magic.”