Rare Iconic Movie Posters to Be Auctioned in US

Dozens of rare posters from some of the 20th century's most iconic films will go under the hammer in March as an American collector relinquishes some of his most precious possessions.

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LONDON -

The 500 posters and lobby cards from classic films such as King Kong (1933), Casablanca (1942) and 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) have been exhibited in recent weeks in London, New York and Chicago.

Collected over half a century by real estate agent Dwight Cleveland, they are to be auctioned by Heritage showrooms in Dallas on March 27 and 28.

"I cherish every single one of them because every one was hand-picked," said the 65-year-old. "These are commercial art. They were intended to grab us by the lapels and yank us into a movie theatre and say, 'See this film.'"

But these were also "important art" that went beyond just advertising, he added.

The posters and cards, which would have been displayed in cinema foyers, span around 125 years of film history. Many images date from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.