This is a wonderful coat from Valentino's 1924 film, "Monsieur Beaucaire." Just like most of his films, he had various costume changes in this film, so hopefully there are many more coats out there. I am unsure where this coat lives today, in a collection, or a museum. A few interesting things about this piece: first, the vibrant orange color, it is great to see costumes from black and white films, since we have no idea what color they are. Second, the label in the coat that reads "R.Valentino." Not all costumes have stitched name labels in them, thus making it more difficult to authenticate.
Authentic costumes and props are ridiculously expensive, for example a pair of the Ruby Red Slippers from The Wizard of Oz sold for over $600,000. With that being said, this coat is quite valuable. I would be happy just to see it in person, and maybe try it on, my luck I would rip it; but, I would have some great photos, before the owner tackled me!
Does that mean waist 31 ? He was a small man than :)
ReplyDeletewaist 31! That's MY size
ReplyDeleteWell I guess his waist was 31. I see Chris shares the same waist size, which is great, unfortunately, I do not share the same waist size.
ReplyDeleteHi there; just happened to see your blog. I am the fortunate owner of this coat, and I'll make sure it is safely taken care of. I also have a pair of RV's pants from Son of the Shiek - he was very small - I would estimate his waist at about 29". The coat is extremely soft and in pretty good shape over all - some wear on the collar and shoulders. Thanks for this great blog!
ReplyDeleteBryan in LA,
ReplyDeleteWow! Congratulations on owning a couple of fantastic pieces. You must be very proud of your collection. If you have any photos of items you would like to share feel free to email me. Thank you for your comments and again congratulations on your acquisitions!
Was this part of his estate or was it property of Paramount? It's not listed among the costumes in the auction catalog, but I understand a lot of things were not itemized due to the sheer volume of Mr. Valentino's possessions. Is it bad form to ask if this was acquired from a private collector or perhaps an auction house or what the price range might be for such a treasure if one were fortunate enough to find something like it today? I know, I ask too many questions. It was wonderful to hear from from Bryan, the custodian of this gorgeous piece!
ReplyDeleteAna,
ReplyDeleteThese are all great questions for Bryan. I do not have any experience with costumes or actual items from the set. One thing I do know is that with most Hollywood type auctions, most of the time they will not auction something unless it is valued at a minimum of around $3,000 or so. So, again all great questions, hopefully Bryan can enlighten us.
His suit of lights is going up for auction soon, I can only imagine how much that will go for.
ReplyDeleteThat will be an interesting one to watch!
ReplyDelete