Orson Welles auction on Wellesnet in July

[Wellesnet]

Orson Welles belongings for sale on Wellesnet: http://www.wellesnet.com/orson-welles-b ... wellesnet/

[RayKelly]

Personal observations on the various items up for auction. When they arrived at my home in three boxes, they were incredibly well packed in plastic and bubble wrap, but there was no history attached. I spent a great deal of time talking about each piece with Beatrice Welles.

THE OTHER MAN SCRIPT -- This is a wonderful, finished screenplay, based on a Graham Greene story (The Honorary Consul). Welles pushed hard to get it made with no luck. The producer is Greg Garrison, who produced The Dean Martin Show and was close to Welles. He was later the executor of his will. The number of pages differs from one sold by Peter Bogdanovich at auction many years ago. Sadly, it is not dated.

CLOTHING -- The dress pants are beautifully tailored with elastic added to the rear waistband for additional room. A green pen leaked in his pocket staining the interior of the pants pocket. (Proof they were used and did not sit in the closet!) The stylish dress boots have zippers on each side and were barely worn. The deerskin moccasins are quite nice with just a bit of wear. When I found the socks wrapped with the pants, I did not know the history. They were of exceptionally high quality. I contacted Beatrice, who informed me her mother made them for Orson. (Beatrice has pairs her mother made for her as well.) The socks and moccasins are items that I can see someone actually enjoying, rather than just putting on a shelf.

CHINESE STAMP -- I was puzzled by this item when I first saw it. The longer jade piece has a cap on the bottom. When removed, there is a rubber stamp that says Orson Welles in Chinese. The second stone is to be placed in the palm of the hand to push down the stamper. It is very unique. Beatrice is great on details and quite excited about this item. She told me her father had it made in 1958 while in Hong Kong. A moment later, she corrected herself and said it was during a 1957 visit. The 60-year-old wood box has slight damage. There is slight red ink staining on the interior fabric.

THE AUTOGRAPHED PHOTOS -- Sorry to admit I knew next to nothing of Otis Skinner, Henry Irving or Ellen Terry. I was told that Skinner was a fan of the young Welles and wanted to work with him. The other photos were given to Orson as a gift when he was a young actor. (Irving died a decade before Welles was both). What I found quite interesting was that for a man with a reputation of losing or discarding items, Orson kept these photos for 50 years until his death.

RKO 281 MATERIALS -- Even though this particular lot contains items created after Orson's death, it interests the heck out of me. I've always read the criticism that Beatrice and the Estate just collected license fees and were not concerned with the Welles legacy. Boy, the endless pages of correspondence here refutes that. I am not a fan of RKO 281 and apparently neither was Beatrice. The scripts are marked upped with strong comments. ("Bullshit!" "This never happened"). She unsuccessfully tried to convince the filmmakers that Mank was not a surrogate father figure for Orson, Dolores del Rio was not a gangster's moll who talked like Rosie Perez, Orson did not hate George Schaeffer and much more. She argues points on the authorship of the Citizen Kane script that Robert Carringer would have made if someone had thought to call for his opinion. Screenwriter John Logan agrees with her criticism of his script, but appears unable to get the changes made. On top of their inch-thick correspondence, there is a 1997 script draft, 1999 shooting script and a 1999 revised shooting script. Several pages from another revision are also included. I promised myself I would not bid on items since I am running the auction, but this is my favorite.

ITALIAN CONFIDENTIAL REPORT POSTER -- A tiny lire stamp and a rubber stamped 1957 made it easy to determine its origin. The artwork is different from other Mr. Arkadin posters I have seen. Welles did not keep a great many posters from his films. I am assuming that because the movie co-starred his wife and the poster is from her native Italy that this was special. At 14 by 20 inches, this would be easy to frame and display. One Welles memorabilia expert has told me that this poster is a very rare find.

THE LITTLE PRINCE SCRIPT -- The most frustrating item in the entire auction. I can find nothing on scriptwriter Donald Langdon and this project. Beatrice has no idea why her father had it with his papers since he had written his own screenplay earlier. My assumption is that he was approached to be involved in a project based on this script or he simply liked it since he enjoyed the tale.

POSTER FROM THE 1978 CHICAGO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL -- Sorry, my auction photo does not do it justice, but I was not going to remove the plastic and take a chance of it getting harmed. It is handsome and would look great framed. The festival was dedicated to Welles. The photo was taken by legendary Chicago photographer Victor Skrebneski. I am including with it a blowup on foam board of the New York Times' glowing review of the 1992 restoration of Othello.
A better look at the artwork from a film festival archive:

[RayKelly]

I have had two requests for shipping fees outside the U.S. in the past 24 hours.
Given current postal rates and insurance fees, I would strongly suggest overseas buyers inquire on shipping charges in advance of bidding.

[jbrooks]

The Chicago Film Festival poster can be obtained online for $50.

http://www.chicagofilmfestival.com/prod ... on-welles/

[RayKelly]

The Chicago Film Festival poster can be obtained online for $50.

Yes, and I can find a pair of nice black shoes in my size at Macy's for less too!
But the appeal of many of these items is that they once belonged to Orson Welles.
A letter from Beatrice Welles acknowledging that fact and thanking buyers for their support of the feral cat project will be included with the items.

[RayKelly]

For bidders, I would strongly recommend using this calculator from the US Postal Service.
https://postcalc.usps.com/

[jbrooks]

But the appeal of many of these items is that they once belonged to Orson Welles.

Ray, did Welles personally own the Chicago Film Festival poster? He obviously did not personally own the blow up of the New York Times review of Othello from 1992.

[RayKelly]

Ray, did Welles personally own the Chicago Film Festival poster? He obviously did not personally own the blow up of the New York Times review of Othello from 1992.

The 1978 Chicago Film Festival poster is from his Las Vegas home, as was the Italian Confidential Report poster.

The NYT poster was used by Orson Welles LLC during the re-release of Othello. The only other non-Orson Welles owned items are the (fascinating) RKO 281 scripts and correspondence and the framed poolside photo. Those items belonged to Beatrice.

[RayKelly]

The auction is in its final days. The minimum bid prices have been reduced on items that have failed to attract attention.
Good luck and remember bidding ends on July 31.

[Wellesnet]

Get your bids in. Auction ends this Monday night!:
http://www.wellesnet.com/orson-welles-b ... wellesnet/