1933 RKO King Kong Bachrach Photo
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GUEST:
I got it from a gentleman in London. He owned a poster gallery. And I was looking at posters, and it was, it struck me because it was a photograph, and I thought that was kind of an odd thing. What was it about this image that you had to have? Well, I love the movie King Kong, and I was living in New York at the time, and it was just the quintessential image of Kong and the Empire State Building. So I, I just thought it would be great in my apartment.
APPRAISER:
And the Chrysler Building, and it's just...
GUEST:
And the Chrysler, yeah.
APPRAISER:
It is pretty fantastic. The other wonderful thing about this image, apart from it showing New York and some of the famous buildings-- he's on the Empire State Building. This is obviously the climax of the film, where Kong is just trying to get away, and he's... The, the famous moment where he's swatting at the planes who are trying to attack him and dislodge him from the Empire State Building. The whole film really builds to this scene.
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
What did you pay for it?
GUEST:
I paid, if I recall, about $900 for it.
APPRAISER:
And this was how long ago?
GUEST:
22 years ago.
APPRAISER:
What are you most interested in knowing today?
GUEST:
Just if it's increased in value, and certainly if it is original.
APPRAISER:
Well, this is not only original, this is so chock-full of information on the back of this photograph. This is a special photograph. Someone asked me if this was a still from the film, and the answer is, well, yes, but no.
GUEST:
(laughs)
APPRAISER:
It, it is a scene from the film, but a still, when we use that term, we're usually referring to the eight-by-ten black and white photographs that came out. They were used for publicity for the film.
GUEST:
Yes, yes.
APPRAISER:
This is not that. This is a much larger format. It's a ten-and-a-half by about 13-and-three-quarter-inch image, a matte vintage print. And what we can learn from the back of this is that this is one of the magical images that was supplied by the production of King Kong to Shadowplay magazine for their March of 1933 issue. They selected a few of the most extraordinary images in the film that they felt were going to promote the film the best.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
And they gave Shadowplay magazine an exclusive. So they would be the only magazine to get these pre-release images from King Kong. The magazine came out in the beginning of March. The film came out in late March. So this was everyone's first sneak peek at this extraordinary wonder of a film. We also have the photographer's stamp from Ernest Bachrach on the back of the picture. He's a famous photographer who took some of these images for the film. We have the March 1933 date stamp. We have handwritten notations stating “Shadowplay magazine, March 1933." We have what we call a snipe, which is a typed little strip of paper they would put on the back of these pictures when they would send them out for the press. And it gives a brief synopsis of what we're looking at in the image. Because of all of that, this elevates it so far beyond a standard still. It, it becomes, really, a contemporary relic of this film. And paper associated with this film is incredibly rare. If you're a poster collector, you know King Kong posters are quite expensive. (chuckles)
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
A few of these have come up. The most recent one that came up was in 2009, and it was King Kong at the gates, which is one of the poster images that's very popular.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
Another great image. I think yours is just as good, if not better. This is that key moment in the film. This is the, the climax of all the action.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
The one that came up in 2009 sold for over $6,500.
GUEST:
Really.
APPRAISER:
I think if yours came up at auction, conservative estimate would be $5,000 to $7,000.
GUEST:
Wow-- wow. (chuckles) That's amazing, just amazing. It's, uh, it's one of my favorite things. I've, I've had it in my office for many, many years, and I just, I never get tired of looking at it. I'm floored that it went up that much, that's incredible. It's funny, because at the time, I remember I was living in an apartment in New York, and $900 to me was a lot of money. It was my rent, but I just, I couldn't resist.
APPRAISER:
You're a true collector.
GUEST:
So... (laughs)
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