Doctor Who annual art, rare props to go under the hammer at Bonhams

Daros art fo the 1978 Dalek Annual
Daros art fo the 1978 Dalek Annual

Bonhams next Entertainment Memorabilia auction (taking place on Wednesday 18th December) hosts an enticing line-up that includes some fantastic Doctor Who items such as art from some of the series annuals by Paul Crompton and a number of props from the 1960s TV episodes – and a model TARDIS.

Yeti homing device prop from 'The Web of Fear'
A Yeti homing device prop from the Doctor Who story ‘The Web of Fear’.

There are over 400 lots of music, television and film history in the auction, including guitars, stage costumes, drum-kits, letters, photographs, personal items, props and posters from legends of the 1950s through to the present day.

Doctor Who celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the classic series last month and star lots on offer are two prop Yeti homing devices from the recently discovered 1968 story The Web of Fear which featured Patrick Troughton as The Doctor.

Both props are hollow figures of stained mix media resin, on base, offered together with a reproduction image from the story featuring the piece, height 4¾ inches (11.5cm) and both are expected to sell for between £2,000-3,000.

Props and monsters from other eras are also offered for sale, including a Destroyed Dalek, believed to have appeared in Remembrance of the Daleks and estimated to sell for £4,500-£5,000.

Doctor Who comic art fans will be interested in artwork on offer that was published in number of World Distributors. Offered in this auction are:

    Art from 'The Body Snatcher' by Paul Crompton, published in the 1977 Doctor Who Annual
Art from ‘The Body Snatcher’ by Paul Crompton, published in the 1977 Doctor Who Annual

• Art by Paul Crompton for the story, ‘The Body Snatcher’ published in the 1977 Doctor Who annual, mounted and framed with a copy of the finished page, together with an original edition of the Annual, artwork 12 x 16 inches (30×40.5cm) within mount. Expected to sell for £1,000-1,200

• Two artworks by Paul Crompton for the story, ‘The Castaway’ published in The Dalek Annual 1978, signed Paul, graphite and coloured pencils on board, mounted and framed with a copy of the printed artwork, together with an original edition of the Annual. Artwork 12 x 16 inches (30 x 40.5cm) within mount. Estimated sale price for each: £500-600

• A piece of original artwork of Davros for The Dalek Annual 1978, gouache titled ‘Davros Genuius Or Madman’. Mounted and framed, together with an original edition of the Annual, artwork 7¼ x 10 inches (18.5×25.5cm) within mount. Estimated sale price: £500-700

    Art from 'The Power' by Paul Crompton, published in the 1979 Doctor Who Annual
Art from ‘The Power’ by Paul Crompton, published in the 1979 Doctor Who Annual

• Art by Paul Crompton for the story, ‘The Power’ published in the 1979 Doctor Who annual, mixed media on board, mounted and framed with a copy of the printed artwork and an original edition of the Annual, artwork 11 x 15¼ inches (28×38.5cm). Estimated sale price: £1,000-1,200

Art by Paul Crompton for the 1980 Doctor Who annual
Art by Paul Crompton featuring Leela and K9 for the story, ‘Reluctant Warriors’ published in the 1980 Doctor Who annual

• Art by Paul Crompton featuring Leela and K9 for the story, ‘Reluctant Warriors’ published in the 1980 Doctor Who annual, ink and gouache, mounted and framed with a printed copy of the artwork, together with an original edition of the Annual, artwork 7 x 10 inches (18×25.5cm) within mount. Estimated sale price: £600-800

dalek-annual-1978-art-paul-crompton

British illustrator Paul Crompton worked on the Doctor Who annuals between 1976 and 1980. He also contributed to several Doctor Who colouring books and jigsaws during the 1970s. A figure artist when he joined World Distributors in 1973, he was part of an eight person team of in-house artists and illustrators that worked on the company’s many annuals and is widely acknowledged for giving the annuals he worked on a distinctive, near surreal look that has a fond following to this day. He appeared to deliver art in  different art styles, as he was experimenting with various techniques. For the 1979 annual it’s noted in this article on the annuals on tetrap,com that Paul took over some of the writing on this annual. He penned both comic strip stories, and by doing so was able to create his images then write a story around them, the reverse of the normal process of comic strip creation.

Along with the Doctor Who and many music lots in the auction, Star Wars is represented in the sale by a rare and important study mould for the dome of R2-D2’s head which was used in Star Wars: A New Hope. This pre-production plaster mould is offered by the engineer responsible for constructing the first ever R2-D2 robot for the film. It was used it as a guide for dimensions and design of the droid. When negotiating a fee with Lucasfilm, the engineer was offered a choice of a flat hourly rate for the work or a percentage of the films takings. The contract was agreed at a flat hourly rate. This lot is estimated at £6,000-£8,000.

James Bond memorabilia from the estate of script writer Jack Whittingham is offered for sale. This includes a collection of manuscripts, draft scripts and story treatments for the 1958 project Thunderball which was collected during Whittingham’s collaboration with Ian Fleming and Kevin McClory. The ill-fated Thunderball project did not come to fruition due to a difference of opinions between Fleming and McClory who parted ways shortly after. Nevertheless, Fleming went on to publish a fifth James Bond novel with the same name. According to McClory and Whittingham, this novel was loosely based on the story and screen play composed by all three. As Fleming failed to credit any other party in the publication, a bitter law case ensued. A number of Whittingham’s papers included in this sale were used by the prosecution in the court case. Estimates for the scripts range from £1,000–£8,000.

Other lots of interest include scripts from The Avengers TV series, artwork from the 1967 Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea annual, Torchwood costumes and a custom tiger suit worn by Eric Idle in the 1983 Monty Python film The Meaning of Life (estimates £600-£800). The suit was worn in the scene where Idle and Michael Palin, dressed as the ‘fearsome’ beasts, are spotted by hunters while acting suspiciously. Python fever has once again ignited following the announcement of the 2014 reunion tour. Few pieces of memorabilia relating to the surreal comedy group have been offered for auction before.

Full details of the Entertainment Memorabilia auction in London on 18th December 2013 are here on Bonhams web site

 (Thanks to Paul Scoones for additional information and corrections on this item)



Categories: Art and Illustration, Auctions, British Comics, Comic Art, Doctor Who, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Featured News, Other Worlds, Star Wars

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