NYC movie, pin-up collection slated for auction

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NEW YORK (AP) — Movie Star News amassed a staggering amount of film stills, posters and negatives over the past 73 years — nearly 3 million, including 1,500 prints of Bettie Page, known as the queen of pin-ups. But last week, the once-lively store in lower Manhattan was lifeless. The classic movie posters that once covered its narrow 2,000-square-foot space were rolled up or covered in cellophane, its bins and racks empty. Everything was packed up in cardboard boxes that lined the floor.

The legendary Manhattan store credited with creating pin-up art had sold its entire inventory to a Las Vegas collectibles company.

The collection, regarded as one of the largest of its kind, is headed for the auction block. It will be sold in a series of sales slated to begin next year. The bulk of the collection covers the years 1939 to 1979; 11,500 movies and 5,000 actors are represented.

"This is the most important photo archive of Hollywood in existence. There are tens of thousands of negatives that have never been reproduced," said Stuart Scheinman, co-owner of Entertainment Collectibles, which bought the collection. "There are images here that have never been seen by the public."

There are 2,000 original prints and negatives of Frank Sinatra and Marlon Brando, 1,000 of Gary Cooper, 400 of Bette Davis, hundreds of movie images of "The Godfather" and "Gone With the Wind."

"This could literally take five to 10 years to go through it all," Scheinman said. He would only say the company purchased the collection for "seven figures." Its true value was anyone's guess, but he believed it easily was worth $150 million.

Movie Star News produced 8-by-10 glossy prints from the negatives, selling each for a few dollars in the store and through the mail. But the Internet has significantly cut down on demand.

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