As Indiana Jones famously said: "It belongs in a museum!" Propstore's Entertainment Memorabilia Live Auction is full of items that can be instantly recognised from across the room. They're objects and costumes that transcended the screen to become part of our culture.
These are the kinds of artefacts that blur the line between movie prop and cultural icon. Long after the credits rolled, they escaped the confines of their films to become symbols in their own right. You don’t need to have seen every frame of Cast Away to know Wilson, or be able to quote Harry Potter chapter and verse to recognise Hermione’s wand.
That’s what makes collecting entertainment memorabilia so fascinating. The best pieces are more than relics from a production; they’re tangible links to shared moments in popular culture. Like the treasures pursued by Indiana Jones himself, they’re objects whose significance extends far beyond their physical form.
Treasured objects
Unmissable lots
These auction items require no further explanation having already earned their place in pop culture history.
UpcomingCAST AWAY (2000)
Estimate £50,000 - £100,000
Chuck Noland’s (Tom Hanks) Screen-Matched Wilson Volleyball
Few screen-used objects were as instantly iconic as Wilson in Robert Zemeckis' Cast Away. What began life as a volleyball that washed up on a beach evolved into being a crucial character and companion to Tom Hanks' Chuck in the 2000 movie. This Wilson screen-matches to the moment Chuck creates fire in the cave. Put this on display and it doesn't need any further explanation.
UpcomingWILLY WONKA & THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY (1971)
Estimate £40,000 - £80,000
Golden Ticket
As Charlie Bucket and Grandpa Joe sang in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, "I've got a golden ticket!" In the 1971 musical, Gene Wilder's Wonka hid five golden tickets inside Wonka bars, which led to a worldwide hunt by those desperate to see inside his factory of pure imagination. This golden ticket comes from a camera operator on the film, making it a museum-worthy piece of memorabilia.
UpcomingHARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE (2001)/HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS (2002)
Estimate £20,000 - £40,000
Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) Hero Wooden Wand
Across eight films, three spin-off movies, and an upcoming HBO series, J.K. Rowlings' Wizarding World is one of the biggest entertainment success stories of the 21st century. Hermione's wand from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and The Chamber of Secrets is one of the cornerstone objects of the entire series, and is instantly recognisable to millions of Potter fans around the world.
UpcomingMUMMY, THE (1999)
Estimate £20,000 - £40,000
Hero Mechanical Book of the Dead
With its relentless pace, breathtaking action, heartfelt comedy and groundbreaking visual effects, The Mummy is a millennial classic. And with Brendan Fraser winning an Oscar for The Whale in 2023, cameras have begun to roll on The Mummy 4. This Book of the Dead from the first movie is an incredible piece with practical mechanisms that beg to be played with. Just don't use it to awaken any ancient priests, as we know how that one ends.
UpcomingENIGMA (2001)
Estimate £25,000 - £50,000
Enigma Machine and Light-Up Morse Code Transmission Box
This Enigma machine is a faithful recreation of the real device used by the codebreakers of Bletchley Park during World War II. The original was loaned to the production by Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, and was accurately and painstakingly reproduced from the original for use as a prop. It's so realistic that it has literally been on display in museums and galleries for the past 25 years.
UpcomingINDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE (1989)
Estimate £20,000 - £40,000
Grail Tablet
This Grail tablet was one of two markers left by the grail knights to guide adventurers to the Temple of the Sun in Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade. Indy was shown it by Julian Glover's Walter Donovan and he translated it into a clue that led him to Venice. Designed to look like a museum piece, its shape and texture is engraved into the memories of every film fan who saw The Last Crusade, many of whom consider it to be the best Indy film of all.
UpcomingSTAR WARS: REVENGE OF THE SITH (2005)
Estimate £30,000 - £60,000
Count Dooku’s (Christopher Lee) Stunt Lightsaber with SFX Blade
Christopher Lee is a towering figure in the world of cinema with a career that spanned playing Count Dracula in the Hammer Horror films to Saruman in Lord of the Rings and Count Dooku in the Star Wars prequels. This stunt lightsaber from Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith has the Sith Lord's distinctive curved hilt which was as unique as the man himself.
UpcomingSAVING PRIVATE RYAN (1998)
Estimate £20,000 - £40,000
Captain Miller’s (Tom Hanks) Army Ranger Costume
Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan didn't just win rave reviews, earn millions at the box office, and win five Oscars - it changed how war movies are made forever. Tom Hanks's Army Ranger costume from the film is a capsule in time that transports movie fans back to the first time they witnessed the film's gut-punch opening sequence.
UpcomingTHUNDERBIRD 6 (1968)
Estimate £60,000 - £120,000
Tin-Tin Puppet with Screen-Matched Shoes and Jumpsuit
Complete Thunderbirds puppets of this quality very rarely come to market. It is one of five puppets used to promote Thunderbird 6, the second feature-length Thunderbirds film, released in 1968, and its head was sculpted by Christine Glanville. The series plays an important part in TV and film history and remains a beloved franchise to this day.
UpcomingBRAVEHEART (1995)
Estimate £50,000 - £100,000
William Wallace’s (Mel Gibson) Screen-Matched and Photo-Matched Armour, Baldric, Scabbard and Stunt Arrow-Tipped Bracer with Wallace Clan Costume Elements
Mel Gibson's Braveheart won five Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director and generated interest in Scottish history as well inspiring a new generation of historical epics to be made from Gladiator to 300. Gibson's William Wallace costume commemorates an important part of film history and the 13th century patriot himself too.
Together, these pieces represent the creativity, craftsmanship and imagination that brought some of the world’s most beloved stories to life, from fantasy adventures and sci-fi sagas to historical epics and family classics. For fans, they’re a chance to own a genuine piece of the productions that shaped their love of cinema. For collectors, they’re important artefacts from the history of popular culture.
Whether destined for a private collection, a display cabinet or, as Indiana Jones might insist, a museum, each of these lots carries a story that goes far beyond its screen time. In an auction filled with extraordinary memorabilia, these are the objects that stop people in their tracks and instantly transport them back to the magic of the movies.
