Bidding for this lot will end on Thursday, September 4th. The auction will begin at 10:00AM PDT and lots are sold sequentially via live auctioneer; tune in to the live streaming broadcast on auction day to follow the pace. Note other lots in the auction may close on Friday, September 5th or Saturday, September 6th.
Captain America Wyatt's (Peter Fonda) screen-matched helmet from Dennis Hopper's Easy Rider. Wyatt carried his helmet attached to his similarly designed Panhead chopper motorcycle throughout the film. He later wore the helmet as he rode with befriended lawyer George Hanson (Jack Nicholson). This helmet screen-matches to the scenes where Wyatt is riding his matching Panhead chopper motorcycle, most notably with Hanson, based on the scuffing and dings.
Considered the iconic counterculture film of the 1960s, Easy Rider was nominated for two Academy Awards®, won a Cannes Film Festival award for Best First Work, and was inducted into the Library of Congress' National Film Registry for its impact on global culture. The motorcycle's destruction was considered a groundbreaking, transgressive representation of widening political fissures between the popular hippie movement of the time and repressive mainstream American culture, and remains one of the most acclaimed sequences ever put to celluloid.
This lot consists of a red, white, and blue stars and stripes Bell Toptex fiberglass helmet (Size 7 1/2) with a foam padding interior and a leather and brown nylon chin strap. Included with the helmet is a manila envelope marked "Easy Rider" with 10 black-and-white photo stills with two featuring handwritten notes on the back, seven with typed notes adhered to the back, and one with typed and handwritten notes; a color photo of the helmet being worn; and a folded envelope with a paperclip marked "Helmet Paint."
This lot exhibits extremely fragile paint that is prone to chipping, hardened foam padding causing flaking and cracking material, and discoloration and worn material on the photos, though it is believed that the paint could be sympathetically restored should a buyer wish to do so. Dimensions: (photos) 8" x 10" (20.5 cm x 25.5 cm)
Estimate: $10,000 - 20,000
View all lots from EASY RIDER (1969)