Some 1,500 props from the award-winning TV series Mad Men are set to go under the hammer in a June 1-15 auction, organisers said.
The AMC network show set in a 1960s Madison Avenue advertisement firm was known for its obsessive attention to detail in clothing and decor.
Since the show ended production in July 2014, Ellen Freund, the show’s award-winning prop curator, was assigned to organise the items, which will be put under the hammer by ScreenBid, a company specialised in auctions of Hollywood-related items.
Show props to be auctioned include many belonging to the suave Don Draper (actor Jon Hamm), the show’s principal star, such as his hat, wallet, ties and cuff links.
Other items include a typewritten promotion letter for office administrator Joan Harris (actress Christina Hendricks), an office Globe Bar cart, and vintage Ray Ban dark glasses.
The largest item is a 1965 red Imperial Crown Chrysler convertible that Draper owned.
ScreenBid did not provide any pre-sale estimates, unlike most auction houses, although the convertible was earlier estimated to be worth $39,500 (Dh145,089).
Freund told AFP that for each episode she had a budget of $12,000 and a maximum of eight days to get everything she needed. Some items were used in several episodes.
Given the tight deadline, most props were bought online, often on eBay, rather than at flea markets.
Freund — whose track record includes work on such movies as The Horse Whisperer (1998) and A River Runs Through It (1992) — said that several show items that could not be directly linked to any of the show’s stars were eliminated.
