Rare Darth Vader mask, Harry Potter glasses up for auction in LA

LOS ANGELES: A rare Darth Vader mask and helmet worn in one of the early Star Wars movies goes up for auction in Los Angeles later this month, along with a pair of Harry Potter’s signature glasses.

Two Titanic costumes, worn by stars Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio, along with a Wizard of Oz Dorothy costume are also up for sale by auctioneers Profiles in History.

With an estimated price of $250,000 to $450,000, the Darth Vader mask and helmet set could fetch one of the top prices ever for a “Star Wars” collectible.

The auction house said the iconic mask and helmet was worn on the set of The Empire Strikes Back by British actor David Prowse, who physically played the villain for the first three films in the sci-fi saga. Darth Vader’s voice was provided by actor James Earl Jones.

“Anything from the original trilogy is exceedingly difficult to find,” said Brian Chanes, head of consignor relations at Profiles in History.

The current top price for any Star Wars memorabilia is held by the 35mm camera used by director George Lucas to film the first, 1977 Star Wars movie. It fetched $625,000 at a 2011 auction in Beverly Hills, California.

A pair of the round, wire-framed glasses won by a young Daniel Radcliffe in the first Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in 2001 is expected to sell for around $30,000.

“These are screen-worn production glasses and they actually have chew marks on the back. He (Radcliffe) was fiddling with them on set,” said Chanes. “Instantly recognizable, and that’s what people look for.”

Actor Sean Connery’s moon buggy from the 1971 James Bond movie “Diamonds are Forever,” has a high estimate of $600,000.

The Wizard of Oz outfit is a black and white pinafore dress worn by Judy Garland’s double in the 1939 film and is estimated to fetch between $350,000 and $500,000. Garland’s screen-worn blue gingham pinafore dress sold for $1.5 million in 2015.

The 940-lot auction also includes items from Alien, King Kong, Star Trek and Moonraker and will take place in Los Angeles on Sept. 25 and 26. It is expected to fetch a total of about $10 million.