Raving Toy Maniac

PROFILES IN HISTORY ANNOUNCES ITS ASSOCIATION WITH MARVEL ENTERTAINMENT FOR THE CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER AUCTION AT THIS YEAR'S CHICAGO COMIC & ENTERTAINMENT EXPO

THE AUCTION WILL BE HELD APRIL 14, 2012

LOS ANGELES - March 5, 2012 - Profiles in History is proud to announce its association with Marvel Entertainment to hold the Captain America: The First Avenger Auction at this year's C2E2 (Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo) at McCormick Place, 2301 S. Lake Shore Dr., Chicago, IL 60616 at 6PM Central Time on April 14, 2012.

The auction consists of over 220 lots including the incredible costumes, props and vehicles from the 2011 film. "Rarely does a collector have the opportunity to acquire items of this importance from a contemporary film," says Profiles in History President and CEO Joe Maddalena.

Among the key items to be sold:

The Captain America hero costume worn in the ultimate incarnation of Captain America. It is a three-piece custom suit made of ballistic nylon with rubberized backing. The three individual costume pieces consist of long pants with elastic boot stirrups, a short, elastic-bottomed, midriff-length undershirt and distinctive red, white and blue sculpted upper body armor with built-in bracers, shoulder pads and patriotic star insignia on the chest. Includes brown leather gloves, ammo belt, holster (with rubber Colt .45 pistol), high brown boots and comes paired with the appropriate form-fitted, leather mask-helmet stenciled with the letter "A" on the front and abstract wings on both sides. The costume exhibits discrete battle distress, and is accompanied by an iconic, round Vibranium shield made of resin. This hero suit is the culmination of all other evolving versions seen on screen and is the hero suit seen in all scenes from the "invasion montage" onward. The suit is also used in most graphic advertising and promotional materials for the film. Pictured above, estimated to fetch $20,000 – $30,000.

Johann Schmidt's hero Cube setup costume. Worn during the scene when the Cosmic Cube power is first exploited and harnessed in Dr. Zola's lab. The 2-piece suit is custom made of forest green Polyester with jodhpur-style riding pants and built in suspenders. The jacket features a sewn-in matrix of straps with pops of bright crimson piping, and finished with a Hydra icon patch on the left shoulder. The costume is completed with knee-high patent leather boots, gloves, and black leather belt with Hydra logo buckle. Estimated to fetch $6,000 - $8,000.

Hugo Weaving screen-worn Red Skull prosthetic makeup appliance constructed of red pigmented, encapsulated silicone and consisting of seven individual pieces, pre-painted overlaid and then final makeup applied on actor Hugo Weaving. The appliances covered Weaving's entire head, ears, neck, and partial chest and features dot markers for digital tracking. Measures approx. 14 in. tall. Expected to fetch $3,000 - $5,000.

"Decoy" Cosmic Cube constructed of cloudy blue resin and measuring 3 ¾ in. sq. Johann Schmidt rips the "decoy" cube from the hands of the corpse in the sarcophagus in the Norwegian church. Pictured below, expected to fetch $1,000 - $1,500.

Also included will be a wide array of Hydra and Allied prop weaponry and equipment, Johann Schmidt/Red Skull costumes, plus several Hydra motorcycles and a full-scale steel-plated Hydra "Fastrac" tank built on a four wheel drive tractor chassis!

Other Marvel Entertainment gems will also be included in the auction, such as, an original full-scale screen-used Mark II "Autopsy" suit from Iron Man 2. This Mark II "Autopsy" suit was appropriated from the military by James "Rhodey" Rhodes, played by Don Cheadle, who proceeded to disassemble it (performing an "autopsy") for examination of the technology in order to construct War Machine. Constructed by the visionary artists of Legacy Effects, this 75 in. tall figure is handcrafted of fiberglass resin with an incredibly detailed metalized finish resembling brushed stainless steel alloy. It features intricate wire loom, metal hoses and cables, and discrete electronics detailing as well as faux actuators, pistons, and other suspension devices in the exposed joints and limbs. The figure was designed to lie down for the autopsy scene and has a number of armor plates removed to expose the suit's inner circuitry. The removed sections include two leg greaves, right hip plate, right bicep plate, right shoulder plate, head plate, and most notably a removable main breastplate that reveals the inner cavity and bracing elements. An impressive and iconic figure from this groundbreaking film. This is the only complete Iron Man suit ever offered at public auction. Special shipping arrangements will apply. Expected to fetch $60,000 – $80,000.

From Thor you can bid on the stunt Mjölnir war hammer. This is Thor's distinctive large, square-headed war hammer, with foam rubber head realistically painted to resemble ancient forged metal. It is entwined with Nordic design and Runes, with a stout handle wrapped in brown leather with lanyard. Head measures 8 ½ in. x 5 ¼ in. x 5 in., 17 in. long overall. Expected to fetch $4,000 – $6,000.

Stay tuned for additional announcements that include more exciting items from the Captain America: The First Avenger auction.

ABOUT PROFILES IN HISTORY
Founded in 1985 by Joseph Maddalena, Profiles in History is the nation's leading dealer in guaranteed-authentic original historical autographs, letters, documents, vintage signed photographs and manuscripts. Born into a family of antiques dealers in Rhode Island, Joseph "Joe" Maddalena learned early on how to turn his passion of collecting historical autographs into a career. Needing to support himself, Joe turned to his hobby of buying and selling historical documents as a potential way to earn revenue. On weekends he scoured old Hollywood bookstores for letters and rare books. Upon graduation from Pepperdine, Joe pursued his passion to become a full-time dealer of historical documents, and opened his first office in 1985. A lifetime member of the Manuscript Society, Joe is widely recognized as the nation's leading authority on entertainment memorabilia and historical documents. Profiles in History has established itself as the world's largest auctioneer of original Hollywood memorabilia, having held some of the most prestigious and successful auctions of Hollywood memorabilia and owning virtually every Guinness Book record prices for original screen-used memorabilia. With an extensive network of dealers, collectors, and institutions, Profiles in History is proud to play an important role in the preservation of motion picture history. Prior Profiles in History Hollywood auctions highlights include the "Cowardly Lion" costume from The Wizard of Oz($805,000); Steve McQueen's "Michael Delaney" racing suit from Le Mans ($960,000); a full-scale model T-800 Endoskeleton from Terminator 2: Judgment Day ($488,750); Marilyn Monroe's "Diamonds" dress from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes ($356,500); Luke Skywalker's light saber fromStar Wars ($240,000); Margaret Hamilton's "Wicked Witch" hat from The Wizard Of Oz ($230,000); and The Invisible Man 1933 one-sheet movie poster ($230,000). Most recently from the history-making Debbie Reynolds Auction in June 2011, Profiles in History sold the Marilyn Monroe "Subway" Dress from The Seven Year Itch for $5.52M, the Marilyn Monroe signature red-sequined showgirl gown from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes for $1.44M and the Audrey Hepburn Ascot Dress from My Fair Lady for $4.44M. In addition, Joe Maddalena is the star of SyFy's hit show, Hollywood Treasure. With already 24 episodes aired, Hollywood Treasure is gearing up for an exciting return in 2012.