*We are currently auctioning BOTH first release The Sheik one-sheets in a
single auction at https://auctions.emovieposter.com/item/7255855
<https://auctions.emovieposter.com/item/7255855> (as part of our incredible
August Major Auction)!There is an oddity to our auction host, which is that
each individual auction can only have a limited number of words of
description, so we had to give the auction to a shortened version of what
we wanted to say.But below is the FULL text of what we wanted to say, and I
hope you will take a few minutes to read it, because (as I say below),
"Even in this auction with an unprecedented selection of exceptional
posters, this pair of posters from The Sheik is in a class by itself."!Here
is the full Description of the film I did not have enough space
for:Description: The Sheik, the classic 1921 George Melford Arabia silent
romantic kidnapping desert melodrama ("It's a Paramount Picture"; "Based on
the novel by Edith M. Hull"; about an Arab sheik who meets a female British
socialite, and he falls heavily for her, but she wants no part of him, so
he kidnaps her and takes her to his palace in the desert; she rejects him,
but after she is re-kidnapped by bandits does she start to realize that she
has fallen in love with the sheik, who rescues her in the nick of time!).It
starred Agnes Ayres, Rudolph Valentino (in the title role as Sheik Ahmed
Ben Hassan), Ruth Miller, George Waggner, and Adolphe Menjou. Note that
Valentino had risen to stardom in the late 1910s, but this movie made him a
superstar! He would complete ten more movies over the next five years, but
sadly, after making a sequel to this movie, "The Son of the Sheik", in
1926, he passed away from complications after surgery.He was just 31 years
of age, and the entire world mourned his passing. Rudolph Valentino, the
original and iconic "Latin Lover", was the first universally recognized
male sex symbol and a god-like super star without equal. His life (and
death at the height of his career) caused a level of public obsession and
mass hysteria never seen before or since.And this movie, The Sheik,
reshaped the 1920s global pop culture to a degree that now seems
unbelievable. While creating the first male sex symbol and showcasing a
significant early example of an independent, sexually liberated woman, it
inspired a tidal wave of Arabian themed movies, music, fashion and
merchandise, from jewelry to exotic home decor.The impact of today's
blockbusters looks small when compared to the colossal international impact
made by The Sheik and Valentino himself over one hundred years ago. They
were a sensation that occurred only once and would be impossible to
replicate today -- or even fully comprehend.And here is the full "Important
Added Info" I did not have enough space for:Important Added Info: Note that
this auction is for BOTH the style A one-sheet AND the style B one-sheet,
both with wonderful full art by master illustrator Henry Clive. This is a
legendary pair of one-sheets! They originated from the Charles Dyas
collection. Mr. Dyas was one of the very first movie poster collectors. He
ran movie theaters starting in the late 1910s, and he kept posters that he
especially liked, and continued into the early 1930s, and then stopped
collecting additional posters, but he never sold his collection! He passed
away in the late 1980s.In 1990, his son approached Bruce Hershenson about
the collection, which had been kept intact for around 70 years! Dyas and
Hershenson held the first auction of solely movie posters at a major
auction house (at Christie's East, in December 1990). These two posters
were sold together, and because Mr. Dyas had removed them from his theater
soon after showing the movie, and carefully stored them afterwards, they
survived in remarkable condition, with bright fresh colors.They sold at
that auction for $18,150, 36 years ago. The person who bought them held
them for seven years, and then reconsigned them to Christie's in 1997, and
they sold for $29,900, 29 years ago. The person who bought the pair of
posters at that auction said they would never sell them, and they were true
to their word. It is only now, after their passing, that this pair of
posters are being re-offered again for the third time. These are the very
same pair of posters that auctioned the other two times, and otherwise, we
have never auctioned either poster before.Even in this auction with an
unprecedented selection of exceptional posters, this pair of posters from
The Sheik is in a class by itself. As noted above in our description of
this legendary movie, Rudolph Valentino was the ultimate god-like
superstar. His unique, steamy yet polished sexuality provoked an
unprecedented worldwide idol-worship madness which no successor has been
able to duplicate or even approach, ensuring that his status as the
screen's greatest lover remains unchallenged to this day.And it bears
emphasis that the movie, The Sheik, ignited a global cultural obsession,
unleashing a mesmerizing torrent of Arabian-themed cinema, music, and
fashion that commercialized everything from exotic home decor to fine
jewelry. The Sheik and its star Rudolph Valentino were a once-in-a-lifetime
sensation, accompanied by a level of mania that could never be recreated,
or really understood, in the modern era.It is both fitting and fortunate
that this Valentino-Sheik phenomenon is ideally captured in the stunning
and perfectly matched posters - Style A (depicting Agnes Ayres' character,
Lady Diana Mayo, writing AHMED in the sand at a critical turning point in
the plot) and Style B (the wonderful portrait of Valentino as the Sheik,
Ahmed). This kind of perfect match is unparalleled anywhere in the world of
movie posters. The posters represent the epitome of the extremely rare and
highly valued combination of immortal star, legendary movie, extraordinary
poster art, excellent condition, and extreme rarity.The past sales figures
quoted above seem inexplicably modest for rarities of such immense
historical importance and visual appeal. When adjusted for inflation, the
prior sales are around $45,000 and $62,000 today, when much more common and
much less seminal pieces have sold for multiples of those inflation
adjusted amounts. The current pairing of these posters is probably unique
and makes this auction a likely once in a lifetime opportunity to acquire a
physical artifact of a monumental cinematic milestone of unsurpassable
cultural and artistic significance.PERHAPS ONE OF YOU READING THIS WILL BE
THE WINNER OF THIS MOST EXTRAORDINARY PAIR OF POSTERS, AND I CONGRATULATE
THAT PERSON!*
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