JAWS clapperboard sells for over $90,000 at auction
Back in 1975 Mrs Kintner was offering $3,000 to anyone who caught the shark, which we all know would buy an awful lot of roast, and Quint was looking at $10,000 dollars for the head, the tail, the whole damn thing...but fast forward 50 years and you are looking at almost $100,000 for a JAWS clapperboard!
At Propstore’s Entertainment Memorabilia Live Auction in Los Angeles, a rare JAWS shark-tooth clapperboard from the Steven Spielberg classic sold for $94,500, surpassing its $80,000 estimate.
The piece is iconic, with its serrated top mimicking the deadly grin of Spielberg’s great white. The wooden slate with the production stamps: “Zanuck/Brown Prod. Universal City Studios 02074,” “PROD JAWS,” “DIR. S. SPIELBERG,” and “CAM. W. BUTLER.” And it came with rock-solid provenance from assistant cameraman James A. Contner.
One even appeared in behind-the-scenes shots with Spielberg himself, only adding to the allure of the clapperboard.
Why the feeding frenzy? That's easy, these things are rare, the film changed cinema forever, it's a part of pop culture and love for the film and everything that surrounds it still pops, even 50 years after its release.
The sale proves one thing: some relics of movie history still capture the imagination and one thing is for certain, buying this clapperboard, swallow your wallet...whole.
Words by Dean Newman
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