Osian's acquires Leonard Schrader Collection
The auction house has the world’s largest collection of Indian cinema publicity material and numerous Hollywood collectibles. In Pics: Miss Universe 2008
By Ashoke Nag, ET Bureau |
KOLKATA: Osian���s, leading auction and film house based in New Delhi, has acquired the Leonard Schrader Collection, world���s largest private collection of early Hollywood lobby cards.
Leonard Schrader was one of the top notch screenwriters and filmmakers in Hollywood, and acquisition of this collection has further enriched Osian���s repository of film memorabilia. The auction house has the world���s largest collection of Indian cinema publicity material and numerous Hollywood collectibles.
The Leonard Schrader Collection consists of 8,462 vintage lobby cards of early cinema. Many of the films are now lost irretrievably and 5,000-odd related items were put together and painstakingly preserved by the late screenwriter for over 27 years.
Leonard Schrader was one of the top notch screenwriters and filmmakers in Hollywood, and acquisition of this collection has further enriched Osian���s repository of film memorabilia. The auction house has the world���s largest collection of Indian cinema publicity material and numerous Hollywood collectibles.
The Leonard Schrader Collection consists of 8,462 vintage lobby cards of early cinema. Many of the films are now lost irretrievably and 5,000-odd related items were put together and painstakingly preserved by the late screenwriter for over 27 years.
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Schrader has scripted films such as The Yakuza, Mishima and The Kiss of the Spiderwoman, for this film he won an Academy Award nomination for screenplay. He was brother or famous filmmaker Paul Schrader.
Schrader studied writing with the likes of Nelson Algren, Richard Yates, Kurt Vonnegut and Jorge Luis Borges and had an abiding interest in Japanese history and culture. Few were aware of the depth and range of the collection, although his passion for acquiring film memorabilia was known by many. The collection was discovered only after his death in 2006.
���The Schrader Collection fills a major gap in Osian���s World Cinema section (early Hollywood 1920 to 1940s). The acquisition now makes Osian���s collection the most comprehensive publicity material-rooted, knowledge-based in the world. Our process of attracting the finest scholars of art, cinema and culture to India takes another step forward,��� Neville Tuli, Osian���s chairman, told ET.
���This is another major move towards making India the knowledge center for arts and cinema. Without acquiring such a collection, no great visual and textual library can be formed for world-class research, attracting the finest scholars and creative minds to India,��� he added.
According to Mr Tuli, Anthony Slide, historian of early cinema, has described the Schrader Collection as the largest of its kind by an individual. Others have praised Leonard Schrader for the meticulous care with which he put together his collection showing a great sensitivity to historical nuances and aesthetic considerations.
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���Almost every important personality of the early Euro-American cinema is represented here making the Leonard Collection an invaluable trove of knowledge about the history of films of our times. The collection���s real pleasure lies in re-discovering the frontier���s of cinema���s childhood established by figures who were once well-known (even in India), but have now been forgotten due to selective historical memory. The collection promises to transport us into a unique aesthetic and intellectual adventure with its mix of comedy, horror, action, suspense and romance in many shapes and forms and many locations of the world,��� Mr Tuli said.Start a SIP with as low as ₹500 with ET Money App!
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