Entertainment memorabilia auction house Propstore will sell five original black-and-white contact sheets by photojournalist Sanford H. Roth featuring actor James Dean during its Fall Collectible Posters Auction. The photographs capture Dean driving his Porsche 550 Spyder on Sept. 30, 1955, prior to his fatal car crash, as well as images taken of the crash scene aftermath.
The five 8-by-10-inch contact sheets include Roth’s handwritten notes, two additional image strips, and provenance from the Estate of Sanford H. Roth. The lot also contains studio shots of Dean in New York and images of his makeup preparation for his final film, Giant.
Additional auction items include promotional materials from Dean’s film career, such as a linen-backed one sheet poster for East of Eden, an Italian locandina for Rebel Without a Cause, and a group of pressbooks for Rebel Without a Cause and Giant. Pre-sale estimates for the contact sheet lot range from $4,000 to $8,000, while individual poster lots carry estimates between $200 and $600.
Bidding opens online on Friday, Oct. 9, with the full three-day sale running Oct. 9–11, 2026, starting at 9:30 a.m. PDT each day. The first day of the sale will be broadcast as a live-streamed online event, followed by two days of online-only bidding for nearly 1,000 total lots.
Propstore is an international auction house specializing in film, television, and pop culture memorabilia. The company’s fall posters auction features historical movie art and collectibles valued at approximately $1.5 million.
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