DALLAS—The only known surviving example of an Italian issue movie poster for Casablanca sold Saturday, July 29, for a record $478,000 at a public auction of vintage movie posters held by Heritage Auctions. Measuring a massive 55½ by 78¼ inches, the 1946 Casablanca Italian 4 fogli poster matched the world record for the most valuable movie poster ever sold at public auction.

“The buyer has just set a world record and acquired what we in the poster collecting world would equate to a masterpiece,” said Grey Smith, director of vintage posters at Heritage Auctions. “The stunning artistry put into this poster makes is stand head and shoulders above any paper produced for the film.”

Previous Italian posters for the film have sold for as much as $203,000 and U.S. issues of the poster have fetched $191,200. The poster is the first of its kind to surface in recent history. Found in Sicily, Italy, and featuring artwork by Luigi Martinati, the image of the cast of characters is considered the best image found in any of this film’s numerous advertisements, Smith said.

The auction featured additional rare posters from the film with a half sheet poster auctioned for $65,725 and a post-war Spanish release poster selling for $35,850. Stay tuned for a full review in a future issue. For further information, www.ha.com or 877-437-4824.