Lee Dracula cape sells at auction

Christopher Lee's black cape from the 1958 film version of Dracula has sold for £26,400 at an auction in London.

The woollen cape was one of nearly 250 lots of film and TV costumes from the archives of Angels The Costumiers.

A naval officer's jacket worn by Mel Gibson in the 1984 move The Bounty sold for £7,800 at the Bonhams sale.

Rowan Atkinson's Lord Edmund Blackadder costume from Blackadder II (1986) sold for £14,400, having been estimated to fetch between £2,000-3,000.

A British military style tunic worn by the actor in Blackadder Goes Forth (1989) sold for £12,000 - 15 times its lowest estimate.

Clint Eastwood's military tunic from Where Eagles Dare sold for £9,600 - nine times more than its lowest estimate.

Authenticity

Lee, 87, received a knighthood in the Queen's Birthday Honours last week.

Lee's cape was sold together with a letter signed by the actor confirming the authenticity of the item, as well as a still image of him wearing the cape as Dracula.

A temple guard's outfit from Indiana Jones had been expected to fetch up to £400, but eventually sold for £5,400.

Angels chairman Tim Angel said the company was selling part of its archive because its warehouse was "approaching capacity".

"The downside to creating costumes that become so famous and strongly associated with particular characters, actors or films is that they can never be used again in future, nor can they be hired out at our fancy dress shop.

"So now seemed to be the right time to offer fans and collectors the opportunity to take home a piece of film or television history from the Angels archive."

Angels The Costumiers, which was established in 1840 and provides costumes to the TV and film industries, boasts a warehouse containing more than five million costumes on around eight miles of hanging rails.

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