‘Barsaat & Bharat’ – Rare Vintage Film Memorabilia & Artwork in Online Auction

Mughal-e-Azam (1960) original re-release artwork (watercolour on paper)

Rare and magnificent artworks such as an original re-release artwork of Mughal-e-Azam (watercolour on paper), original First Release Artwork posters of Naya Daur, Shaheed, Barsaat Ki Raat, serigraphs of MF Husain focusing on films, off-set lobby cards, vintage silver gelatin photographic prints are among the exclusive collection of film memorabilia being offered by auction house deRivaz & Ives on its online platform www.derivaz-ives.com. Titled ‘Barsaat & Bharat – Vintage Indian Film Memorabilia’ — the 5-day online auction, from 15th  and 19th August 2023, will offer vintage lots of classic films and scenes from the best of Indian film history.

Memorable moments of India’s cinematic history are captured in these items. Take for instance, the 30 Silver Gelatin Black & White Photographic prints of filmstars, such as Sunil Dutt, Waheeda Rehman, Kishore Kumar, Prem Dhawan, Madhumati, among others, visiting Indian Jawans on the Indo-Chinese border during the early 1960s. Or the Nange Log – an unreleased photographic print of IS Johar and Mehmood in swimwear holding umbrellas.

Twelve silver gelatin photographic prints on screen-printed mount board and a Song-Synopsis Booklet comprise a curated set of 13 items on Haqeeqat.  There are serigraphs of eminent artist MF Husain focusing on films – Mughal-e-Azam, Iqbal, Devdas, Meenaxi and Gajagamini and posters of Dilip Kumar as well as a section focusing on the cinema of Manoj Kumar. Featuring in the auction will be some of the most coveted items of the bygone and the present day era of Indian cinema.

Mughal-E-Azam 1960 Seriagraph, Signed in English “Husain” l.r.

Speaking to Silhouette, Neville Tuli, Chief Mentor of deRivaz & Ives, said, “Barsaat & Bharat opens the 2023-24 calendar for deRivaz & Ives; it heralds a major new push towards sensitizing the Indian and global film going public with twelve landmark auctions on the history of Indian cinema.”

Auctions on Satyajit Ray, Amitabh Bachchan @80, Raj Kapoor and Dev Anand @100 will follow in the next few weeks and months along with a special Sale on Feminine Icons of Indian Cinema.

A photo from a collection of 30 Silver Gelatin Black & White Photographic prints of filmstars, such as Sunil Dutt, Waheeda Rehman, Kishore Kumar, Prem Dhawan, Madhumati, among others, visiting Indian Jawans on the Indo-Chinese border during the early 1960s

Elaborating on the future plans, Tuli said, “The September focus on the cinematic maestro Satyajit Ray is the single largest and finest global sale of Vintage Posters, Lobby Cards, Song-Synopsis Booklets, Drawings and Books till date. Celebrations on the Cinema of Amitabh Bachchan, Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand & Madhubala will follow each month into January 2024.”

IS Johar and Mehmood in Nange Log (Unreleased) 1968 – a black & white silver gelatin photographic print

Barsat Ki Rat 1960 (Half-sheet Poster Original First Release Artwork)

India’s colourful and vibrant film heritage boasts of one of the richest repertoire of films anywhere in the world, as it is the largest film producing country. Our film history and heritage also includes a massive treasure trove of artistic, innovative and creative film memorabilia comprising posters, show cards, lobby cards, song synopsis booklets, LP covers, photographs… each object a piece of history, a vestige of the artist, a witness to nostalgia.

Shaheed 1965 Showcard | Original hand-made collage of silver gelatin photographic prints, poster paint & hand and screen-printed lettering

“It is high time that the Indian film fraternity galvanise their engagement and role in preserving our cinematic heritage and making it a deeper part of daily life from an aesthetic and historical perspective. This change in turn will help facilitate a greater role for Cinema in all facets of learning and education irrespective of the subject of focus. Naturally a strong market fuels such an interest and hence the policy-making attitudes are easier to influence,” Tuli emphasized.

“Both the Indian art and film memorabilia markets are barely 1% of the global markets. This must change radically,” he added.

Clockwise from top left: Aan 1952 (Lobby Card), Jis Desh Men Ganga Behti Hai 1960 (Silver gelatin photographic reprint pasted on re-release cardboard lobby card), Do Aankhen Baara Haath 1957 (Silver Gelatin Photographic Still), The Journey of Dr. Kotnis / Dr. Kotnis ki Amar Kahani 1946 (Title Lobby Card Original International Release, M.F. Husain (1915-2011) Devdas (Seriagraph Signed in English “Husain” l.r.)

(All pictures used in this story are courtesy deRivaz & Ives)

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