The special effects axe wielded by Jack Nicholson while delivering the line “Here’s Johnny!” in the 1980 horror film The Shining is going on sale with a list price between £30,000 and £50,000, according to The Guardian. The weapon is part of an auction featuring hundreds of items from the personal archive of director Stanley Kubrick, offering collectors a rare window into cinema history.
Bonhams Auctions Kubrick Memorabilia in London
- The auction takes place on February 3 at Bonhams in London, preceded by public exhibitions across New York, Los Angeles, Paris, and London, with the London exhibition starting January 18.
- Alongside the iconic axe, the sale features two sky-blue dresses worn by the Grady twins and four original production clapperboards from Kubrick’s filmography.
- The top-estimated lot is a model of the cosmic foetus from 2001: A Space Odyssey, carrying a prediction of up to £800,000.
The Stanley Kubrick Archive Auction at Bonhams
Stanley Kubrick’s personal archive is heading to the auction block for the first time, managed by Bonhams in London. The collection spans decades of scholarship, research, and deliberate preservation, capturing the meticulous nature of a filmmaker who died in 1999. According to The Guardian, the items range from key physical props to personal working materials that defined a legendary career.
Among the cinematic relics from The Shining is the very tool Jack Torrance uses to hack through a locked bathroom door to reach his terrified wife Wendy, played by Shelley Duvall. The same prop serves as the murder weapon against Dick Hallorann, played by Scatman Crothers. Beyond the axe, collectors can bid on two sky-blue dresses worn by the Grady twin actresses, Alexa and Alexie Grady, who invite Danny to play in the corridors of the Overlook Hotel.
Star Child Prop Leads High Valuation Estimates
While the boy’s tricycle from The Shining is absent from the catalog, four original film clapperboards are included in the sale. These pieces originate from The Shining, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Barry Lyndon, and Kubrick’s last film, Eyes Wide Shut. The highest-priced estimate belongs to the “star child prop” from the closing moments of 2001: A Space Odyssey, projected to fetch as much as £800,000.
Claire Tole-Moir, head of popular culture at Bonhams, described the star child model as the final, enigmatic image of a science fiction masterpiece representing evolution, new beginnings, naivety, and ambiguity. Beyond props, the auction includes Kubrick’s director’s chair valued at up to £12,000, alongside personal shooting scripts complete with handwritten annotations, drawings, and alternative scenes for films like Lolita and Spartacus.
| Notable Lot | Associated Film | Estimated Price / Valuation |
|---|---|---|
| Star Child Prop (Cosmic Foetus) | 2001: A Space Odyssey | Up to £800,000 |
| Jack Torrance’s Special Effects Axe | The Shining (1980) | £30,000 – £50,000 |
| Director’s Chair | Kubrick Personal Archive | Up to £12,000 |
Exhibitions Precede Auction of Kubrick Personal Archive
The physical exhibitions leading up to the live auction open next week at Bonhams in New York, before traveling onward to Los Angeles and Paris, and finally landing in London on January 18. The bidding event officially commences on February 3 in London. Tole-Moir highlighted Kubrick’s personal chess set as the item that best illustrates the director’s intrinsic personality, noting his appreciation for strategy, patience, discipline, and intellectual precision.
“Other directors’ collections have appeared at auction over the years, but Stanley Kubrick’s archive is truly distinctive in its depth, quality and intellect,” Tole-Moir remarked, pointing out how the collection encompasses decades of deliberate preservation that reflects the director’s towering impact on visual culture.
