A massive lot of Hollywood memorabilia is going up for auction next week at Bonham’s, including, among many, many wonders, Dustin Hoffman and Steve McQueen‘s prison uniforms from Papillon, a revised final draft of the Citizen Kane screenplay, and an astonishing and lovely nude painting of Clara Bow (once owned by Bela Lugosi).

The big draw seems to be the actual Maltese Falcon, the eponymous prop from the classic Bogart film, probably the single most famous Macguffin in the history of cinema, and I would argue that in the entire history of narrative fiction, this item ranks with the Golden Fleece.
 

 

The auction will star the legendary lead statuette of the Maltese Falcon, from the classic 1941 film noir of the same name. A pivotal character in its own right, the statuette is arguably the most important movie prop ever, and is central to the history of cinema. The statuette has the archival Warner Bros. inventory number and an impressive exhibition history, including appearances at the Pompidou Center in Paris, The Museum of Modern Art in New York, and The Warner Bros. Studio Museum in Los Angeles. Bonhams will present Sam Spade’s burgundy leather chair from the same remarkable film, among other Maltese Falcon highlights (est. $150,000-200,000).

The auction is curated by TCM, and bidding begins on Monday. Good luck.