When I was a kid, the house with the most impressive collection of science fiction, horror and fantasy atrifacts was Famous Monsters of Filmland editor, Forrest J Ackerman's Loz Feliz home, the Ackermansion. Containing Lon Chaney's make-up kit and his hat and fangs from London After Midnight, original models and stop motion creatures created by Willis O'Brien and Ray Harryhausen, props, books, and pulp magazines as well as walls completely covered in art and movie posters, it was my dream house. I remember studying photos of his collection with a magnifying glass. Alas, his collection is now scattered to the wind, and there are now much more impressive collections belonging to people such as Peter Jackson, Bob Burns, and Guillermo Del Toro. It is this last collection that inspires me the most now, and like my childhood self, I scrutinize the photos of his collection to try and see everything that's in it. here are a few photo's followed by a trio of video( the first of which which can also be found on the Cronos DVD and Bluray from Criterion) tour of the collection which has expanded rnough that a second house was needed to accomodate it (I can't wait for that video).
Much of his collection has been touring the United States, Canada, and Mexico as a museum exhibit called "At Home With Monsters" you can see what that was like below.
Great post! I was lucky enough to see the traveling exhibit of his things in Toronto, and its fabulous! The wax figure of H.P Lovecraft is extremely life like, and there were a lot of props, original artwork by Mike Mignola, and just amazing creations that a true fan of horror ( which he is ) would love.It wasn't absolutely everything he has, by the looks of the video, but still enough to make a great afternoon.I loved the virtual "window" that he has which is always gloomy and raining outside. And the wax figure of Frankenstein with the little girl. Yikes I could go on and on
Absolutely stunning! Thanks for these photos. I'd heard about del Toro's setup but never saw any of it until now.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I was lucky enough to see the traveling exhibit of his things in Toronto, and its fabulous! The wax figure of H.P Lovecraft is extremely life like, and there were a lot of props, original artwork by Mike Mignola, and just amazing creations that a true fan of horror ( which he is ) would love.It wasn't absolutely everything he has, by the looks of the video, but still enough to make a great afternoon.I loved the virtual "window" that he has which is always gloomy and raining outside. And the wax figure of Frankenstein with the little girl. Yikes I could go on and on
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