At the American Heritage Auctions house, the famous Rosebud sled from Orson Welles’s 1941 film “Citizen Kane” was sold for a record price of $14.75 million.
This sled is one of only three known surviving examples in film history and for many years belonged to director Joe Dante. Dante accidentally discovered it in 1984 while working at the old RKO Pictures studio.
The sled, made in 1941 from pine wood, has a seat painted red and decorated with the inscription “Rosebud.” According to Joe Dante, “It has been an honor to preserve such a unique piece of cinema history.”
In addition, the sled was used in his own films as well: “Explorers” (1985), “Suburgatory” (1989), and “Gremlins 2: The New Batch” (1990).
For reference, other sleds from “Citizen Kane” had previously been sold: in 1982, Steven Spielberg bought one for $60,500, and in 1996 another copy was sold to an unknown buyer for $230,000.
