Profiles in History Burns Rubber with Steve McQueen's Racing Suit from Le Mans on the Auction Block

LOS ANGELES, November 3, 2011 - Profiles in History, run by Joe Maddalena is proud to announce a major addition to their already stellar "Icons of Hollywood" auction, Steve McQueen's "Michael Delaney" screen used Gulf driving suit from, Le Mans, the most influential movie about racing ever made. The two-piece racing suit (jacket and pants) features a zipper and Velcro closure jacket with "Michael Delaney" stitched in blue thread above the right breast zipper pocket, iconic orange and blue Gulf racing stripes as well as Gulf patches on the breast and back. In addition there are United States flag, Hinchman Nomex, Heuer Chronograph and Firestone sponsor patches. The "Icons of Hollywood" auction is set for December 15, 16 and 17 at The Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills.

When principle filming of Le Mans was completed, Solar Productions donated this suit to the British newspaper, The Observer for a special Le Mans-themed contest in 1971. By answering 3 Le Mans history questions correctly 12 year old Timothy Davies of Wolverhampton, England was chosen as the winner and presented with the suit by racing driver Richard "Dickie" Attwood, winner of the 1970 Le Mans race and driver of the Porsche 917K Gulf car during driving sequences in the film. Filmed on location in Le Mans, France, the film's spellbinding cinematography provides a thrilling glimpse of the sights and sounds of Porsche 917s and Ferrari 512s, locked in fierce competition for outright victory. It featured footage from the actual 1970 24 Hours of Le Mans race and remains popular with racing enthusiasts today as it accurately depicted the era with lots of racing and minimal dialogue. The film featured numerous top-level racing drivers of the day for the driving sequences including Derek Bell, Vic Elford, Jacky Ickx, Brian Redman, Jo Siffert and many others. The suit is in excellent condition and without question, one of the pinnacles of motorsport memorabilia and the Holy Grail of racing film costumes. The suit has a presale estimate of $200,000-$300,000. Image of Steve McQueen in Le Mans© Solar Productions 1971

These items join the only pair of screen used Ruby Slippers from The Wizard of Oz left on the market. These iconic shoes are from the climax of the film and are estimated at $2,000,000-3,000,000. Also up for auction is Bela Lugossi's iconic cape from Dracula ($1,500,000 - $2,000,000,) the DeLorean from Back to the Future III ($400,000 - $600,000,) Marilyn Monroe's wedding ring from her marriage to Joe DiMaggio ($300,000 to $500,000) and a Marilyn Monroe nude painting by Earl Moran ($70,000 to $90,000.) Stay tuned for the announcement of more iconic items up for auction.

ABOUT PROFILES IN HISTORY
Founded in 1985 by Joseph Maddalena, Profiles in History is the nation's leading dealer in guaranteed-authentic original historical autographs, letters, documents, vintage signed photographs and manuscripts. Born into a family of antiques dealers in Rhode Island, Joseph "Joe" Maddalena learned early on how to turn his passion of collecting historical autographs into a career. Needing to support himself, Joe turned to his hobby of buying and selling historical documents as a potential way to earn revenue. On weekends he scoured old Hollywood bookstores for letters and rare books. Upon graduation from Pepperdine, Joe pursued his passion to become a full-time dealer of historical documents, and opened his first office in 1985. A lifetime member of the Manuscript Society, Joe is widely recognized as the nation's leading authority on entertainment memorabilia and historical documents. Profiles in History has established itself as the world's largest auctioneer of original Hollywood memorabilia, having held some of the most prestigious and successful auctions of Hollywood memorabilia and owning virtually every Guinness Book record prices for original screen-used memorabilia. With an extensive network of dealers, collectors, and institutions, Profiles in History is proud to play an important role in the preservation of motion picture history. Prior Profiles in History Hollywood auctions highlights include the "Cowardly Lion" costume from The Wizard of Oz ($805,000); a full-scale model T-800 Endoskeleton from Terminator 2: Judgment Day ($488,750); Marilyn Monroe's "Diamonds" dress from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes ($356,500); Luke Skywalker's light saber from Star Wars ($240,000); Margaret Hamilton's "Wicked Witch" hat from The Wizard Of Oz ($230,000); and The Invisible Man 1933 one-sheet movie poster ($230,000). Most recently from the history-making Debbie Reynolds Auction in June 2011, Profiles in History sold the Marilyn Monroe "Subway" Dress from The Seven Year Itch for $5.52M, the Marilyn Monroe signature red-sequined showgirl gown from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes for $1.44M and the Audrey Hepburn Ascot Dress from My Fair Lady for $4.44M. In addition, Joe Maddalena is the star of SyFy's hit show, Hollywood Treasure. With already 24 episodes aired, Hollywood Treasure is gearing up for an exciting return in 2012.