One of the best parts of the holiday season is snuggling up next to the tree and watching your favorite Christmas movies. True Christmas fanatics will make sure to DVR each of the classic 1960's stop motion Rankin/Bass films to watch on Christmas Eve. Now, nostalgia buffs and memorabilia collectors can get in on the auction to snag the original puppets used in the 1964 production of Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, which are being listed on eBay for a staggering $10 million.
Peter Lutrario, a 1960's Hollywood memorabilia collector, is the current owner of these iconic puppets and says on the eBay listing, "To many, they are Christmas. We all grew up with them, and they are Recognizable in an instant by every generation. Couple that with the fact that they are ONE OF A KIND.”
Lutrario claims that these are the sole remaining puppets from the original production, so they're even more special. Rick Goldschmidt, a Rankin/Bass expert who had the puppets restored in 2010 and sold them to Letrario, says he's disappointed that they're being put up for auction, however. “People love to see them. It’s something that’s a treasured part of Americana. I’d like to see it in a museum—not in someone’s briefcase," he told Pix 11.
While the listing's exorbitant price may turn most collectors off, if you happen to be in the market for some Christmas cheer—and have 10 mil laying around—now's your chance! Get your bids in quickly though, because the auction ends, appropriately, on December 25. The original puppets are cool and all, but I'm just waiting for those limited release Rudolph stuffed animals CVS put out in the '90s to be worth a fortune.
