Some lucky collector is in vampire heaven today, because Christopher Lee's black cape from the 1958 film version of Dracula has just sold for £26,400 at auction in London. Lee's iconic costuming was auctioned together with a letter signed by the actor confirming the authenticity of the item, as well as a still image of him wearing the cape as Dracula.

Tim Angel, chairman of Angels The Costumiers, told the BBC that the company was selling part of its archive because its warehouse was "approaching capacity" and that "the downside to creating costumes that become so famous and strongly associated with particular characters, actors or films is that they can never be used again in future, nor can they be hired out at our fancy dress shop."

Among the more than 600 items sold at auction were a Dr. Who costume worn by Jon Pertwee (£8,400), a multicolored striped cape from the original version of The Prisoner (£1,860), one of Christian Bale's outfits from The Prestige (£1,080) and Chris Sarandon's tunic from The Princess Bride (£480). For a listing of all auctioned items and the prices realized, check out the Bonhams online catalogue.

The auction took place one week after Christopher Lee was knighted in the Queen's Birthday Honours list.