Autographs of David Lean
Sir David Lean (25 March 1908 – 16 April 1991) was an English filmmaker and editor, widely considered one of the most important figures of British cinema. He directed the large-scale epics The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Doctor Zhivago (1965), Ryan's Daughter (1970), and A Passage to India (1984). He also directed the film adaptations of Charles Dickens novels Great Expectations (1946) and Oliver Twist (1948), as well as the romantic drama Brief Encounter (1945).
Originally a film editor in the early 1930s, Lean made his directorial debut with 1942's In Which We Serve, which was the first of four collaborations with Noël Coward. Lean began to make internationally co-produced films financed by the big Hollywood studios, beginning with Summertime in 1955. The critical failure of his film Ryan's Daughter in 1970 led him to take a fourteen-year break from filmmaking, during which he planned a number of film projects which never came to fruition. In 1984, he had a career revival with A Passage to India, adapted from E. M. Forster's novel. This was a hit with critics, but it proved to be the last film that Lean directed.
Lean is described by film critic Michael Sragow as "a director's director, whose total mastery of filmcraft commands nothing less than awe among his peers". He has been lauded by directors such as Steven Spielberg, Stanley Kubrick, Martin Scorsese, and Ridley Scott. He was voted 9th greatest film director of all time in the British Film Institute Sight & Sound "Directors' Top Directors" poll in 2002. He was nominated seven times for the Academy Award for Best Director, which he won twice for The Bridge on the River Kwai and Lawrence of Arabia, and he has seven films in the British Film Institute's Top 100 British Films (three of which are in the top five) and was awarded the AFI Life Achievement Award in 1990.
More about David Lean Wikipedia
Affiliate disclosure: When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Traded items with a signature of David Lean
The most expensive item with a signature of David Lean (1954-55 Author H. E. Bates 4 hand-written signed letters re: director David Lean) was sold in July 2021 for £400.00 while the cheapest item (SIR DAVID LEAN Signed Photograph - Film Maker) found a new owner for £1.99 in October 2012. The month with the most items sold (2) was August 2014 with an average selling price of £60.00 for an autographed item of David Lean. Sold items reached their highest average selling price in April 2026 with £277.26 and the month that saw the lowest prices with £1.99 was October 2012. In average, an autographed item from David Lean is worth £67.00.
Most recently, these items with a signature of David Lean were sold on eBay - click here for more items.
| Picture | Item Title | Price | Store |
![]() | 3 Signed Letters from Director/Producer David Lean, 1947 | £114.00 | ![]() |
![]() | ANN TODD in David Lean's THE SOUND BARRIER (1952) Hand-signed 10” x 8” portrait | £76.00 | ![]() |
![]() | David Lean and Ann Todd Signed BBC 26-7-52 Lawrence of Arabia - Brief Encounter | £274.52 | ![]() |
![]() | DAVID LEAN filming GREAT EXPECTATIONS (1946) Hand-signed 10” x 7.85” w. Mills | £127.00 | ![]() |
![]() | DAVID LEAN Genuine Autographed Display 10 x 8. COA | £65.00 | ![]() |
![]() | DAVID LEAN on set A PASSAGE TO INDIA (1984) Hand-signed 7.5” x 10” portrait | £218.00 | ![]() |
![]() | DAVID LEAN SIGNED 10X8 PHOTO, GREAT DIRECTORIAL IMAGE, LOOKS AWESOME FRAMED | £6.34 | ![]() |
![]() | David Lean vintage signed and mounted autograph with rare original press photo | £277.26 | ![]() |
![]() | DAVID LEAN, River Kwai, Lawrence Arabia original signed autograph photo display | £100.00 | ![]() |
![]() | Film director DAVID LEAN hand-signed autograph on vintage business card | £104.00 | ![]() |
![]() | original fim photo Oliver Twist signed by David Lean on reverse | £10.55 | ![]() |
![]() | SFTA Awards Signed Programme By David Lean Plus Lots Of Stars PLEASE SEE PICTURE | £25.50 | ![]() |
![]() | SIR DAVID LEAN ORIGINAL SIGNED PHOTOGRAPH. LAWRENCE OF ARABIA | £155.00 | ![]() |
![]() | Sir David Lean vintage signed page AFTAL#145 | £69.99 | ![]() |
![]() | SIR DAVID LEAN,ACADEMY AWARD WINNING DIRECTOR,SIGNED 1954 XMAS CARD | £36.09 | ![]() |





