Alien is a 1979 science fiction horror picture directed by Ridley Scott which follows the crew of the Nostromo spacecraft who encounter an aggressive extraterrestrial creature, starring Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, Veronica Cartwright, Ian Holm, John Hurt, Yaphet Kotto and Harry Dean Stanton the film was met with critical acclaim and was a triumph of design by Swiss surrealist H. R. Giger complemented by Academy Award winning visual effects sequences. Alien would become a highly regarded influential classic of the genre spawning a franchise which continues to the present day and includes James Cameron's 1986 sequel Aliens which saw Sigourney Weaver reprise her role as Ellen Ripley and return to the planet where her crew encountered the hostile alien creature this time accompanied by a unit of Colonial Marines, this would see Weaver receive a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress and cement her status as a major female action hero, it remains arguably one of the greatest sequels in the history of cinema.

The franchise continued in to the 1990s with David Fincher's Alien³ and Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Alien Resurrection before Ridley Scott returned to the helm to produce Prometheus, a prequel set thirty years before the events of the original Alien film, this was followed by the 2017 sequel Alien: Covenant while Alien vs. Predator (2004) and its sequel Requiem (2007) combined the continuities of the Alien and Predator franchises, in total these pictures have grossed over $1.5 billion at the box office and with further productions rumoured to be in development it seems likely that the franchise will live on for some years to come.

In celebration of the 40th anniversary of the original Alien film The Prop Gallery are pleased to present a selection of original artefacts from this enduring film series with material to be offered from every instalment of the franchise, these will be made available on the website for three consecutive days on Tuesday July 02, Wednesday July 03 and Thursday July 04 at 16:00 BST and will include a number of rare and desirable artefacts from this classic franchise.