Movie Prop Collecting with Jason DeBord's Original Prop Blog Film & TV Prop, Costume, Hollywood Memorablia Pop Culture Resource

Archives for December 2007

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eBay Auction: Greatest American Hero Costume

An eBay listing is scheduled to end tomorrow – “William Katt Greatest American Hero original costume” (eBay Item #220184242364) – which has raised concerns as to authenticity.

Because an original suit was copied many years ago, with replica suits introduced into the marketplace as real, it has made authentication of these suits highly problematic. [Read more…]

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Christies Film & Entertainment Memorabilia Auction – South Kensington, December 19, 2007 – Auction Results

The results are in for today’s Film & Entertainment Memorabilia Auction held by Christies at South Kensington.

While not many original props and wardrobe pieces were offered, there appear to be very few standouts from the sale, in terms of prices realized, and many lots appear to have gone unsold. The Pierce Brosnan Goldeneye suit realized an astounding price – over $38,000 U.S., as did the C3-P0 hand, at over $43,000 U.S. Both values on these items are very high for props of their type, and may reflect the somewhat lackluster grouping of pieces offered that would be of interest to hobbyists that collect props and costumes from more modern sci-fi and action films. Plus, coming less than a week after the much larger Profiles in History auction in the U.S. was probably to the detriment of Christies. [Read more…]

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Art Institute of Chicago & Sculpture Forgery

Though not a story about an original prop from film or television, recent reporting about a sculpture identified as fraud by the Art Institute of Chicago is most definitely a story of interest for fellow hobbyists.

As reported by the Chicago Tribune (below), “The Faun” ceramic sculpture has been on display at the Art Institute of Chicago for the last ten years, believed to be an original 19th Century work of Paul Gauguin. This past week, the museum announced the work is a forgery. The museum bought the piece in 1997 from a dealer in London, who, in turn, purchased the piece from Sotheby’s in 1994.

A family (father, mother, son) named Greenhalgh are believed to have run a very advanced forgery operation for the last 17 years, and were the consignors to Sotheby’s. The son, Shaun, has already been sentenced to over four years in prison following his confession.

I believe stories such as this (as well as the recent “Fraud Trial Features Famous Firearms“) have direct correlations with our own hobby, in which fraud (not to mention theft) is prevalent with much less oversight. Also of interest, in this article, is the reference to Sotheby’s indemnification clause: [Read more…]

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The Last Samurai? UK to Ban “Imitation” Swords…

According to recent news reports, there is a plan to outlaw replica and imitation Samurai swords in England beginning April 2008. Under this plan, those in violation of this proposed law will face stiff fines and up to six months in jail. It appears that exemptions will include genuine Japanese swords owned by collectors and enthusiasts.

This is an interesting development, following the October 1, 2007 implementation of new laws in the UK restricting the manufacture, import, and sale of imitation firearms under the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 (see “Research & Dialogue About Importing Firearms to the UK“).

Obviously, this trend of banning replica/imitation firearms and now certain bladed weapons does have an impact on the collection of original props for hobbyists in the UK. [Read more…]

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Bloomberg “Arnold-Centric” Story on Profiles in History

Bloomberg published a story yesterday covering today and tomorrow’s Profiles in History Hollywood Auction 30 with a short interview with Joe Maddalena. It is interested to see ways in which the mainstream press cover the original prop hobby, such as framing the story around and seeking a reaction from Mr. Schwarzenegger on the offering of props from the Terminator films.

The full story can be read at Bloomberg.com: [Read more…]