“Crew members and independent collectors have verified the authenticity of this item as a Mark English Forgery. Comes with a COA from Premiere Props”. Wow. I guess this is a new direction of this art market, filed under Sell At Any Cost: The Authenticated Fake Prop? As noted in my wordy titled preview of Premiere Props upcoming regularly scheduled auction (see “Premiere Props ‘Hollywood Auction Extravaganza X’ Catalog Online, Television & Movie Prop and Costume Sale Event June 15 (Plus An OPB Editorial Plea For Authentication)“, their authentication and lot descriptions, in my personal opinion, left a lot to be desired. I have no idea if anyone at Premiere Props reads the Original Prop Blog, but if “authenticating” a fake prop as fake and still offering it for sale is what they thought I had in mind with my public “plea for authentication”, they could not have been more wrong. There is zero benefit to selling forgeries back into the marketplace, in my opinion, and the idea of including a COA “authenticating” a fake as a fake makes my head spin. If the fake fooled Premiere Props, is it responsible for them to continue to facilitate the sale of a piece that is widely regarded as problematic for those of us who make efforts to keep such pieces out of the marketplace? How about someone takes a hammer to it instead? [Read more…]
Archives for 2013
‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ Fertility Idols In The Marketplace Update 2013
With their latest “Entertainment Memorabilia” sale event in Knightsbridge on July 3rd, Bonhams is offering for public sale a second fertility idol attributed to use in Raiders of the Lost Ark with paperwork from industry veteran Kit West. Due to public interest in discussing iconic props from the Indiana Jones films, and confusion in the marketplace with regards to the provenance and authentication of such pieces, I thought it appropriate to update my ongoing series of articles on the topic with the new information and photos (see: Raiders of the Lost Ark Fertility Idols In The Marketplace). [Read more…]
Bonhams ‘Entertainment Memorabilia’ Auction to be Held in Knightsbridge, London on July 3rd, Catalog Available Online
Bonhams will be holding their next “Entertainment Memorabilia” (auction 20771) sale event in Knightsbridge on July 3rd. This sale includes a mix of film/television as well as music related memorabilia, with a total of 399 lots. [Read more…]
Nate D. Sanders ‘Fine Autographs & Memorabilia′ Auction Catalog Available for Online Sale Ending June 27th
Nate D. Sanders will be concluding their next online auction on June 27th and the catalog for this event is available on their official site. Over 500 of more than 1,400 lots is material under the banner of “Hollywood”. The auction dealer had a landmark sale with memorabilia from the television program, Captain Kangaroo, last month, selling a “Dancing Bear Costume” for over $200,000 with buyer premium. This sale includes a lot of material previously owned by Milton Berle and a variety of Hollywood and historical memorabilia, including props, costumes, set pieces, awards, and other material. [Read more…]
Original TV and Movie Prop & Costume, Hollywood Entertainment, & Pop Culture Memorabilia Live Auction Events Calendar
Below is the latest updated list of upcoming original movie and television prop, wardrobe, and memorabilia auction events. Please contact me if you are aware of any coming events of interest to collectors. Please also note that I update changes/additions to the calendar until the next update, in order to maintain as up to date as possible. [Read more…]
Photos from a Recent Visit to Prop Store’s London Offices
In a recent visit to Europe and England, I had the time to stop by Prop Store in London to chat with Stephen Lane and Tim Lawes about the hobby and what is new with their business. During my visit, I had a chance to take a few photos in and around their facilities to share with the readers of the Original Prop Blog. Thankfully, this time my visit wasn’t interrupted by snow storms… [Read more…]
Christie’s “Pop Culture” Live Auction June 26th in London, eCatalogue and PDF Catalog Online
Christie’s “Pop Culture” catalog is now available online in a downloadable PDF format as well as an online eCatalogue at Christies.com. The entertainment memorabilia sale includes 252 lots of film, television, and music-related material. [Read more…]
Premiere Props ‘Hollywood Auction Extravaganza X’ Catalog Online, Television & Movie Prop and Costume Sale Event June 15 (Plus An OPB Editorial Plea For Authentication)
Lots for Premiere Props’ sale in mid-June have been listed online with online bidding partner iCollector, as part of their “Hollywood Extravaganza X”. The one-day auction is scheduled for June 15th. As with past auctions, the sale includes general memorabilia, though, as with their last sale, there is more interesting material with this event than they’ve had in some time, although much of it does not include any substantive information (or even vague information) about history and provenance in the lot descriptions (though to their credit, some do). Premiere Props is such a frustrating company, on so many levels, but some of their auction descriptions (if you can even call them that) are beyond unacceptable. I can’t imagine someone wanting a piece so badly as to take such a massive leap of faith in bidding on something in which no information whatsoever is provided about *why* it is authentic. [Read more…]