Profiles in History

October 2, 2015 By Jason DeBord

Return of the “Prototype” (“Ridgeback”?) Stormtrooper Helmet at Profiles in History Auction

I’ve been tracking the public auction of prop helmets characterized as “prototype” stormtrooper helmets made for Star Wars: A New Hope for many years now, going back to 2008 wherein I first published an analysis of these helmets floating around the marketplace at the time, as well as some context with regards to their maker, Andrew Ainsworth. In the same article, I published archives of some of the past offerings of these helmets at public auction, including one from Profiles in History in their “Hollywood Auction 21” a decade ago (which passed as unsold at the time). I thought maybe we’d seen the last of these following a lot of public controversy, when finally last year both Christie’s and Nate D. Sanders put them up for sale and then withdrew them from auction, but with the latest Profiles in History “Hollywood Auction 74”, we have yet another one, only now they’ve done away with the “prototype” moniker and call it a “ridgeback”. In any event, the piece went unsold at this week’s auction, so maybe the collecting market is still not buying it? [Read more…]

August 30, 2015 By Jason DeBord

Profiles in History “Hollywood Auction 74” to be Held September 29th – October 1st; Catalog Available Now

Profiles in History have published their new catalog for their “Hollywood Auction 74”. The three day auction features over 1,900 lots of mostly film and television related memorabilia, and a small mix of rock and roll lots. In the past, Profiles had as many of three such sales per year, but have evolved to having one massive annual sale. Participants can bid online at Invaluable.com. [Read more…]

August 30, 2015 By Jason DeBord

Profiles in History Celebrates “Glee” with The Official Show Auction on September 17th & 18th; Return of eBay Live Auctions

Profiles in History is bringing a massive collection of original production material from the popular musical television series Glee to auction, with the online only event being held on September 17th and 18th. The sale features a massive 1,502 lots, and the sale will span two days. An official auction, each lot will include a COA signed by a 20th Century Fox executive. [Read more…]

July 11, 2015 By Jason DeBord

San Diego Comic-Con 2015: Profiles in History & McCune Masterworks Exhibit of Movie Props and Models (#SDCC)

“Cocksucker”… “Motherfucker”… “Asshole”… Just a few of the expletives shouted at me by Joe Maddalena, President of Profiles in History, on the floor of the main exhibit hall at Comic Con yesterday. I was in the midst of a friendly conversation with Brian Chanes and his 9 year old son, with my own 14 year old nephew standing behind me when Mr. Maddalena approached me and interrupted us, attacking me with “R-Rated” language in front of a crowd of onlookers. As registered press with Comic Con International, I had additionally been personally invited via e-mail by Profiles in History’s own public relations agent to do my annual report on their exhibit this year – “[w]e would appreciate your coverage” – so I have no idea what prompted the very public barrage of insults and being told “get out!” and “leave!”. He even shouted “you can quote me on that!” following some of the expletives. Regardless, their overall exhibit is probably the best it has ever looked, with fewer items, some nicely showcased in well-lit closed displays and larger ones in open air, with room to walk about and explore the collection of material associated with McCune Masterworks, who are co-branded with this year’s exhibition. The key piece on display was the fantastic screen-used Blockade Runner from the original Star Wars film, Episode IV: A New Hope. [Read more…]

November 7, 2014 By Jason DeBord

Profiles in History’s “Easy Rider” Movie Prop Captain America Motorcycle at Auction: Sold for $1.35 Million… or Not Sold?

There was a tremendous amount of pre-auction mainstream media coverage about the motorcycle put on the auction block by Profiles in History last month, a lot of it generated from an AP story picked up by many news outlets that was titled “‘Easy Rider’ chopper at auction might be phony” (as of this time, that keyword search is resulting in 22,500 hits on Google). The day of the auction, and for a few days following, the most used headline was a variation on proclamations that it sold for $1.35 million. But, as a matter of public record, did it really sell? And if not, why has no media outlet (to my knowledge) reported on the sale falling through? [Read more…]

October 23, 2014 By Jason DeBord

Review of First Prop Store Live Auction and Profiles in History’s Hollywood Auction 65, 67, 68, The Expendables

The past week has been a significant one for the original television and movie prop, wardrobe, and asset art market, with two of the biggest dealers in the business having their own live auction events. This marked the first big live auction for Prop Store, which held it’s “Auction of Film & Television Artefacts” on the 16th, and Profiles in History had a multi-day event for their “Hollywood Auction 65” and their Expendables Auction (“Hollywood Auction 67 & 68” – yes, the naming/numbering is confusing… see prior article). With over 2,600 lots offered for sale collectively, it provides an opportunity for some analysis of each sale on its own merits as well as comparing and contrasting the different companies and their approach with the marketplace. [Read more…]

October 23, 2014 By Jason DeBord

Trying to Make Sense of Profiles in History’s “Hollywood Auction” Event Naming/Numbering Conventions

Maybe most don’t pay enough attention to notice or care, but I’ve had an increasingly challenging time trying to make sense of the numbering convention employed by Profiles in History in naming their auction events. It reminds me a little bit of Microsoft and how they name their gaming consoles (Xbox to Xbox 360 to Xbox One) or even their PC operating systems (Windows 95 to 98 to ME to 2000 to XP to Vista to 7 to 8 to 10)…. In the early days, it was pretty straight forward with Profiles, with their “Collector’s Ransom” (and later, “Hollywood Auction”) events going from 1 to 2 to 3, etc. At some point, they started folding in non-Hollywood auctions (Animation, Historical Documents, Rare Books and Manuscripts) and special one off events into the same numbering sequence… In any event, I’ve taken the time to try to make sense of it for my own records, and I thought I would share the results below in the event it would be helpful to others, or for others to suggest corrections… [Read more…]

September 25, 2014 By Jason DeBord

Profiles in History ‘The Expendables Auction” (+ More “Hollywood Auction 65”) Movie Prop Catalog Available Online for Sale Event October 20

Profiles in History’s catalog for “The Expendables Auction”, which follows their “Hollywood Auction 65”, is now available in print as well as online, via their official site. This sale is scheduled for 20th at their Calabasas Hills facility. Interestingly, though it is “The Expendables Auction”, lots 1 – 165 are from Expendables 3, and 166 -252 are from other films. The Catalog then transitions back into “Hollywood Auction 68”, with lots 253 – 440 from the Narnia franchise… so 37% of “The Expendables Auction” is material related to The Expendables, though the name of the auction and cover of the catalog would lead one to believe it is entirely dedicated to The Expendables. [Read more…]

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