Profiles in History

September 18, 2014 By Jason DeBord

Profiles in History ‘Hollywood Auction 65′ TV & Movie Prop Catalog Available Online for Sale Event October 17-20

Profiles in History’s latest auction catalog, “Hollywood Auction 65”, is now available in print as well as online, via their official site. This sale is scheduled for October 17th-20th at their Calabasas Hills facility. While with their last big Hollywood Auction sale they seemed to change course on their reserves/estimates strategy on much of the catalog, and steered away from the hopeful jackpot estimates that have plagued their sales more and more in the past few years, that old philosophy is still somewhat present with this sale (see Gilligan’s Island costume with a $30,000-$50,000 estimate), though on balance, things seem to be more reasonable than not, relatively speaking. But they continue to lead the industry with phonebook-sized catalogs, this one weighing in at 630 pages, with a mix of new material and material that has been up for auction in past sales (some many times). [Read more…]

July 24, 2014 By Jason DeBord

San Diego Comic-Con 2014: Profiles in History Exhibitor Booth (#SDCC)

This is part of my ongoing coverage of San Diego Comic-Con 2014. As per tradition, Hollywood memorabilia auction house Profiles in History are exhibiting at their usual space, Booth #1605. I’ve been attending Comic-Con since 1987, and have been covering it on the Original Prop Blog since 2008, and if I’m honest, I would say this is their most disappointing showing to date. The entire back wall are costumes for the Expendables franchise (which, if you haven’t seen the film(s), isn’t too exciting). With what little space is left, there is not too much to impress… and I think that this is maybe the second or third year running where the big promo is a signing from Sean Astin. [Read more…]

April 24, 2014 By Jason DeBord

Profiles in History ‘Debbie Reynolds – The Auction Finale′ Catalog Available Online for Sale Event May 17-18

Profiles in History will be holding the third and last auction of Debbie Reynolds consigned material as part of their “Debbie Reynolds – The Auction Finale” sale running May 17th and 18th. Today they made the catalog available to order (hardcopy) as well as online in PDF and flipbook format via their official site. This sale is scheduled to be held at the Debbie Reynolds Dance Studio in North Hollywood. This auction features 897 lots including promotional material, classic Hollywood wardrobe, props, set pieces, production material, vintage motion picture cameras, and other important film artifacts.

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March 25, 2014 By Jason DeBord

Profiles in History Gobbles Up “Hollywood Parts”, Refashions as “Hollywood P.R.I.M.E.”, and Takes Aim at Premiere Props?

Mike Filonczuk today announced the closure of his business, Hollywood Parts, and his new venture with industry heavyweight Profiles History: Hollywood P.R.I.M.E. (Production Resources International Management for Entertainment). While details are sparse and the former company’s website is now gone, based on their own description, it looks like the event auction house is looking to move into territory and business models more akin to competitors like VIP Fan Auctions and Premiere Props (while Premiere Props has become more Profiles in History-like with their off-eBay event auctions with consignor material in recent years). It will be interesting to see how it all plays out over the coming years, assuming Hollywood P.R.I.M.E. has more longevity than other efforts to branch out by both auction houses (such as the Hollywood Treasure cable television series, authentication efforts launched by Profiles years ago with the Dracula poster debacle, and Premiere Props and their own Movie Props DNA quietly launched and quickly abandoned last year). [Read more…]

December 2, 2013 By Jason DeBord

Gallerist Feature Tackles Auction House (Hidden) Reserves and Transparency – Heritage Auctions Leading in This Regard with Publicly Disclosed Reserves

Daniel Grant, writing for Gallerist, published an interesting article a few days ago about auction houses, reserves, and transparency (see “How Low Can You Go?: Should Auction Reserve Prices Be More Transparent?”). In his feature, he talks about how in nearly all cases, auction houses do not openly disclose the reserve (the lowest amount for which an item will sell at auction), and provides a variety of differing perspectives on how this practice impacts their respective markets and its participants. Of the auction houses specifically discussed in the article, only one – Heritage Auction – makes it known to the public what the reserve price is for every item that they offer for sale. [Read more…]

November 26, 2013 By Jason DeBord

Profiles in History ‘Hollywood Auction 62′ TV & Movie Prop Catalog Available Online for Sale Event December 21st

Profiles in History’s Winter auction catalog, “Hollywood Auction 62”, is now available in print as well as online, via their official site. This sale is scheduled for December 21st at their Calabasas Hills facility. Kudos to Profiles, as it seems that they generally have changed their reserves/estimates strategy on much of the catalog, and steered away from the hopeful jackpot estimates that have plagued their sales more and more in the past year or two. It is another massive catalog, and though a good portion of it is familiar, there are some really interesting pieces in the Western Costume and Sound of Music sections in particular. [Read more…]

October 17, 2013 By Jason DeBord

Revisiting TV Prop Studio Sanctioned Auctions: Descriptions, Research, Production Made, Multiples, Back-Ups, “Use” on Screen (ScreenBid/Breaking Bad, Profiles in History/LOST, Christie’s/Star Trek)

An issue that seems to come up with every official studio auction of original props and costumes from popular television shows is that of buyers feeling mislead by descriptions of auction houses, particularly use. We saw this with Christie’s and their official “40 years of Star Trek” auction, with Profiles in History and their sale of material from ABC’s LOST, and based on a reader comment today on my article about newcomer ScreenBid and their Breaking Bad auction, it would seem that the same issue is in play with this latest sale as well. Since people likely don’t check my articles for comments after reading it, I thought it might be worthwhile and productive to highlight that comment and my response in a new article, as it is an issue that seems to occur with each of these official studio sales, particularly because it brings in participants who have not participated in such sales before, and perhaps have not purchased or collected original props, costumes, and other artifacts from film and television. [Read more…]

August 11, 2013 By Jason DeBord

Profiles in History ‘Hollywood Auction 56′ Post Auction Reaction – Correction on Lot 563: Steve McQueen’s “Frank Bullitt” Sports Jacket (Passed/Unsold at $600,000?)

A few have written me questioning my article published this week on the second highest results reported on in my review of the most recent auction events by Profiles in History, namely one of the most promoted items in their Hollywood Auction 56 sale event: “Lot 563: Steve McQueen’s signature screen-used “Frank Bullitt” hero tweed sports jacket worn in Bullitt”. This lot is still today reported by their online bidding partner, ArtFact, as having sold for a hammer price of $600,000, which was the low estimate. However, on the official “Prices Realized Detail” published by Profiles in History on their website, Lot 563 is omitted (indicating a passed lot/no sale). Like myself, much of the mainstream media picked up on the result of sold at a hammer price of $600,000 – not passed/unsold – thus I felt a short, stand alone update was warranted, rather than just a correction within my original article (which was also made today), which would go unnoticed to those who read the feature believing that this lot was the second highest hammer result over the two-day “Hollywood Auction 56” auction event. [Read more…]

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