By Jason DeBord
There is a news story in the New York Post about a collector who bid on and won items at the Christie’s “40 Years of Star Trek: The Collection” event in New York held in October 2006.
This was one of the biggest live auction events in the history of the hobby, with extensive press coverage. [Read more…]
By Jason DeBord
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…]
By Jason DeBord
While this news story from the Associated Press (LINK) does not directly involve original props or original prop collecting, it is of interest and the dynamics in play could have implications for the hobby, as related to market value appraisals, specialist authorities, brokering, and fraud. I plan to follow this story to report on the proceedings and outcome. [Read more…]
By Jason DeBord
There was an interesting story put out by the Associated Press yesterday in which a man sued an eBay seller to force him to perform, after backing out following the end of the auction. Obviously of interest to me, given my ongoing issue with Premiere Props (see article “Premiere Props, Hollywood Roadshow, Auction Outcome Manipulation” and updates). [Read more…]