The Heritage Auction Galleries website now offers the online catalog and listings for their upcoming event, “Signature Music & Entertainment Memorabilia Auction – Auction #696”, to be held October 4-6 in Dallas, Texas.
Sotheby’s Refuses to Return Consignment Following Ownership Dispute
There is an article at Maine Antique Digest about a dispute over a Thomas Jefferson letter consigned to the Sotheby’s auction house – the Attorney General of the state of New Jersey sent a letter to Sotheby’s prior to the auction event, claiming ownership of the document. [Read more…]
LiveAuctioneers Positioning To Take eBay Live Auctions Business
eBay announced earlier this year that they would be dropping their eBay Live Auctions business on December 31, 2008 (see eBay Live Auction Format Being Retired at End of 2008). The “Live Auction” format differs from eBay’s traditional business model of scheduled, “online-only” auctions, and typically (as it relates to original props, wardrobe, and memorabilia auctions from movies and television) provides collectors the ability to bid on items auctioned “live” over the Internet, in real time, in lieu of being present at the actual auction event with people bidding in person, with the auctioneer recognizing “floor” bids, telephone bids, absentee bids, and online bids. It appears that LiveAuctioneers.com is positioning itself to absorb this business and compete in the live online auction space. [Read more…]
Tools of Authentication: Categorizing & Classifying COAs
This is the first in a series of articles intended to discuss and build upon the tools of authentication: concepts, terminology, definitions, analysis, and more. While Certificates of Authenticity, or “COAs”, have been the topic of a number of previous articles, the scope of this feature is to define and categorize COAs by 1) their source and 2) their function. [Read more…]
eBay’s “stonark” (AKA “Corner Collectibles”)
UPDATE: A “Version 2.1” edition of this article has been published on 12/05/08, which includes the original article below with additional information. The new, updated version of this article is recommended:
eBay seller “stonark” (“Corner Collectibles”) was referenced in the “Classic” Film & Television Prop and Wardrobe eBay Sellers feature published in June. As noted, “stonark” is one of several companies on eBay that sell notable quantities of Hollywood-related memorabilia marketed as authentic. The “stonark” offerings are generally characterized as the personal property of Hollywood stars and notable famous figures from history. The purpose of this follow-up article is to research and examine some of the provenance attached to these pieces by “stonark” and to pose questions related to these documents and sources. [Read more…]
“Classic” Film & Television Prop and Wardrobe eBay Sellers
There are several companies on eBay that sell notable quantities of props and memorabilia attributed to use in classic and vintage film and television productions, as well as items characterized as personal property of Hollywood stars and notable famous figures from history. The purpose of this article is to identify these companies and include information about their public offerings. [Read more…]
Auction House Buyer’s Premiums: On The Rise
Christie’s and Sotheby’s made news recently with announcements about raising their Buyer’s Premiums (the amount the winning bidder pays on top of the hammer price of an item at auction).
Per AntiquesAndTheHearts.com, Sotheby’s made the first announcement, characterizing the changes as follows: [Read more…]
Condé Nast Portfolio – “Reality’s Bites”
There is an article on Condé Nast Portfolio written by Cathleen MacCarthy, “Reality’s Bites“, which discusses the “topping out” of baby boomer memorabilia and the rise of high end collectibles that are a draw for Generation X, including skateboarding, videogames, and ’90s rock.
The article cites many examples from different fields reflecting the birth of the market of pop culture rising from Beatles and Rolling Stones memorabilia in the early 80s, compared with interest today in Nirvana and Guns ‘N Roses. [Read more…]