I’ve been in communications with Marcia Tysseling, founder of Star Wares Collectibles, and Kevin Martin of Piece of the Past, Inc. about Mr. Martin’s majority acquisition of Star Wares, Ms. Tysseling’s role, and the future of the company. I have received a few questions and heard various rumors recently, so I thought I would seek clarification to share with hobbyists in this report. [Read more…]
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.
I will open this feature with a disclosure – the original “Frank” the bunny mask original prop from Donnie Darko featured in the Profiles in History auction next week was consigned from my personal collection. I knew it was going to be on display at Comic-Con, but I never imagined it would lead to my meeting the actor who actually wore the mask in the film as “Frank”, Mr. James “Jimmy” Duval. [Read more…]
Duke’s Auctioneers sold a collection of letters from James Bond author-creator Ian Fleming in their “Important Paintings and Furniture” live auction event yesterday. The event, running April 10-11, 2008 also includes “original works by George Stubbs, Pablo Picasso, Alfred Munnings; signed prints by Matisse and Andy Warhol, and other watercolours, sketches and oils spanning the 18th to 20th centuries”. [Read more…]
I thought it might be interesting for readers to reflect back on governmental efforts in the U.S. circa 2000 to address the issue of counterfeit sports and entertainment memorabilia, which was part of a three-year investigation.
While this investigation was predominantly focused on sports memorabilia and autographs, there are some obvious parallels with the hobby of collecting original props and wardrobe, particularly the employment of certificates of authenticity and consumers’ reliance on these documents.
What follows is a press release from the United States Department of Justice (see usdoj.gov website): [Read more…]
Article Summary: A discussion and analysis of various seller tactics I’ve witnessed over the years, and my names for them and reactions. These are all potentially problematic marketing techniques that should not be dismissed by the discerning original prop collector. [Read more…]