There is an interesting video of an ABC News interview with LiveAuctioneers CEO Julian Ellison about this week’s Profiles in History auction events (see Hollywood Auction 33 & Hollywood Auction 34) – with absolutely no mention of Profiles in History whatsoever. [Read more…]
Forrest J. Ackerman passed today at age 92. One of the most influential people in science fiction and fantasy, Mr. Ackerman was well known as a writer, editor, publisher, literary agent, collector, and more. He died in his home in Los Angeles today of heart failure. [Read more…]
This will probably be the shortest editorial I’ve written, as it is an easy argument to make. My view is – and this is something I’ve personally stressed to friends and family for years – buying an “original” movie or television prop or costume as a gift is a well-intended but very bad idea. [Read more…]
There is an interesting article in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review by “retired business editor” and columnist Jack Markowitz – “Pop Culture Collectors Really Need to Take Stock” – which essentially denigrates the entire pursuit of collecting and preserving original movie and television props and costumes, as well as those who participate in the hobby. This is my first exposure to this journalist’s work, but his premise seems to be that if something is not a Rembrandt or otherwise predate the invention of automobiles, film, and television, it is of no value – though value and money seem to be the focus of his feature. [Read more…]
Mario Saricca, originally selling on eBay as “puttieface” (see eBay’s puttieface & Entertainment Movie Props), who later changed his eBay account name to “votehillary” (see …”votehillary” Update), only to have been removed from eBay less than two weeks ago (see eBay’s “puttieface”, “votehillary” No Longer a Registered User), appears to be trading under an alternate eBay account, “spadorcia”, which today was changed to “hoist73”. Also of note, the EntertainmentMovieProps.com web store has been down since March (as reported in the story Reader Comment: “The Bride’s Hero Sword from Kill Bill”, Entertainment Movie Props). [Read more…]
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…]
This work product is part of the ongoing series of articles about costumes in the marketplace attributed to use by Christopher Reeve in the Superman films of the 70s and 80s (see “Questions About Superman Costumes in the Marketplace: Authenticity, Sources, Quantity“).
What I have attempted to do is catalog the costumes offered for sale to the public by auction houses and by prop dealers on their commercial websites.
I have tried to capture as much of the key details of these offerings as possible to populate a matrix in an effort to share information with collectors about what has been offered for sale and the attributes of those costumes and costume parts. This also offers an opportunity to compare and contrast some of the characteristics of these costumes. Some also appear to have been sold and resold (based on matching wardrobe tags, for instance), as noted in the document.
Obviously, I am at the mercy of the quality and accuracy of the information used to market these pieces by auction houses, dealers, and their consignors, as applicable. In some cases, the information provided is vague and imprecise, so I would ask anyone using this document to please keep all of this in mind and to perform your own due diligence and verify all information to your own standards. I have not verified any of the information presented or claimed via the marketing and advertising of these pieces beyond what was noted in the applicable auction catalog and/or website. [Read more…]
This week a new auction service/event was announced by toy dealer Cloud City Collectibles: [Read more…]