The Original Prop Blog will be providing its usual covering of things related to the original movie and television prop and costume art market for the sixth year in a row at the upcoming Comic Con International: San Diego for 2013 in a few short weeks. As per usual, Prop Store will be there with a mix of for sale and “Prop Store Collection” material on exhibit, and this year they have produced a video and published a press release as a preview of what to expect. [Read more…]
As reported a few weeks ago (see “Premiere Props Now In Business Of Selling “Authenticated” Forgery, Along With Premiere Props COA? (Star Trek Mark English Communicator)“), the entertainment memorabilia dealer tried to make lemons out of lemonade after being informed by third party observers that one of the pieces listed for public auction in their latest sale was a forgery. They changed the title and description for the lot in question, recasting the offering as an authenticated fake prop. I have just gotten around to looking up the results of the June 15th sale, and found that the item is marked “WAS NOT SOLD” (though there was a bid of $200 – the start price). I had characterized the sale as “a first in this art market – the open and notorious public sale offering of “authenticated” fake props, along with a COA certifying it… fake?” Well, the hobby has apparently spoken… I guess? [Read more…]
ScreenUsed will be concluding their next live online auction on July 6th. The auction catalog is now available online via a PDF download via their official website and collectors can bid on iCollector. Featuring an assortment of original props, costumes, and other production material from film and television, this sale boasts 190 Star Trek items out of the 468 lots. In the spirit of the style of auction that they have created, this sale will have the benefit of lower starting prices and reserves than many competing auctions. [Read more…]
“Crew members and independent collectors have verified the authenticity of this item as a Mark English Forgery. Comes with a COA from Premiere Props”. Wow. I guess this is a new direction of this art market, filed under Sell At Any Cost: The Authenticated Fake Prop? As noted in my wordy titled preview of Premiere Props upcoming regularly scheduled auction (see “Premiere Props ‘Hollywood Auction Extravaganza X’ Catalog Online, Television & Movie Prop and Costume Sale Event June 15 (Plus An OPB Editorial Plea For Authentication)“, their authentication and lot descriptions, in my personal opinion, left a lot to be desired. I have no idea if anyone at Premiere Props reads the Original Prop Blog, but if “authenticating” a fake prop as fake and still offering it for sale is what they thought I had in mind with my public “plea for authentication”, they could not have been more wrong. There is zero benefit to selling forgeries back into the marketplace, in my opinion, and the idea of including a COA “authenticating” a fake as a fake makes my head spin. If the fake fooled Premiere Props, is it responsible for them to continue to facilitate the sale of a piece that is widely regarded as problematic for those of us who make efforts to keep such pieces out of the marketplace? How about someone takes a hammer to it instead? [Read more…]
Nate D. Sanders will be concluding their next online auction on June 27th and the catalog for this event is available on their official site. Over 500 of more than 1,400 lots is material under the banner of “Hollywood”. The auction dealer had a landmark sale with memorabilia from the television program, Captain Kangaroo, last month, selling a “Dancing Bear Costume” for over $200,000 with buyer premium. This sale includes a lot of material previously owned by Milton Berle and a variety of Hollywood and historical memorabilia, including props, costumes, set pieces, awards, and other material. [Read more…]
Below is the latest updated list of upcoming original movie and television prop, wardrobe, and memorabilia auction events. Please contact me if you are aware of any coming events of interest to collectors.
Please also note that I update changes/additions to the calendar until the next update, in order to maintain as up to date as possible. [Read more…]
Lots for Premiere Props’ sale in mid-June have been listed online with online bidding partner iCollector, as part of their “Hollywood Extravaganza X”. The one-day auction is scheduled for June 15th. As with past auctions, the sale includes general memorabilia, though, as with their last sale, there is more interesting material with this event than they’ve had in some time, although much of it does not include any substantive information (or even vague information) about history and provenance in the lot descriptions (though to their credit, some do). Premiere Props is such a frustrating company, on so many levels, but some of their auction descriptions (if you can even call them that) are beyond unacceptable. I can’t imagine someone wanting a piece so badly as to take such a massive leap of faith in bidding on something in which no information whatsoever is provided about *why* it is authentic. [Read more…]
As per tradition at the close of each season, original props and artifacts from the long running reality television series, Survivor, are being offered at auction on eBay by Auction Cause, with proceeds benefiting charitable organizations. The auction began with last night’s conclusion of this season – Caramoan: Fans vs Favorites – which revealed John Cochran to be the winner of the $1 million dollar prize. The auctions run through May 22nd and 100% of the proceeds will be split evenly between The Alliance for Children’s Rights and Survivor Stand Up To Cancer.