Heritage Auction Galleries has published on their latest online catalog and listings for their upcoming event, “Entertainment & Music Memorabilia Signature Auction – Beverly Hills #7159”, to be held February 20th in Dallas, Texas. The sale features 601 lots of music and rock and roll items and vintage/classic Hollywood stars and personally owned items/estate items. [Read more…]
Following Mark Hamill‘s “hands on” approach to combating autograph fraud last month (see Revenge of the Jedi: Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) Uses Twitter To Strike Down Memorabilia Fraud), the actor has now teamed up with California Assemblywoman Ling Ling Chang (R-Diamond Bar), who had already begun work on AB 1570, which would require certificates of authenticity (COAs) for autographed memorabilia sold in California and/or to Californians. I’m particularly interested in these developments as I’ve been writing about the mechanics about COAs and issues regarding guarantees and warranties as well, and of course the rampant fraud in the marketplace as a result of criminals using worthless COAs as a tool to sell fraudulent memorabilia. [Read more…]
Below is the latest updated calendar for 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…]
As per tradition, (see 2007 Year in Review, 2008 Year in Review, 2009 Year in Review, 2010 Year in Review, 2011 Year in Review, 2012 Year in Review, 2013 Year in Review, 2014 Year in Review), what follows is an editorial featuring my personal observations and opinions with regards to the business of buying, collecting, selling, and preserving original pop culture artifacts. A look back at interesting trends, developments, and news stories from 2015. As is always the case, this is a completely subjective exercise, and merely touches on the developments and events that relate to the hobby. [Read more…]
Following a wave of interest in Star Wars memorabilia with the release of the new film, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Mark Hamill has started using Twitter as an authentication tool in an effort to help prevent fans from being defrauded in purchasing autographed memorabilia. I don’t recall an actor ever taking such a “hands on” approach to helping fans with authentication in such a manner, so it is a pretty interesting development. [Read more…]
I didn’t plan on seeing Star Wars: The Force Awakens on opening day, let alone write a review about it afterwards, so this is a bit off topic. I couldn’t find a critical review searching Google, so I wonder if I maybe saw an alternate cut of the film (some hailing it as the best or near best Star Wars film ever)? As readers of the Original Prop Blog know, I am a huge Star Wars fan, and seeing the original in 1977 at 4 years old was a life-changing event. Collectively, the first three films (Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi) are my favorite films of all-time. Didn’t care for much in the Prequels (loved the Maul lightsaber scenes the best). So how does the J.J. Abrams/Disney relaunch/update/merchandising empire measure up? It’s a mixed bag, honestly, and as the hours passed from seeing it unfold on screen (about 12 hours ago), it’s the negatives that stick with me most, though I mostly enjoyed it while it was happening, if that makes sense. I can’t say it’s a complete disappointment, since I went into it with low expectations; there are some excellent elements within the work (I’m also an Abrams fan). But overall, there are some serious flaws that leave me feeling a bit down on it, because they transcend this film and the characters work against the characters I have grown up to know and love to make them worse. I kept waiting for that rush of adrenaline to run down my spine, but it never came. Out of context from the original films, it’s a well-made, entertaining film. But context is everything. Search “disappoint” and #starwarstheforceawakens on Twitter, and “does not” or “doesn’t” always precedes “disappoint”, so maybe it is just me, or maybe people just went in willing it to be what they wanted. [Read more…]
Julien’s Auctions’ “Icons & Idols: Hollywood” will be held on December 16th at the Julien’s Auctions Beverly Hills showroom. A public exhibition will run December 14th to 16th. [Read more…]
Julien’s Auctions will be holding their “Property from the Collection of Dame Joan Collins” later this month. The one-day sale will be held on December 16th at the Julien’s Auctions Beverly Hills showroom, following a public exhibition December 14th to 16th. [Read more…]