Movie Prop Collecting with Jason DeBord's Original Prop Blog Film & TV Prop, Costume, Hollywood Memorablia Pop Culture Resource

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YouTube Update – “Darth Vader Lightsaber Prop from ‘Return of the Jedi'” from 2010 Auction

This is part of my new, ongoing series of YouTube videos, with this one serving as a direct update to an article published here on the Original Prop Blog back in May of 2010.  At that time, there were questions about a prop lightsaber up for auction attributed to the character of Darth Vader in the film, Return of the Jedi.  Some of these questions were raised in my article published on May 31, 2010 (Profiles in History ‘Hollywood Auction 40′ Video Preview: Darth Vader Lightsaber Prop from ‘Return of the Jedi’).  Don Bies, former curator of the Lucasfilm Archives, has provided some information relevant to those outstanding questions, which is shared in this latest YouTube video. [Read more…]

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San Diego Comic-Con 2018: Profiles in History Movie Props and Costumes Exhibit Showcases Future Auction Highlights

This is part of my ongoing coverage of San Diego Comic-Con 2018. Profiles in History has been exhibiting at Comic-Con for many, many years, and on exhibit were movie props for the most part, from an as yet to be announced live auction.  The pieces ticked the boxes of many of their favorite franchises – Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Back to the Future, Terminator, X-Men, Wizard of Oz, etc. [Read more…]

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Profiles in History’s “Love, Liza: The Auction” Liza Minnelli Sale Catalog Available

Announced some time ago, Profiles in History have finally set a date for their Liza Minnelli sale; “Love, Liza: The Auction” will feature over 1,700 lots and take place on July 30th & 31st and August 1st.  The online catalog is now available and the print version is being offered for sale for $100. [Read more…]

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Editorial: Profiles in History’s Four Day “Icons & Legends of Hollywood” (Planet Hollywood) Auction Review

The massive Profiles in History “Icons & Legends of Hollywood” four day auction concluded on Friday, and it certainly illustrates some different results when compared to past sales held by the entertainment memorabilia auction house.  With over 2,000 lots, it was a tremendous amount of material for the market to absorb all at once, and I suspect that this was reflected in the results.  Though the official results have not yet been published on the official Profiles website as of the time of this writing, in going through the results published by internet bidding partner iCollector (and under the assumption that these results also reflect floor and phone bids), it would appear that approximately 45% of the lots were passed over with no bids.  I counted approximately 922 unsold lots, and adding up the total it appears that in the final sale that there were 2,050 lots (with 39 lots pulled prior to auction?)…  But the other compounding factor is how many lots were sold for far less than one might expect based on past sales.  Items that would ordinarily pull in $5,000+ were going for under $2,000 and sometimes even under $1,000.  With so much to choose from, it may have become a buyer’s market and it seemed as though some collectors were looking for deals – and finding them. [Read more…]

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Hollywood Reporter Feature: “A Marvel Heist and the Booming Business (and Seedy Underworld) of Movie Collectibles”

Writer Gary Baum has written an interesting primer on the art market for original production material from film and television for Hollywood Reporter, which was published today.  It takes a look at the market from several viewpoints – the increasing market and values, theft and fraud, some of the motivations behind collecting – and he interviewed principals in the industry such as Max Anderson of the Stan Lee Museum, Steve Sansweet of Rancho Obi-Wan, Darren Julien of Julien’s Auctions, James Comisar of the Comisar Collection, Joe Maddalena of Profiles in History, collector David Mandel, Jeff Pirtle of NBCUniversal, Brandon Alinger of Prop Store, Catherin Williamson of Bonhams, Laura Woolley of The Collector’s Lab, Jacob McMurray of Seattle’s Museum of Pop Culture, Margaret Barrett of Heritage Auctions as well as law enforcement, and it also gives some history of the hobby (and business) of buying and selling high end memorabilia. [Read more…]

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Profiles in History “Icons & Legends of Hollywood” Auction Featuring Planet Hollywood Being Held June 5th – June 8th

Profiles in History have announced their latest “Icons & Legends of Hollywood” auction” event, with a 500 page auction catalog featuring 2,089 lots. Participants can bid online at iCollector. The massive five-day auction will be held June 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th.  Though the words “Planet Hollywood” do not appear in the catalog, many of the pieces included in the sale have been identified as from Planet Hollywood. [Read more…]

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Auction Buyer Files Lawsuit Against Profiles in History Over Tony Soprano Costume from Final Episode of “The Sopranos”

A customer of Profiles in History, Dwight Manley, has this week filed a lawsuit against the auction house in Los Angeles Superior Court.  Manley is suing over a costume worn by James Gandolfini in the final episode of The Sopranos, and has also named The Golden Closet as a Defendant as the company was the consignor of the item in question.  His complaint alleges fraud, negligent misrepresentation, and breach of express warranty.  [Read more…]

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Jackpot! Profiles in History Three Day Auction Pulls in Prices from a Galaxy Far, Far Away…

With Profiles in History doing fewer and fewer (and bigger and bigger) Hollywood auctions – relative to past years – it was a big question within the market as to how well this massive three-day sale would do.  With nearly 2,000 lots, some with estimates exceeding $1M, it was a tremendous amount of high end material for this market to absorb over the course of a few days.  While there were “hits” and “misses”, as there are with every big auction by the leading auction houses, there was a fair share of “home runs” that auctioneers dream of and that can leave some collectors with their jaws on the floor… [Read more…]