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

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The 9th Annual Original Prop Blog “Year in Review” for 2015: News, Developments, and Trends in Collecting Original TV & Movie Props, Costumes and Pop Culture Memorabilia

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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…]

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NOTICE: Original Prop Blog Does Not/Will Not Supply Props to Dealers “jnsmcmahan”, “jsnent”, John Tarter, Billie Null, Mark Sullivan, L.A. Prop & Wardrobe, Hollywood Prop Supply, Studio West Prop, Ellis Props, et al

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I am in receipt of a phone call today from a gentleman from Missouri, calling me claiming that he was told by an eBay dealer that the “vintage Listerine bottle from The Waltons” that he purchased was sold by the Original Prop Blog to the eBay dealer.  A simple search brought up such a listing on eBay – VINTAGE LISTERINE BOTTLE FROM TV’S THE WALTONS+ – sold five days ago by eBay dealer jnsmcmahan.  Long time readers of the Original Prop Blog will know that I personally do not find “jnsmcmahan” to be a credible dealer of authentic Hollywood memorabilia.  None the less, this notice is being published to make it perfectly clear that I have not sold anything to and will never in the future conduct any business with those behind eBay accounts “jnsmcmahan”, “jsnent”, nor anyone directly or loosely associated with such dealers or material or type/kind of material, including John Tarter, Billie Null, Mark Sullivan, L.A. Prop & Wardrobe, Hollywood Prop Supply, Studio West Prop, Ellis Props, and others.  In fact, the Original Prop Blog does not supply props or costumes to anyone.   [Read more…]

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Comparing “jsnent” and “jnsmcmahan” Photos on eBay

In a prior article, “Classic” Film & Television Prop and Wardrobe eBay Sellers, I made note of a number of similarities between the items offered for sale on eBay by “jsnent” (confirmed to be John Tarter of L.A. Prop and Wardrobe) and “jnsmcmahan“.  This serves as a short update including a pictorial side-by-side comparison of photos from listings offered under each account. [Read more…]

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“Classic” Film & Television Prop and Wardrobe eBay Sellers

There are several companies on eBay that sell notable quantities of props and memorabilia attributed to use in classic and vintage film and television productions, as well as items characterized as personal property of Hollywood stars and notable famous figures from history. The purpose of this article is to identify these companies and include information about their public offerings. [Read more…]

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Superman Costume Matrix: Auction House/Dealer Website Public Offerings, Version 1.0

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…]

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Michael of JudyGarland.com and His Thoughts on Heritage Auction Galleries

Michael Siewert of JudyGarland.com was kind enough to share some thoughts about his experience with Heritage Auction Galleries and other auction houses, and I felt his comments were worth highlighting by reposting them from the Reader Comments in the recent Heritage-related articles. I do not know Mr. Siewert, but thought we could open a discussion about some of the ideas and opinions he raised in his comments, in hopes of initiating a productive dialogue about not just Heritage, but experiences and opinions about auction houses in general. [Read more…]

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News Reports: Heritage Filed Suit Against L.A. Prop & Wardrobe in Dallas County District Court Wednesday

According to multiple news/media reports (The Dallas Morning News: “Dallas’ Heritage Auction sues Hollywood memorabilia dealers“; The Houston Chronicle: “Auction house files lawsuit over alleged bogus memorabilia“; The Fort Worth Star-Telegram: “Dallas auction house says it was conned into selling fakes“; and story originator WFAA-TV: “Dallas auction house claims multi-million dollar reputation damaged“), Heritage Auction Galleries filed suit on Wednesday in Dallas County District Court against Mississippi-based L.A. Prop & Wardrobe Co. and its owners, John Tarter and Billie Null.

According to The Houston Chronicle, the lawsuit filed yesterday “alleges fraud, negligent misrepresentation and breach of contract”. The Chronicle story also claims that “a listing could not be found for L.A. Prop” and that “[m]essages left with the L.A. Prop officials listed in the lawsuit were not immediately returned Thursday.” [Read more…]