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

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Observations from Julien’s Auctions “The Trilogy Collection: Props and Costumes From Middle-Earth” Sale of Lord of the Rings Assets

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As noted in my interview with Troika Brodsky, the owner of the Lord of the Rings collection consigned to Julien’s Auctions, we have been friends for around a decade, so I was particularly interested in this auction.  Julien’s Auctions held their “The Trilogy Collection: Props and Costumes from Middle-Earth” sale event this past Thursday, which featured 92 lots of original production assets from the Lord of the Rings trilogy of films made by Peter Jackson.  I went down to Beverly Hills to attend the auction, so I thought I would share some thoughts and observations on the sale. [Read more…]

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Premiere Props ‘Hollywood Extravaganza XII’ Auction Catalog Online, Television & Movie Prop and Costume Sale Event November 23-24

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Premiere Props have listed their next auction with online bidding partners iCollector, LiveAuctioneers, and ArtFact as part of their “Hollywood Extravaganza XII”. The two-day auction is scheduled for November 23-24, currently featuring over 1,000 lots (though it appears more than half of that are not props and costumes but comic books, posters, and other memorabilia). As with past auctions, the sale includes a mix of original props, costumes, and other film and television artifacts, as well as general Hollywood Memorabilia.  There are many vintage off the shelf antiques attributed to film and television productions with no explanation as to how and why such claims are made. [Read more…]

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Blacksparrow Auctions Publishes Online Catalog for their “Hunger Games Costume Auction” on November 16th

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Blacksparrow Auctions has today put out their auction catalog for the Hunger Games Costume Auction, to be held on Los Angeles on November 16th.  Hardcopy catalogs are available to order on the official site, though you can also view the catalog online with bidding partner LiveAuctioneers.  The sale boasts 200 costumes from the popular 2012 film. [Read more…]

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Mastro Auctions Scandal: Bill Mastro Pleads Guilty To Fraud & Altering Memorabilia; Faces Up To Five Years in Prison

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The New York Daily News lead mainstream media reports yesterday about “disgraced sports memorabilia kingpin” Bill Mastro of Masto Auctions plead guilty to mail fraud and admitted to trimming/altering a high value trading card to increase it’s value.  Mastro will be sentenced by U.S. District Court  Judge Ronald A. Guzman, and faces up to five years in prison. [Read more…]

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Premiere Props Does Soft Launch of New “MovieProps DNA (MPDNA)” Authentication System with DNA Ink and “Panel of Industry Experts”

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As is their usual procedure, Premiere Props has put up a portion of the lots for their upcoming sale (Hollywood Extravaganza XI on September 28-29) with online bidding partner iCollector, though with these lots each includes boilerplate information about authentication that has not been part of past auctions.  Back in May, I made a public and literal plea for Premiere Props to put a real and substantive effort into authentication of their consignor-based auction material, and whether or not it is merely coincidental, it appears that they are doing just that starting with this upcoming auction, with “a panel of industry experts not affiliated with Premiere Props” called MovieProps DNA (MPDNA).  While the “soft launch” of these changes raises many questions (which I will outline below), it is certain a significant step in the right direction. [Read more…]

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New York Daily News Update on Mastro Auctions Scandal: Bill Mastro To Plead Guilty To Fraud, Altering Memorabilia

As the latest significant update to this ongoing high profile memorabilia auction house fraud scandal, the lead journalists covering the story for the New York Daily News today reports that William Mastro of Mastro Auctions will be changing his plea to guilty on one fraud count, and will admit that he “altered the world’s most valuable trading card, a Honus Wagner T206 that has fetched millions of dollars in a series of high-profile transactions”.  It’s last sale was to Ken Kendrick, the owner of the Arizona Diamondbacks, who paid $2.8 million for the baseball card.  Mastro originally purchased the card for $25,000. [Read more…]

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FBI: “William Mastro and Two Other Executives of Former Mastro Auctions Indicted for Allegedly Defrauding Bidders in Online and Live Auctions of Sports Memorabilia and Other Collectibles”

The Chicago Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation have published a press release update regarding the ongoing investigation of alleged sports memorabilia fraud involving former Mastro Auction executives.  Prosecutors claim that William Boehn, the Information Technology Director, made false statements to FBI agents.  According to the FBI press release,  the memorabilia auction house executives “were indicted on fraud charges for allegedly rigging auctions through a series of deceptive practices, including so-called “shill-bidding,” designed to inflate prices paid by bidders and to protect the interests of consignors and sellers at the expense of unwitting bidders.” [Read more…]

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Dynasty Auctions Company Offers Bruce Lee Memorabilia at Hong Kong Auction Event August 5-7

Thirteen items attributed to past ownership by Bruce Lee will be part of Dynasty Auctions Company and their Summer 2011 sale event August 5-7  – “China, Hong Kong, Japan and Other Asia Stamps and Postal History”.  The auction is a joint effort between Kelleher Auctions and Phila China.  Included in the sale is a 45 year old letter by Lee discussing the then upcoming television series The Green Hornet (in which he played Kato) as well as a fur coat that Lee, per a story in today’s The Standard, wore in his audition for the 1973 film Game of Death (though the auction description states it was made for a film that was to follow Enter the Dragon). [Read more…]