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

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“A Luke Skywalker Lightsaber used in Return of the Jedi” in Current Bonhams Auction Raises Questions

Bonhams has put up a piece for public auction in their current “TCM Presents … Out of This World!” event scheduled to conclude on November 21st – a prop which they describe as “A Luke Skywalker Lightsaber used in Return of the Jedi”.  The description in the online catalog has been edited to remove the (vague) details about the provenance, and the piece in question seems to match a “Return of the Jedi” lightsaber prop that I wrote about in 2013 that was offered for sale on eBay and seemed to have a connection with Elstree Props (and went unsold with a high bid of $5,101 not reaching the reserve).  The 2013 article about that “Return of the Jedi” lightsaber was one of a series of features published on the Original Prop Blog specifically about Elstree Props and lightsaber props attributed to Return of the Jedi (I even had an opportunity to ask Mark Hamill himself about one of these props at San Diego Comic Con in 2009). [Read more…]

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California Assembly & Senate Continue To Confuse Marketplace with New Legislative “Fixes” to Autograph Law

In early 2016, I wrote a lengthy critique of the then proposed new “autograph anti-fraud legislation” introduced to the California Assembly.  That bill was signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown, and sustained vocal opposition to the law continues, along with confusion in the marketplace in California.  Government being government, there are now two different legislative “fixes” in the works that don’t address the myriad of problems that the terrible law put into effect.  Additionally, Pacific Legal Foundation filed a lawsuit on behalf of Book Passage and Bill Petrocelli back in May, with the suit intended to challenge the “law that made the sale of autographed books unconscionably difficult”. [Read more…]

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Brandon Alinger Appears on Mark Hamill’s “Pop Culture Quest” with the Original Return of the Jedi Lightsaber Prop

GeekTyrant has a special sneak preview of an upcoming episode of Pop Culture Quest featuring Mark Hamill, who of course played Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars films.  Prop Store’s Brandon Alinger appears with Mr. Hamill and shows him the original hero lightsaber that he used in Return of the Jedi, which was also used by Alec Guinness in A New Hope.  You can check out a preview of the scene on YouTube. [Read more…]

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Luke Skywalker Movie Prop Blaster from “Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back” Fails to Sell at Nate D. Sanders Auction

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A stunt blaster prop attributed to use by Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back failed to attract any bids at it’s hopeful $200,000 starting price in the most recent Nate D. Sanders auction last week.  Though featuring an interesting history and a prior sale at Sotheby’s, as well as a lot of mainstream media attention leading up to the auction (see CNBC, CBS, Reuters, MSN, EW, Daily Mail, NBC, etc.), the “jackpot” reserve strategy employed by Hollywood memorabilia auction houses that I’ve frequently written about seemed to be the barrier to sale. [Read more…]

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Mark Hamill & Assemblywoman Ling Ling Chang Working on Autograph Anti-Fraud Legislation (California Assembly Bill AB 1570)

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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…]

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Revenge of the Jedi: Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) Uses Twitter To Strike Down Memorabilia Fraud

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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…]

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Nate D. Sanders ‘Fine Autographs & Memorabilia′ Auction Catalog Available for May 21st Online Sale

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Nate D. Sanders will be concluding their next online auction on May 21st and the catalog for this event is available on their official site. Over 500 of nearly 700 lots is material associated with the children’s television program, Captain Kangaroo.  One of the highlights on the sale is a pair of pants attributed to use by Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.  Other items include a variety of Hollywood and historical memorabilia, including props, costumes, set pieces, awards, and other material. [Read more…]

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Yet Another Luke Skywalker “Screen Used” Return of the Jedi Lightsaber Movie Prop with Elstree Studios/Elstree Props/Danziger Collection Connections Surfaces on eBay

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Continuing a long line of “screen used” Luke Skywalker prop lightsabers attributed to Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi with connections to Elstree Studios/Elstree Props/The Danziger Collection, yet another one has surfaced for sale on eBay.  Although there are photos of the prop and related documents and certificates of authenticity (COAs) from “Piece of the Stars Memorabilia” (a company I have never heard of before), of course the resolution of these images are limited to 500px × 375px (do cameras still exist today that shoot at such a low resolution?), rendering examination challenging, to say the least.  In the interests of public debate and discussion, Original Prop Blog has long documented the public sale offerings of other prop lightsabers attributed to Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker in Return of the Jedi that have similar origins and associations, which can be found HERE. [Read more…]