Oz

For quite some time, as a collector of original props, searching the Original Props and Original Wardrobe categories on eBay, I have had to navigate and filter out the many, many listings from eBay seller “Auction Depot LA” (auctiondepotla1) and their offerings of “original” and “authentic” props from “Gone With The Wind”, “The Wizard of Oz”, “The I Love Lucy Show”, “James Bond”, “Lord of the Rings”, and many items owned by John Wayne and other Hollywood stars.

It is quite staggering the number of pieces offered, month after month.

Using the eBay system, I did a search of what this seller has offered in just the last 30 days, limited to “Gone With The Wind”, and found 164 items (search conducted April 1st). 164 items from “Gone With The Wind”, which was filmed 70 years ago, listed on eBay in just a 30 day period. [Read more…]

As reported in late January (see “Original Ruby Slippers from The Wizard of Oz on The Oprah Winfrey Show“, “Original Ruby Slippers from The Wizard of Oz on The Oprah Winfrey Show – The Video“), the 1/23/08 episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show focused on “Classic Americana”. Part of the episode featured Dr. Brent Glass, Director of The Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. The ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz were sent to the show from Washington, D.C., under the supervision of two armed guards and via first class air travel in a disguised box. There was some controversy across the Internet as a result of Oprah’s handling of the artifacts.

I posted a video clip from this segment on YouTube, and noticed that the clip has since been removed, with the following explanation: [Read more…]

Gone With The Wind, Global Antiques, and Auction Depot LA

Original Ruby Slippers from The Wizard of Oz, The Oprah Winfrey Show, YouTube, and Copyright