One unfortunate type of collectible born out of the original prop industry is the sale of prop pieces, bits, swatches, and sections.
The phrase “take a piece of the movie home” is quite literal with this practice.
It seems, that in some cases, it can be more profitable to take one original prop and destroy it, cutting it into smaller pieces and selling each piece as a collectible (either by itself or as part of another collectible, such as a card). But this prioritizes profit over preservation.
The “Costume Card”
This trend appears to have really taken off with officially licensed collectible cards with original costume pieces made a part of each card.
One company that makes this practice a part of their business is Inkworks. As an example, they have a subset of cards called “Pieceworks™ Cards” with pieces of costumes from the main characters from the film.
Here is an example of such pieces produced in conjunction with the film Hellboy:
Pieceworks™ Cards – 12 Different Cards featuring costumes from all of the main characters – Inserted One Per Box!
PW1: Hellboy – leather coat worn by Ron Perlman as Hellboy
PW2: Hellboy – pair of pants worn by Ron Perlman as Hellboy
PW3: Liz Sherman – shirt worn by Selma Blair as Liz Sherman
PW4: Liz Sherman – coat worn by Selma Blair as Liz Sherman
PW5: Abe Sapien – top worn by Doug Jones as Abe Sapien
PW6: Agent Myers – pair of pants worn by Rupert Evans as Agent Myers
PW7: Professor Broom – shirt worn by John Hurt as Professor Broom
PW8: Professor Broom – vest worn by John Hurt as Professor Broom
PW9: Grigori – vest robe worn by Karel Roden as Grigori
PW10: Ilsa – top worn by Biddy Hodson as Ilsa
PW11: Ilso – pair of pants worn by Biddy Hodson as Ilsa
PW12: Kroenen – shirt worn by Ladislav Beran as Kroenen
Here is an example of such a card:
Performing a Google or eBay search brings endless results of such products from a myriad of film and television programs – Spider-Man, Superman, Star Trek, Stargate, Charmed, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Xena, Battlestar Galactica, Harry Potter, The Wizard of Oz, Lost, 24, Veronica Mars, Smallville, etc.
Some of these properties have had props officially released intact – some have not. One wonders if a costume that is sent to these companies for destruction would have otherwise been archived or sold intact rather than cut up into hundreds or thousands of pieces.
One argument I’ve read, from the collectors of these cards, is that it’s selfish for original prop collectors to keep a complete costume to himself or herself when one such piece can be the basis of collectibles for many more.
My view as an original prop collector has always been grounded in the notion that, yes, we may own some pieces, but no one keeps anything forever, and we are merely caretakers or archivists while we are in possession of our collections – they are destined to last beyond our individual enjoyment of them.
If I had to guess, I would suspect that these companies that make these costume cards see the bits of original costumes in the same way they view autographs – something that makes the card more rare with a direct connection to the production. They likely do not have a significant appreciation that these pieces of wardrobe are made into collectible cards at the expense of something more valuable intact and whole.
The Business of Custom Destruction
Perhaps more problematic is the growing trend of companies that trade in proper original props that have begun to partake in this practice. Case in point, the ongoing Spider-Man 3 auctions (see article, Notable Studio Auctions: Spider-Man 3):
If I remember correctly, Hollywood Vault auctioned off a few costume pieces for Spider-Man 2, but I don’t remember anything of this magnitude, in terms of volume.
Given the pieces auctioned to date, it appears as though as much as two full costumes (one black, one red and blue) may have been sacrificed for these auctions. I guess we will not know for sure until thy have run their course.
The black costume chest piece alone sold for over $10,000. The pieces so far, collectively, as set to pass the $50,000 mark and keep going.
The Growing Dilemma
My personal view is that it is wrong to destroy these costumes, and disrespectful to what they represent, as an artifact and reflection of our culture (“pop” though it may be).
Unfortunately, this seems to be a growing trend, not a diminishing one. The stigma is fading as more companies, individual collectors, professional dealers, and others jump on the bandwagon and view original props from a perspective of maximizing profits, rather than preserving a piece for future generations.
Jason De Bord