I have received the e-mail message below with regard to my direct invitation to Mr. Hambrick to publicly respond to the questions raised in the article published Wednesday (see “ComicLink” Superman Costume Auction & Questions for Jim Hambrick (Super Museum / Supermuseum)) about the Superman costume offered for sale at public auction by “ComicLink.com” with the Letter of Authenticity from Jim Hambrick, Supermuseum:
From: Jim_Hambrick [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Friday, August 22, 2008 6:51 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Invitation to Participate in Superman Costume Related DiscussionHello,
re. price differences in the marketplace for dummies…
If you bought a dog, horse, painting, car, house or ANYTHING including costumes or props with registration papers or labels… wouldn’t you expect to pay more for the pedigree? And of course much LESS for a “pieced together” or “MUTT” with NO papers or labels?Or here’s another one….why are cars, boats, houses and yes..costumes different prices?
Silly question you think?Too many people are being critcized and judged with your methods of questioning under the guise of reporting the “facts according to you or so called experts”. And we’ve watched many good people suffer over your inferring tactics. In fact, the whole thing kind of puts many good people in a bad light the way many have commented. We know you have been careful with your wording as of late but it’s still a kangaroo court of sorts with many liabilities and pain and suffering to be explored through your blog from the legal community with a vested interest.
Tell you what…the Supermuseum would certainly challenge anyone in a U.S. court of law if need be over the authenticity of anything sold in the past by us to be exactly what is written in the LEGITIMATE letters which truly represent the item signed by a representative of Supermuseum. This does not include letters that have been copied, forged or married to someone elses creation or counterfeit.
We’ve seen many who have been misled and confused over the ramblings of uneducated indiviuals who then in turn taint their own pieces then they turn around and expect the original seller to straighten out everything after they have already trashed a particular item through your guantlet of opinions. And then there are the fence sitters who have nothing better to do then make comments just to stir things up and watch the sparks fly from their parent’s basement.
Your blog has hurt more people then it has helped and we are not interested in being a part of your Shenanigans of what you may call internet entertainment because it is certainly not all fact.
Of course, a leading authority must be responsible and honest and educated on the related subject but that does not mean that at the end of the day that person has to feel obliged to answer to you or to satisfy your faithful followers. You have perhaps tried to help those who are curious but to darken the hobby to be as questionable as you have made it out to be is not something we want to help you with. We answer to a higher authority.
Yes, ebay has allowed a lot of garbage to be sold as the real thing in every category over the past decade. And over the past 30 years we have been asked hundreds of times to authenticate and/or give an opinion on a particular piece. Well, we use to try to be the”Ebay/Auction police and we really did make an effort to assist but in the end the studios and legal representations have simply asked us to only authenticate what WE sell as so many variables have now come into play with regards to authenticity and origin. You must be kidding when you state with your forensic opinions and “proof”! Do you think it has always been made by the same person with the exact same material. Hollywood doesn’t always work that way…especially with movies that spawn sequels with different shooting location. And keep in mind also that there was absolutely NO cooperation extended for special effects techniques from the Salkinds production company to Golum Globus regading flying techniquesand wardrobe as
that wheelad to be reinvented as once the Salkinds got the money they offered no help in fact, they refused it. Ultimately, Golum Globus had to sart it all over from Christopher Reeve’s recollections etc.. and we all know..it showed in the end!The productions of “Superman the movie” thru “Superman 4” were comprised of different people, different prop houses, different production companies and different producers? Why?? Remember, the Salkinds werent and still aren’t the easiest producers to get along with. Just ask any of the many actors, casts and crews who worked on any of their film projects over the course of the last forty years and many of whom never got paid in full. That’s no secret. And lets also not forget the articles wriitten about the millions of dollars that was embezzled by a family member from Superman 1 and 2 who fled to Mexico to wait out the statute of limitation to then successfully avoid prosecution and keep the money stolen from the films.
We only mention this because now there is even more danger being bestowed upon owners of legitimate costumes…Ilya Salkind is now quoted as saying that all genuine Superman costumes out there are considered by him to be “stolen”. This is contrary to paperwork that exists where several of the costumes were given away for publicity purposes, displays such as the Mobile Supermuseum that toured for over 15 years in the 1970’s thru the 1990’s(before Metropolis)and charity events such as the “Special Olympics”.
Please don’t contact us with wish lists of questions. We stand by what we sell and authenticate and have NEVER been prosecuted for anything regarding questionable business practices. We have however been awarded two judgements for liable and slander on the internet. Do not forget that this is our business and when you infer as you most definately HAVE by manipulating/using statements made even by others and you blog members, you can hurt our reputation which in turn could hurt our ability to make an honest living. The tabloids are not above the legalities and the law and if they can be sewed so can others.
In closing, some of you blogs are full of tabloid type crap. And that really takes away from the credibility of what remains.
Super-Sincerely,
Michael Herrick
Legal Affairs
Supermuseum—–Original message—–
From: “Jason De Bord” [email protected]
Date: Wed, 20 Aug 2008 20:35:19 -0500
To: [email protected]
Subject: Invitation to Participate in Superman Costume Related DiscussionHello,
I have a number of questions about a costume at auction at “ComicLink.com” that includes a Letter of Authenticity from Jim Hambrick, Supermuseum.
I invite you publish a “Reader Comment” in response to the following article, in an effort to bring clarity to the marketplace by addressing these questions in an open and transparent manner.
Here is a link to the article:
“ComicLink” Superman Costume Auction & Questions for Jim Hambrick (Super Museum / Supermuseum)
Any alternate responses are subject to publication on the same website.
This article continues coverage of Superman costumes and costume components offered for sale publicly in the marketplace attributed to use in the Superman films of the 70s & 80s starring Christopher Reeve and characterized as “original” and “authentic”.
Original Prop Blog, LLC is a non-profit venture that publishes articles and features focusing on news, research, opinion/editorials, information, trends, issues, reviews, investigations, interviews, debate, and other content related to celebrating, purchasing, selling, collecting, authenticating, and archiving original props, wardrobe, and other popular culture artifacts from film and television. The Original Prop Blog was created to benefit and serve the public interests of the hobby by advocating for original prop and memorabilia collectors/hobbyists/consumers/archivists as well as the hobby at large.
Sincerely,
Jason De Bord
NOTE: The TERMS OF SERVICE apply to third party e-mail messages published on the site. Original Prop Blog, LLC is not responsible for the content of any messages posted to or published on the website. I do not vouch for or warrant the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any message, nor the identity of the author, and I am not responsible for the contents of any message (including any material which is knowingly false and/or defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, threatening, invasive of a person’s privacy, or otherwise violative of any law). All third party messages and content express the views of the author, not the views of the owner of the website.
Jason De Bord
Additional Related Articles: Market Watch | Superman