As has been noted in past features (see Market Watch | “stonark” / “*stoneark*” (Corner Collectibles)), eBay seller *stoneark* (recently changed from stonark) has paired Letters of Authenticity and Certificates of Authenticity from auction houses and a variety of other sources. I have been unable to verify the existence of most of these firms and individuals, which has raised a number of questions as to provenance. This update archives several more examples of such letters from additional sources, as well as makes note of matching vintage dresses, recent negative eBay feedback, and public eBay sales activity records.
Matching Dresses
Before outlining the various letters from additional sources, one reader sent me links to two *stoneark* auctions which represents a remarkable coincidence. With the two auctions only one month apart, with wardrobe pieces attributed to two different actresses – Linda Darnell and Marlene Dietrich – the two dresses appear to be the same/very similar, with matching patterns, apart from color.
“ACTRESS LINDA DARNELL OWNED VINTAGE DRESS”
eBay Item Number: 120294726916
eBay Auction Full Archive: LINK
“ACTRESS MARLENE DIETRICH OWNED VINTAGE DRESS”
eBay Item Number: 120316533923
eBay Auction Full Archive: LINK
Below is a direct comparison of the photos of the dresses from the two auctions:
Though both actresses are part of what is now considered “classic” Hollywood, they were born more than 20 years apart and lived very different lives, which makes the matching dresses (auctioned one month apart) that much more unusual.
From Wikipedia:
October 16, 1923-April 10, 1965 (Died Age 41)
December 27, 1901-May 6, 1992 (Died Age 90)
Provenance: “Robert Jiras”, “Hollywood of Fame – Sales and Auctions”
An eBay member recently won an auction for a dress attributed to Gene Tierney. He requested scans of the provenance pledged in the auction marketing description, and upon performing his own independent research and due diligence, was unable to verify the sources.
Below is the auction archive:
“ACTRESS MARLENE DIETRICH OWNED VINTAGE DRESS”
eBay Item Number: 120316922607
Below are the scans of the documents that were sent to him.
Robert Jiras
There is a Robert Jiras with IMDb credits as a makeup artist (July 28, 1922-January 7, 2000). The letter, addressed to Anna Hemkins (see next example below), invites the addressee to contact him, but does not provide a phone number or address in the letter.
Hollywood of Fame – Sales and Auctions
As was the case with other examples already covered in past articles, I can find no records of a “Hollywood of Fame – Sales and Auctions”. Nor any persons with the names “Michelle Winefiels” or “Anna Hemkins”.
The business address printed on the letter – 1771 S. Van Ness Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90249 – does not appear to exist.
I have not been able to verify the license number of 7622110-9983 to any State of California database (as was the case with a similar license number (795541-00093) on the “Clarmont Auctions” example in the prior “2.0” article.
Provenance: “Doris Galehouse”
Below is an example from a reader of a letter from Doris Galehouse and accompanying Corner Collectibles LOA signed by Owner Anthony Shkutnick:
I have archived two more examples of Doris Galehouse letters below:
There is also a mention of this source on the for sale page of the imcrazyforlucy.com website, which also cites other “Corner Collectible” or stonark/*stoneark* sources of provenance archived in prior articles, such as Allen Stuart Jeffries, Clarmont Auctions, and Dave Ritz of the Silver Screen Film Society Auction.
Archive Page 1 of 2:
Archive Page 2 of 2:
Provenance: “Doumont Auction, World of Hollywood”
Below is an example from a reader of a letter from “Doumont Auction, World of Hollywood” and accompanying Corner Collectibles LOA signed by Owner Anthony Shkutnick:
Though the letter of authenticity is dated 2005 – only 3 years ago – I can find no proof of existence of this company.
The address on the letterhead – 10777 Richards Street, Las Vegas, Nevada 89031 – does not appear to exist.
As is the case with the prior examples, I can find no records of a license number 688431-0981.
Linda Thomas is a common name, but found no matches related to Hollywood memorabilia or auctions.
Negative Feedback
In addition to the recent name change (see eBay’s stonark Changes User ID To *stoneark*), the eBay seller has received his first negative feedback for transactions on eBay in the past 30 days.
Link to *stoneark* eBay feedback: LINK
Archive of Negative Remarks:
Buyer Feedback:
“Interesting COA and letter … full marks for creativity.”
Seller Reply:
“NEVER PAID FOR IT. OR RECEIVED IT. REAL AND TOTAL JERK. NOs NOTHING. GET A LIFE”
Buyer Follow-up:
“OK. Do you have a life that was owned by Jimmy Stewart? With COA, of course.”
Buyer Feedback:
“COA INFORMATION INCOMPLETE AND CANNOT BE CONFIRMED”
Seller Reply:
“REAL JERK! DOES NOT KNOW HOW TO GET INFO. SENT AL THE PAPERS IT CAME WITH!!”
However, *stoneark* still maintains an overall feedback percentage of 99.5% and 2325 ranking.
90-Day Sales Archives
Below are Goofbay 90-day archives of stonark / *stoneark* eBay public sales activity.
As of October 25, 2008:
As of November 20, 2008:
The 90-day “Total Value Sold” on eBay, per Goofbay:
- $16,406.25 (average $182.29/day) as of October 25, 2008
- $16,832.25 (average $187.02/day) as of November 20, 2008
If any readers have any other examples of provenance from Corner Collectibles/stonark/*stoneark*, or any other pertinent information, please contact me.
Jason De Bord