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

Archives for June 2018

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Han Solo Blaster from “Return of the Jedi” Sold By Julien’s Auctions for $550,000 to Ripley’s Believe It Or Not

As mentioned back in April, I had assisted Julien’s Auctions in cataloging “The James L. Schoppe Star Wars: Return of the Jedi Production Archive” that was featured in their “Hollywood Legends” auction this past weekend at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.  The highlight of the collection was an original Han Solo blaster movie prop from Return of the Jedi; James Schoppe served as the Art Director on the film, and was gifted several original props at the conclusion of the film production.  The collection was sold in live auction on Saturday, June 23rd, and the Han Solo blaster sold for $550,000 including Buyer’s Premium, and the winning bidder was Ripley’s Believe it or Not.  I was actually present for the auction, as well as shot video of some of the lots, so I thought I would share a few thoughts as well as the video of the Han Solo blaster selling [Read more…]

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“The Star Wars Collection” Highlights Prop Store’s “Cinema Poster Live Auction” in London and Online on June 28th

As mentioned last month, this week Prop Store is holding their first auction focusing on posters.  The Cinema Poster Live Auction in London on June 28th.  The principals behind Prop Store are well known for their love of Star Wars, so it is not surprising that their first poster sale features some significant pieces from the franchise, and what they star is “the most extensive collection of Star Wars posters ever to be offered on the open market”.  There is also an exhibit at London Odeon BFI IMAX cinema. [Read more…]

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Profiles in History’s “Love, Liza: The Auction” Liza Minnelli Sale Catalog Available

Announced some time ago, Profiles in History have finally set a date for their Liza Minnelli sale; “Love, Liza: The Auction” will feature over 1,700 lots and take place on July 30th & 31st and August 1st.  The online catalog is now available and the print version is being offered for sale for $100. [Read more…]

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Andrew Ainsworth Still Taking Credit For The Work Of Others, Compares Himself To Michelangelo…

The Daily Express have published a puff piece about Andrew Ainsworth (“the designer of the original stormtrooper”) today in an article by Gabriella Geisinger (see “How the Stormtrooper became Star Wars icon ‘More popular than Michelangelo’s David'”).  Ainsworth even compares himself to Michelangelo.  In the article, Ainsworth gives passing mention to Ralph McQuarrie for his original “sketch” of the Stormtrooper, and as in past interviews of course no mention at all of Liz Moore (who was responsible for the original Stormtrooper helmet sculpt) or Brian Muir (who was the first to sculpt armor parts).  And no mention of John Barry, (the production designer) or John Mollo (the wardrobe designer) who were also part of the team that created the Stormtrooper.  To be fair, Ainsworth deserves credit for what he did contribute to the original Star Wars film… but he always seems eager to take much more credit than is due. [Read more…]

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Editorial: Profiles in History’s Four Day “Icons & Legends of Hollywood” (Planet Hollywood) Auction Review

The massive Profiles in History “Icons & Legends of Hollywood” four day auction concluded on Friday, and it certainly illustrates some different results when compared to past sales held by the entertainment memorabilia auction house.  With over 2,000 lots, it was a tremendous amount of material for the market to absorb all at once, and I suspect that this was reflected in the results.  Though the official results have not yet been published on the official Profiles website as of the time of this writing, in going through the results published by internet bidding partner iCollector (and under the assumption that these results also reflect floor and phone bids), it would appear that approximately 45% of the lots were passed over with no bids.  I counted approximately 922 unsold lots, and adding up the total it appears that in the final sale that there were 2,050 lots (with 39 lots pulled prior to auction?)…  But the other compounding factor is how many lots were sold for far less than one might expect based on past sales.  Items that would ordinarily pull in $5,000+ were going for under $2,000 and sometimes even under $1,000.  With so much to choose from, it may have become a buyer’s market and it seemed as though some collectors were looking for deals – and finding them. [Read more…]

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Hollywood Reporter Feature: “A Marvel Heist and the Booming Business (and Seedy Underworld) of Movie Collectibles”

Writer Gary Baum has written an interesting primer on the art market for original production material from film and television for Hollywood Reporter, which was published today.  It takes a look at the market from several viewpoints – the increasing market and values, theft and fraud, some of the motivations behind collecting – and he interviewed principals in the industry such as Max Anderson of the Stan Lee Museum, Steve Sansweet of Rancho Obi-Wan, Darren Julien of Julien’s Auctions, James Comisar of the Comisar Collection, Joe Maddalena of Profiles in History, collector David Mandel, Jeff Pirtle of NBCUniversal, Brandon Alinger of Prop Store, Catherin Williamson of Bonhams, Laura Woolley of The Collector’s Lab, Jacob McMurray of Seattle’s Museum of Pop Culture, Margaret Barrett of Heritage Auctions as well as law enforcement, and it also gives some history of the hobby (and business) of buying and selling high end memorabilia. [Read more…]