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

By

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…]

By

Pulled From Auction? Profiles in History Removes “Screen Used” Obi-Wan Kenobi Lightsaber from “Icons & Legends of Hollywood” Online Auction Catalog

As reported earlier today (LINK), Profiles in History was all over the news in the mainstream media (Associated Press, Page Six, Syfy Wire, etc.) with outlets writing about one of the highlights of their massive four day “Icons & Legends of Hollywood” auction in June – a “screen used” prop lightsaber attributed to use by Sir Alec Guinness as Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope.  Profiles in History claimed that the “hero” lightsaber had provenance leading back to the late John Mollo, the costume designer on the film who passed away late last year.  I pointed to an active discussion on the Replica Prop Forum, with some members openly questioning the authenticity of the piece.  It appears that the piece – Lot 775 – has been pulled from the auction, as a fresh download of the online PDF version of the catalog for the sale is two pages lighter.  Scanning the now 499 pages, it skips the previous two page spread of Lot 775 entirely. [Read more…]

By

UNSOLD: James Dean “Rebel Without A Cause” Red Jacket Fails To Sell In High Profile “Palm Beach Modern Auctions” Event

Palm Beach Modern Auctions received a lot of press in the mainstream media in the past few weeks for their red jacket attributed to the classic James Dean film, Rebel Without A Cause.  The $400,000-$600,000 pre-sale estimate would imply that the jacket must have been worn by the star during production of the film…  Perhaps the provenance supplied by the auction house was unconvincing, since it failed to sell at auction.  [Read more…]

By

WITHDRAWN: Bonhams Pulls “A Luke Skywalker Lightsaber used in Return of the Jedi” from “TCM Presents… Out Of This World!” Auction

Last week The Original Prop Blog published an article about the “A Luke Skywalker Lightsaber used in Return of the Jedi” prop up for public auction in their current “TCM Presents … Out of This World!” event scheduled to conclude on November 21st.  The description in the online catalog had been edited to remove the (vague) details about the provenance, and the piece in question seems to match a “Return of the Jedi” lightsaber prop that I wrote about in 2013 that was offered for sale on eBay and seemed to have a connection with Elstree Props.  Today, the lot is marked as “WITHDRAWN” on the item page. [Read more…]

By

“A Luke Skywalker Lightsaber used in Return of the Jedi” in Current Bonhams Auction Raises Questions

Bonhams has put up a piece for public auction in their current “TCM Presents … Out of This World!” event scheduled to conclude on November 21st – a prop which they describe as “A Luke Skywalker Lightsaber used in Return of the Jedi”.  The description in the online catalog has been edited to remove the (vague) details about the provenance, and the piece in question seems to match a “Return of the Jedi” lightsaber prop that I wrote about in 2013 that was offered for sale on eBay and seemed to have a connection with Elstree Props (and went unsold with a high bid of $5,101 not reaching the reserve).  The 2013 article about that “Return of the Jedi” lightsaber was one of a series of features published on the Original Prop Blog specifically about Elstree Props and lightsaber props attributed to Return of the Jedi (I even had an opportunity to ask Mark Hamill himself about one of these props at San Diego Comic Con in 2009). [Read more…]

By

Prop Store’s “Star Trek” & “Star Trek Into Darkness” Live Auction Coming December 2nd

This week Prop Store announced their latest live auction for Star Trek (2009) and Star Trek Into Darkness (2013), which will happen on December 2nd and is officially in partnership with Paramount Pictures.  Up for sale will be over 400 film artifacts used in the two productions. [Read more…]

By

eBay Alert: Star Trek Original Series Tricorder Prop… Buy A Replica for $8,500?

As I’ve mentioned many, many times, there are always countless fake/replica/reproduction props and costumes listed on eBay as “authentic” and “genuine” and used on this or that television show or in a certain movie.  So even if I took it upon myself to make note of these as a full-time job, I could never cover everything.  But it is particularly irksome when someone contacts me directly to help authenticate a prop or collection – which I did for free – only to see it show up on eBay a few days after informing him it is a replica, being offered as “an original” and “not a reproduction prop” and “the real thing and very valuable”…   I informed him that my expert’s opinion was that the piece was “a replica” and explained why and that these pieces were of little value.  Not the $8,500 Buy It Now price on eBay.  I even provided links to online collecting communities for further opinion and additional resources. [Read more…]

By

The 9th Annual Original Prop Blog “Year in Review” for 2015: News, Developments, and Trends in Collecting Original TV & Movie Props, Costumes and Pop Culture Memorabilia

Original-Prop-Blog-2015-Year-In-Review-Editorial-Opinion-Jason-DeBord

As per tradition, (see 2007 Year in Review, 2008 Year in Review, 2009 Year in Review, 2010 Year in Review, 2011 Year in Review, 2012 Year in Review, 2013 Year in Review, 2014 Year in Review), what follows is an editorial featuring my personal observations and opinions with regards to the business of buying, collecting, selling, and preserving original pop culture artifacts.  A look back at interesting trends, developments, and news stories from 2015.  As is always the case, this is a completely subjective exercise, and merely touches on the developments and events that relate to the hobby. [Read more…]