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

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Vintage Poster Scandal Update: 1931 Dracula Poster Lawsuits & Default Judgments – Profiles in History vs. Thomas Rega / Thomas Rega vs. Studio Conservation

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One of the most significant scandals to hit Hollywood memorabilia collecting in the past decade was a series of discoveries in the poster community relating to purported fraudulent movie posters and one sheets.  A new update was published yesterday on the MoPo Mailing List at FilmFan.com by Dianne Jeffrey, President and CEO of Studio Conservation Inc.   Ms. Jeffrey was the professional who did some of the restoration work (in good faith) on the Dracula poster consigned to a Profiles in History auction in which it was featured on the cover of their “Hollywood Auction 37” sale event in 2009. Ms. Jeffrey has stated on MoPo that she received notice of a default judgment against her from Thomas Rega “in the amount of $263,312.50, plus attorney fees of $18,134.80”; she is a resident of California and the lawsuit was filed against her in New Jersey and she did not represent herself and/or her business in court.  Interestingly, Profiles in History was previously awarded a default judgment against Thomas Rega in their own lawsuit filed against him in California. [Read more…]

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Original 1960s George Barris Built/Designed Ford Futura Batman Batmobile TV Prop Fetches Record $4.62 Million at Barrett-Jackson Auction

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The George Barris-designed prop batmobile from the 1960s Batman television series starring Adam West sold for $4.2 million ($4.62M with fees) to collector Rick Champagne at yesterday’s Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Arizona.  The one sold yesterday was the first of six made for the classic TV series. [Read more…]

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Profiles in History Files Fraud Lawsuit Against Non-Paying Auction Bidder on “Ten Commandments” Movie Prop Tablets

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Auction house Profiles in History filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court last week against one of its customers, Albert Tapper, claiming that the buyer won two items in their “Hollywood Auction 53” sale event last month, but only agreed to pay for one (“Lot 197 | Clark Gable early signed, handwritten letter to his dad”) that sold for $8,000 plus buyer’s premium, and not the more expensive lot (“Lot 422 | Charlton Heston “Moses” prop Ten Commandments tablets from The Ten Commandments”) which realized $60,000 plus buyer’s premium.   [Read more…]

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Prop Store Set To Lay Down The Law with ‘Dredd’ No Reserve Movie Prop Auctions on eBay Starting January 28th

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Prop Store will be offering original movie props, costumes, and vehicles from DNA films from the 2012 film, Dredd.  Included among the 200 items offered in the auction, which will be held on eBay starting January 28th, will be a complete Judge Dredd costume, 1:1 scale Lawmaster motorcycles and more. [Read more…]

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The Original Prop Blog 2012 Year in Review: News, Developments, and Trends in Collecting Original TV & Movie Props, Costumes and Pop Culture Memorabilia

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As per tradition, (see 2007 Year in Review, 2008 Year in Review, 2009 Year in Review, 2010 Year in Review, 2011 Year in Review), what follows is an editorial featuring my personal observations and opinions with regards to the business of buying, collecting, selling, preserving original pop culture artifacts – looking back at the top trends, developments, and news stories of 2012. 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…]

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Charity Auction: Auction Cause Offers Original Props from “Survivor Philippines” on eBay

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As is the case with each season, original props and artifacts from the latest seasons of Survivor, Survivor Philippines, are being offered at auction on eBay by Auction Cause, with proceeds benefiting a variety of charitable organizations.  The auction began Sunday night with the conclusion of this season of the show, which revealed Denise Stapely to be the winner of the $1 million dollar prize this time.  The auctions run through next Wednesday (apologies for the delay in running this – have been traveling and wanted to stay spoiler free until I caught up with the show tonight).

[Read more…]

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Update on James Comisar’s “Museum of Television” Project In Phoenix, AZ – On ‘Good Morning Arizona’ Show

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As reported a few months ago (see “James Comisar’s “Museum of Television”: The Three Year, $35 Million, 50,000 sq ft Project Finds A Home In Phoenix, AZ”), James Comisar’s dream of creating a public museum to house his unparalleled collection of original television artifacts is becoming a reality, with a project in the works to showcase this material in downtown Phoenix.  Mr. Comisar was featured in a lengthy and substantive interview on “Good Morning Arizona” in the past week to talk about his project and collection, and also noted that a preview center is planned next year to promote the museum, which is scheduled to be completed sometime in 2016. [Read more…]

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Air Gun Movie Prop Used for Publicity Photography By Sean Connery as James Bond Disappoints in Sotheby’s Resale

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A little over two years ago, an air gun /pistol used by Sean Connery for some iconic James Bond publicity photos stunned the hobby when it sold at the traditional late November Christie’s South Kensington Pop Culture auction far in excess of its estimate, realizing a staggering £277,250 (US$438,609) including buyer’s premium.  In a resale by Sotheby’s this past weekend, it sold for less than half that amount. [Read more…]