This is a continuation of my article about a visit to Mr. Steve Sansweet’s ‘Rancho Obi-Wan’ museum in Sonoma County. This second part includes additional photos from my visit yesterday – click here for Part 1. [Read more…]
Tour of ‘Rancho Obi-Wan’, Steve Sansweet’s Star Wars Memorabilia Collection and Museum, Part 1 of 2
This past weekend, I had an opportunity to spend some times with friends and Mr. Steve Sansweet at his ‘Rancho Obi-Wan’ museum in Sonoma County. Mr. Sansweet is famous worldwide for his incredible collection of Star Wars artifacts and memorabilia, having written and published many books, as well as having worked for Lucasfilm for over 15 years as Director of Content Management and Head of Fan Relations. His museum holds over 200,000 Star Wars items and spans over 9,000 square feet, and being able to view his diverse and comprehensive collection is truly amazing. Please note this is being broken into two parts due to the large number of photos – click here for Part 2. [Read more…]
New National Geographic Channel Series, ‘America’s Lost Treasures’, Seeks Rare Artifacts
Producers for National Geographic Channel’s new series, ‘America’s Lost Treasures’, will be visiting Los Angeles in a few weeks for an upcoming episode, and are looking for important artifacts to feature on the show. This will be held at The Autry Museum in mid-February. [Read more…]
Exhibition: “Bond in Motion – 50 Vehicles – 50 Years” at Beaulieu’s National Motor Museum
The National Motor Museum in the United Kingdom will be featuring a year long exhibition of the world’s largest collection of vehicles used in James Bond films, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Bond franchise, 40th anniversary of the National Motor Museum, and 60th anniversary of Beaulieu. On display will be 50 vehicles used by Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig in their respective James Bond films. [Read more…]
The Original Prop Blog 2011 Year in Review: News, Developments, and Trends in Collecting Original TV & Movie Props, Costumes and Pop Culture Memorabilia
As was the case in previous years (see 2007 Year in Review, 2008 Year in Review, 2009 Year in Review, 2010 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 2011. 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…]
Editorial: December Entertainment Memorabilia Pop Culture Auction Review and “The Bubble”
Now that I am back in the States, I thought I would take the time to review the results of the overwhelming number entertainment memorabilia auctions that took place throughout the month of December. Interestingly, while I personally met with a number of participants in our field while traveling in England and France this month, the one unsolicited and seemingly universal topic brought up by all was the question of “the Bubble”. Is there a bubble? If so, what are the contributing factors, and when and how will it burst? And what would the consequences be on our art market? Since the results of these high profile auctions speak to these notions and related speculation, I thought it would make sense to frame my results analysis in this discussion. [Read more…]
Premiere Props ‘Holiday Auction Extravaganza III’ Catalog Online, Television & Movie Prop and Costume Sale Event December 10th and 11th
The online catalog for the Premiere Props “Holiday Auction Extravaganza”, scheduled for December 10-11, is now listed via online bidding partner iCollector. The two-day auction includes over 900 lots from various film and television productions. [Read more…]
FBI Press Release: “Three Men Plead Guilty to Fraud Involving Sports Memorabilia”
As reported by various mainstream media outlets this week (New York Daily News original report, NY Daily News follow-up, Forbes, WREX-13), several memorabilia dealers plead guilty this week to fraud charges related to the sale of “game worn” sports jerseys. Sentencing is scheduled for May 2012, and each maul fraud charge has a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and $250,000 fines. Though a different class of memorabilia from television and film, it is always encouraging to see the FBI direct attention to any sort of memorabilia fraud, as it is very prevalent in all collecting areas. [Read more…]