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

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KTNV13 Call For Action “Digging Into The Murky World of Memorabilia” Video Report

KTNV13 Call For Action broadcast this report on autographed and collectible memorabilia on their local ABC affiliate station in Las Vegas, and has also made the video available on their official website.  The story discusses autographs and collector Steve Comolli’s purchases of memorabilia from Antiquities International in the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace.  The report claims he purchased $20,000 worth of autographed memorabilia – “most” of it from Antiquities – and then tried to sell through Julien’s Auctions and Heritage Auction Galleries and that they “could not authenticate” what he wanted to sell through them. [Read more…]

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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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Vintage Poster Scandal Update: Judge Sentences Kerry Haggard to over 6 years in Federal Prison and Orders to Pay $1,380,000 in Restitution to Victims

This is an update to the ongoing series of articles into various claims and charges of fraud in the posters, one sheets, and lobby cards art market that have rocked the collectibles industry over the past two and a half years. Today, per reports from Forbes, the Wall Street Journal, the Athens Banner-Herald, and other mainstream media sources, Kerry Haggard was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon to six years and six months in federal prison.  The court also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1.38 million dollars. [Read more…]

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EU Court of Justice Rules eBay May Be Held Liable in Sale of Trademark Infringing and Counterfeit Goods

As part of an ongoing series of legal disputes that have challenged the manner in which eBay operates its auction business and website, today the European Union Court of Justice provided clarification on questions pertaining to a case before the High Court in the United Kingdom over a dispute brought by L’Oréal against the global auction giant.  The Court of Justice ruled that eBay may be liable for the sale of counterfeit and trademark-infringing goods, based on the circumstances and what kind of “active role” it plays in the sale of the goods.   [Read more…]

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Vintage Poster Scandal Update: Atlanta Journal-Constitution Reports NY Federal Prosecutors Seek New Arrest Warrant

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution today published an update to one of several scandals that rocked the collectible poster collecting field in 2009 and 2010.  The news report states that “Federal prosecutors in New York are asking a judge to jail a Georgia man who is accused of selling fake vintage horror movie posters over the Internet”. [Read more…]

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New York Daily News Coverage Updates Ongoing FBI Sports Memorabilia Fraud Investigation

New York Daily News sports writer Michael O’Keefe has been publishing an ongoing series of articles about an FBI investigation into the sports memorabilia industry (see Mastro Auctions Closes In Midst Of FBI Investigation Into Shill Bidding & Fraud Allegations).  Two updates have been published this week by the Daily News. [Read more…]

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Hake’s Americana & Collectibles Auction #200 May 2010; Note About Los Angeles Times on Richard Wilson (Norma’s Jeans) Provenance

Memorabilia dealer Hake’s Americana & Collectibles is holding their 200th auction, with lots ending in late May.  While the selection of original prop-related material is quite small compared with the general popular culture memorabilia comprising the auction, I thought it would be prudent to make note of an old article published by the Los Angeles Times that may prompt interested bidders to do proper due diligence on the provenance of a handful of lots. [Read more…]

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Vintage Poster Scandal Update: New York Times Reports Kerry Haggard Arrested on Mail Fraud Charges

As a brief update to the various scandals involving allegedly fraudulent vintage movie posters circulating in the marketplace, two stories published online today by the New York Times report that Kerry T. Haggard has been arrested on mail fraud charges.  [Read more…]