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

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Profiles in History’s “Easy Rider” Movie Prop Captain America Motorcycle at Auction: Sold for $1.35 Million… or Not Sold?

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There was a tremendous amount of pre-auction mainstream media coverage about the motorcycle put on the auction block by Profiles in History last month, a lot of it generated from an AP story picked up by many news outlets that was titled “‘Easy Rider’ chopper at auction might be phony” (as of this time, that keyword search is resulting in 22,500 hits on Google).  The day of the auction, and for a few days following, the most used headline was a variation on proclamations that it sold for $1.35 million.  But, as a matter of public record, did it really sell?  And if not, why has no media outlet (to my knowledge) reported on the sale falling through? [Read more…]

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Nate D. Sanders Turns $7,000 eBay Auction Win into $50,000 In Less Than Two Months with “Jaws” Memorabilia Lot

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Sometimes I get busy and simply don’t have the time to publish a preview of each and every auction, particularly ongoing, monthly, online-only auctions (though I list everything of relevance that I am aware of in my monthly auction calendar feature).  This site and my efforts here are all done essentially pro bono (any advertising revenue collected does not come close to offsetting my costs accrued over the years), so I’m always a bit surprised when dealers get demanding with me for overlooking whatever for profit endeavor that they expect me to promote for them (gratis), especially when they’ve never made any contribution to the resource that is this website….  In any event, I was on the receiving end of e-mails and a phone call from the people at Nate D. Sanders in the past few weeks for not previewing their February auction (which is listed in my February calendar); said auction ended yesterday.  One of the notable sales was a collection of Jaws memorabilia, but more interesting to me was that the lot that realized $50,000 with Nate D. Sanders could have been had for around $7,000 at public auction on eBay two months ago. [Read more…]

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Photos from a Recent Visit to Prop Store’s London Offices

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In a recent visit to Europe and England, I had the time to stop by Prop Store in London to chat with Stephen Lane and Tim Lawes about the hobby and what is new with their business.  During my visit, I had a chance to take a few photos in and around their facilities to share with the readers of the Original Prop Blog.  Thankfully, this time my visit wasn’t interrupted by snow storms… [Read more…]

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Revisiting Ellis Props & Graphics – Certificates of Authenticity (COAs) Assigned to TV and Movie Props, Set Pieces, & Costumes Circulating in the Marketplace

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For reasons unknown to me, I continue to receive communications from recent buyers of memorabilia attributed to film and television productions, who believe I have something to do with various eBay sellers and/or Ellis Props (see article from one month ago today, “NOTICE: Original Prop Blog Does Not/Will Not Supply Props to Dealers “jnsmcmahan”, “jsnent”, John Tarter, Billie Null, Mark Sullivan, L.A. Prop & Wardrobe, Hollywood Prop Supply, Studio West Prop, Ellis Props, et al“).  In any event, with one of these more recent contacts, I asked the buyer of one of these pieces to send me a photo of the Certificate of Authenticity (COA) supplied with the item purchased (in this case the COA provided was one that originally appears to be from Ellis Props).  A long time trusted collector in the field was kind enough to forward to me some images of confirmed legitimate examples of Ellis Props COAs obtained during the sales/liquidation circa ’99/’00, and that COA is very different from the one just obtained by a buyer from a piece purchased on eBay.  [Read more…]

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NOTICE: Original Prop Blog Does Not/Will Not Supply Props to Dealers “jnsmcmahan”, “jsnent”, John Tarter, Billie Null, Mark Sullivan, L.A. Prop & Wardrobe, Hollywood Prop Supply, Studio West Prop, Ellis Props, et al

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I am in receipt of a phone call today from a gentleman from Missouri, calling me claiming that he was told by an eBay dealer that the “vintage Listerine bottle from The Waltons” that he purchased was sold by the Original Prop Blog to the eBay dealer.  A simple search brought up such a listing on eBay – VINTAGE LISTERINE BOTTLE FROM TV’S THE WALTONS+ – sold five days ago by eBay dealer jnsmcmahan.  Long time readers of the Original Prop Blog will know that I personally do not find “jnsmcmahan” to be a credible dealer of authentic Hollywood memorabilia.  None the less, this notice is being published to make it perfectly clear that I have not sold anything to and will never in the future conduct any business with those behind eBay accounts “jnsmcmahan”, “jsnent”, nor anyone directly or loosely associated with such dealers or material or type/kind of material, including John Tarter, Billie Null, Mark Sullivan, L.A. Prop & Wardrobe, Hollywood Prop Supply, Studio West Prop, Ellis Props, and others.  In fact, the Original Prop Blog does not supply props or costumes to anyone.   [Read more…]

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Prop Talk Podcast #016 – Mike Schultz, “The Shark Guy” | Interview by The Original Prop Blog with Jason DeBord

Mike Schultz, special guest. This is the sixteenth ‘Prop Talk’ podcast by the Original Prop Blog. Mike Schultz, known as “The Shark Guy” has done extensive research into the “Bruce” prop sharks made for and used in the classic Steven Spielberg film, Jaws (1975). This special edition of ‘Prop Talk’ was recorded on site at Comic Con 2011 in San Diego.

[Read more…]

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Prop Talk Podcast #015 – Dan Hill, Prop Store | Interview by The Original Prop Blog with Jason DeBord

Dan Hill, special guest. This is the fifteenth ‘Prop Talk’ podcast by the Original Prop Blog. Dan Hill is Warehouse Manager for Prop Store, Los Angeles.  This special edition of ‘Prop Talk’ was recorded on site at Comic Con 2011 in San Diego and reflects the spirit of fellow hobbyists getting together and having fun at the annual pop culture event.

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Holly Haber and Lennard Billin of Reel Clothes & Props Featured in UK’s Daily Mail Article

Owners Holly Haber and Lennard Billin and their business, Reel Clothes & Props, are featured in an extensive article published in print and online in today’s Daily Mail out of the UK.  The publication, which has a fondness for celebrities, focuses on what kind of wardrobe material the retail outlet offers and goes into specifics of how it relates to various Hollywood actors and actresses, as well as providing a primer on the notion of values and investment. [Read more…]