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

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“Hands On” Superman Costume Comparative Analysis In Development: Warner Bros. Archive, Authenticated vs. “Super Hollywood”

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I spent the day in Burbank yesterday, performing a “hands on” analysis and comparison of confirmed authentic costumes (two recently released from the Warner Bros. Archives) from multiple Superman films starring Christopher Reeve (Superman II, III, and IV) with the three “Super Hollywood” costumes examined in a recent article (see “Super Hollywood” Superman III Costume Case Study: High Resolution Photo Archive & Analysis).  A substantive article is under development that will include the results of this analysis and high resolution comparison photos. [Read more…]

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“Super Hollywood” Superman III Costume Case Study: High Resolution Photo Archive & Analysis

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This marks the 100th article related to Superman costumes in the marketplace characterized as “original”.  This article includes hands on analysis and a new archive of high resolution photos of a Superman costume sold by Armando Alvarez (“Super Hollywood”) and accompanying provenance and eBay and PayPal transaction records from the buyer.  This new material is also compared directly with other “Super Hollywood” costumes which have been archived previously.  [Read more…]

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A Case Against Buying “Original” TV & Movie Props, Costumes, and Memorabilia as Gifts

This will probably be the shortest editorial I’ve written, as it is an easy argument to make.  My view is – and this is something I’ve personally stressed to friends and family for years – buying an “original” movie or television prop or costume as a gift is a well-intended but very bad idea.  [Read more…]

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Art Dealers Plead Guilty to Crimes Involving Misrepresentation & Fraudulant COAs

Rick Spector of Stairway to the Stars directed me to an interesting article on the Maine Antique Digest website about art dealers who have plead guilty to a scheme involving their passing off art with manufactured origins, fictitious artist names and identities, and fraudulent certificates of authenticity (COAs).  [Read more…]

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Star Wares Collectibles & Piece of the Past Form New Partnership/Ownership Arrangement

I’ve been in communications with Marcia Tysseling, founder of Star Wares Collectibles, and Kevin Martin of Piece of the Past, Inc. about Mr. Martin’s majority acquisition of Star Wares, Ms. Tysseling’s role, and the future of the company.  I have received a few questions and heard various rumors recently, so I thought I would seek clarification to share with hobbyists in this report. [Read more…]

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High Resolution Photo Reference Archive: Super Hollywood “Superman/Superboy Reference Costume”

This is a companion article to several previous features.  This article includes an archive of high resolution photos of the costume previously designated the “Superman/Superboy Reference Costume”.  In addition to photos of the costume itself, photos and analysis of the accompanying Super Hollywood (super38, Armando Alvarez, Ana Mungia) Letter of Authenticity also follows below. [Read more…]

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High Resolution Photo Reference Archive: “Super Hollywood” Superman Costume Photo Comparison

In January 2008, a costume offered for sale on eBay was described as an “Authentic Original Costume” worn in Superman: The Movie by Christopher Reeve, which was supported by the “Super Hollywood” Letter of Authenticity that accompanied it.  This auction was archived in Original Prop Blog articles at the time (see Questions About Superman Costumes in the Marketplace: Update & Update 2).  [Read more…]

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“ComicLink”/”Super Museum” Superman Costume: Auction Outcome Update

Tonight the auction for the Superman costume offered for sale at public auction by “ComicLink.com” with the Letter of Authenticity from Jim Hambrick of the Super Museum ended with 33 bids for a price realized of $3,600, though the unstated reserve was not met.  [Read more…]