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

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YouTube Edition – The 12th Annual Original Prop Blog “Year in Review” for 2018 – Original TV & Movie Props, Costumes and Pop Culture Memorabilia

This is part of my new, ongoing series of YouTube videos.  As per tradition, (see 2007 Year in Review, 2008 Year in Review, 2009 Year in Review, 2010 Year in Review, 2011 Year in Review, 2012 Year in Review, 2013 Year in Review, 2014 Year in Review, 2015 Year in Review, 2016 Year in Review, 2017 Year in Review), what follows is an editorial featuring my personal observations and opinions with regards to the business of buying, collecting, selling, and preserving original pop culture artifacts used in film and television productions. A look back at interesting trends, developments, and news stories from 2018. As is always the case, this is a completely subjective exercise, and merely touches on the developments and events that relate to the hobby and art market.  2018 marks the first year that this will be published exclusively in video form on YouTube. [Read more…]

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WITHDRAWN: Bonhams Pulls “A Luke Skywalker Lightsaber used in Return of the Jedi” from “TCM Presents… Out Of This World!” Auction

Last week The Original Prop Blog published an article about the “A Luke Skywalker Lightsaber used in Return of the Jedi” prop up for public auction in their current “TCM Presents … Out of This World!” event scheduled to conclude on November 21st.  The description in the online catalog had been edited to remove the (vague) details about the provenance, and the piece in question seems to match a “Return of the Jedi” lightsaber prop that I wrote about in 2013 that was offered for sale on eBay and seemed to have a connection with Elstree Props.  Today, the lot is marked as “WITHDRAWN” on the item page. [Read more…]

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“A Luke Skywalker Lightsaber used in Return of the Jedi” in Current Bonhams Auction Raises Questions

Bonhams has put up a piece for public auction in their current “TCM Presents … Out of This World!” event scheduled to conclude on November 21st – a prop which they describe as “A Luke Skywalker Lightsaber used in Return of the Jedi”.  The description in the online catalog has been edited to remove the (vague) details about the provenance, and the piece in question seems to match a “Return of the Jedi” lightsaber prop that I wrote about in 2013 that was offered for sale on eBay and seemed to have a connection with Elstree Props (and went unsold with a high bid of $5,101 not reaching the reserve).  The 2013 article about that “Return of the Jedi” lightsaber was one of a series of features published on the Original Prop Blog specifically about Elstree Props and lightsaber props attributed to Return of the Jedi (I even had an opportunity to ask Mark Hamill himself about one of these props at San Diego Comic Con in 2009). [Read more…]

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“James Bond Spectre: The Auction” by Christie’s & EON Productions Coming; Live Auction Feb 18th & Online Auction Ends Feb 23rd

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The most exciting original movie prop and costume sale event announced thus far this year would have to be the “James Bond Spectre: The Auction” coming from Christie’s and EON Productions.  James Bond is one of the strongest and oldest genre film franchises and the material that is part of this auction comes straight from the production with their sanctioning, making it all the more desirable.  Split into part invitation-only live auction (10 lots on February 18th) and part online-only auction (14 lots with bidding running from February 16th through February 23rd), the 24 lots from Spectre come directly form the EON Productions archives, along with donations from Daniel Craig, Sam Mendes, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, Jesper Christensen and Sam Smith.  All proceeds from the auctions “will benefit Médecins Sans Frontières and number of other charitable institutions”.  [Read more…]

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Review of First Prop Store Live Auction and Profiles in History’s Hollywood Auction 65, 67, 68, The Expendables

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The past week has been a significant one for the original television and movie prop, wardrobe, and asset art market, with two of the biggest dealers in the business having their own live auction events.  This marked the first big live auction for Prop Store, which held it’s “Auction of Film & Television Artefacts” on the 16th, and Profiles in History had a multi-day event for their “Hollywood Auction 65” and their Expendables Auction (“Hollywood Auction 67 & 68” – yes, the naming/numbering is confusing… see prior article).  With over 2,600 lots offered for sale collectively, it provides an opportunity for some analysis of each sale on its own merits as well as comparing and contrasting the different companies and their approach with the marketplace. [Read more…]

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Profiles in History ‘Hollywood Auction 65′ TV & Movie Prop Catalog Available Online for Sale Event October 17-20

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Profiles in History’s latest auction catalog, “Hollywood Auction 65”, is now available in print as well as online, via their official site. This sale is scheduled for October 17th-20th at their Calabasas Hills facility.  While with their last big Hollywood Auction sale they seemed to change course on their reserves/estimates strategy on much of the catalog, and steered away from the hopeful jackpot estimates that have plagued their sales more and more in the past few years, that old philosophy is still somewhat present with this sale (see Gilligan’s Island costume with a $30,000-$50,000 estimate), though on balance, things seem to be more reasonable than not, relatively speaking.  But they continue to lead the industry with phonebook-sized catalogs, this one weighing in at 630 pages, with a mix of new material and material that has been up for auction in past sales (some many times). [Read more…]

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“Bond in Motion” 007 James Bond Movie Prop Car Exhibition at the London Film Museum at Covent Garden

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I am in London currently, and had an opportunity to drop by the fantastic new “Bond in Motion” exhibit at London Film Museum in Covent Garden.  The brilliant exhibition features cars used in James Bond films over the past 50 years, as well as some key movie props and costumes from the 007 franchise.  I’ve always been a huge fan of London Film Museum and their mission, and as always they have put together a great collection of film memorabilia in a classy and artful way – they are really the best in the business when it comes to displaying pop culture artifacts. [Read more…]

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Christie’s South Kensington “100 Years of Pop Culture” Online-Only Auction Through December 5th

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Christie’s “Pop Culture” catalog is now available online at Christies.com. The entertainment memorabilia sale includes 100 lots of film, television, and music-related material, celebrating 100 years of Pop Culture, running through December 5th. [Read more…]