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

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WITHDRAWN: Bonhams Pulls “A Luke Skywalker Lightsaber used in Return of the Jedi” from “TCM Presents… Out Of This World!”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  Today, the lot is marked as “WITHDRAWN” on the item page.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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Yet Another Luke Skywalker “Screen Used” Return of the Jedi Lightsaber Movie Prop with Elstree Studios/Elstree Props/Danziger Collection Connections Surfaces on eBay

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Continuing a long line of “screen used” Luke Skywalker prop lightsabers attributed to Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi with connections to Elstree Studios/Elstree Props/The Danziger Collection, yet another one has surfaced for sale on eBay.  Although there are photos of the prop and related documents and certificates of authenticity (COAs) from “Piece of the Stars Memorabilia” (a company I have never heard of before), of course the resolution of these images are limited to 500px × 375px (do cameras still exist today that shoot at such a low resolution?), rendering examination challenging, to say the least.  In the interests of public debate and discussion, Original Prop Blog has long documented the public sale offerings of other prop lightsabers attributed to Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker in Return of the Jedi that have similar origins and associations, which can be found HERE. [Read more…]

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Bonhams & Goodman in Australia Sell Incomplete Superman Costume for $21,000 at Auction

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Bonhams & Goodman of Australia held a toy and memorabilia auction on Sunday which included a partial Superman costume attributed to the films of the 70s and 80s starring Christopher Reeve.  This set realized a hammer price of $22,500 Australia Dollars, or about $27,000 including Buyer’s Premium (or about $17,500/$21,000 USD). [Read more…]

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

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I started asking questions about Superman costumes in the marketplace, attributed to the Christopher Reeve films of the 70s and 80s, over two years ago.  Since, I have published over 100 related articles, asking questions and sharing information and insights – all in an attempt to bring clarity to the marketplace and empower collectors and other interested parties with more information with which to make their own assessments and conclusions.  [Read more…]

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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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Superman Costume Tracking Matrices [Version 2.0]

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This work product is part of the ongoing series of articles about Superman costumes in the marketplace, tracking public auction house, dealer and dealer websites, and public eBay listings of costume items attributed to use by Christopher Reeve in the Superman films of the 70s and 80s (see category Market Watch | Superman). [Read more…]