Profiles in History have announced their latest “Icons & Legends of Hollywood” auction” event, with a 500 page auction catalog featuring 2,089 lots. Participants can bid online at iCollector. The massive five-day auction will be held June 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th. Though the words “Planet Hollywood” do not appear in the catalog, many of the pieces included in the sale have been identified as from Planet Hollywood. [Read more…]
As reported earlier today (LINK), Profiles in History was all over the news in the mainstream media (Associated Press, Page Six, Syfy Wire, etc.) with outlets writing about one of the highlights of their massive four day “Icons & Legends of Hollywood” auction in June – a “screen used” prop lightsaber attributed to use by Sir Alec Guinness as Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope. Profiles in History claimed that the “hero” lightsaber had provenance leading back to the late John Mollo, the costume designer on the film who passed away late last year. I pointed to an active discussion on the Replica Prop Forum, with some members openly questioning the authenticity of the piece. It appears that the piece – Lot 775 – has been pulled from the auction, as a fresh download of the online PDF version of the catalog for the sale is two pages lighter. Scanning the now 499 pages, it skips the previous two page spread of Lot 775 entirely. [Read more…]
Today, Profiles in History is making news with Associated Press announcing one of the highlights of their next Hollywood auction, a “screen used” prop lightsaber attributed to use by Sir Alec Guinness as Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope. Profiles in History claims that the “hero” lightsaber has provenance going back directly to the late John Mollo, the costume designer on the film who passed away about six months ago. Head over to the Replica Prop Forum, and there is already a discussion underway, with some members raising questions. [Read more…]
IfOnly, the “marketplace for incredible experiences… that benefit worthy causes around the world” has put up quite an interesting set of auctions for fans of the newest Star Wars trilogy put out by Disney. It’s very rare for any “screen-used” helmets from any Star Wars film to be released officially via LucasFilm, and this month with IfOnly there is not just one but two “screen-used First Order stormtrooper helmets from The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi”. Also up for sale is a Porg “limited-edition creature artist’s maquette”. Proceeds from these auctions ending on February 22nd benefit Tipping Point’s Emergency Relief Fund. Note that the terms explain that these pieces of memorabilia can never be resold by the winning bidders. [Read more…]
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), 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 2017. 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. [Read more…]
The Original Prop Blog is more confused than ever with the ever evolving and changing law in California pertaining to the sale and purchase of autographed memorabilia. Governor Jerry Brown signed new changes into law in October, and rather than starting over with a new law that makes sense, they continue to tinker with the existing one which is just a terribly written (though well-intended) piece of legislation. Honestly, it’s gotten to the point where reading these bills and referencing back to the previous laws that the new fixes are supposed to… fix… just continue to make things more and more confusing. Confusing isn’t a strong enough word. Confounding? [Read more…]
The Denver Post published a nice piece by John Wenzel about Colin Cantwell last week, going over his contributions to Star Wars: A New Hope and other accomplishments. You can check it out on their official website: “He kept his Star Wars legacy a secret in Boulder for decades. At 85, the sci-fi pioneer is ready to step out.“ [Read more…]
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…]