{"id":27558,"date":"2012-01-08T00:41:50","date_gmt":"2012-01-08T08:41:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/?p=27558"},"modified":"2012-10-18T11:06:56","modified_gmt":"2012-10-18T18:06:56","slug":"the-original-prop-blog-2011-year-in-review-news-developments-and-trends-in-collecting-original-tv-movie-props-costumes-and-pop-culture-memorabilia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.originalprop.com\/blog\/2012\/01\/08\/the-original-prop-blog-2011-year-in-review-news-developments-and-trends-in-collecting-original-tv-movie-props-costumes-and-pop-culture-memorabilia\/","title":{"rendered":"The Original Prop Blog 2011 Year in Review: News, Developments, and Trends in Collecting Original TV & Movie Props, Costumes and Pop Culture Memorabilia"},"content":{"rendered":"

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As was the case in previous years<\/a> (see 2007 Year in Review<\/a>, 2008 Year in Review<\/a>, 2009 Year in Review<\/a>, 2010 Year in Review<\/a>), what follows is an editorial featuring my personal observations and opinions<\/em> with regards to the business of buying, collecting, selling, preserving original pop culture artifacts – looking back at the top trends, developments, and news stories of 2011. As is always the case, this is a completely subjective exercise, and merely touches on the developments and events that relate to the hobby. <\/p>\n

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11) Authenticity Questioned?\u00a0 Sellers Sell Anyway…\u00a0 And Buyers That Buy First, Ask Questions Later<\/h3>\n

As we see year after year, certain pieces come up for auction that range from questionable to obviously inauthentic, and in spite of this, the dealer\/seller\/auction house proceeds with going forward with the offer for sale.\u00a0 In some cases, pieces are publicly questioned, and in others, I hear from individuals who contact the seller\/auction houses privately, and the concerns expressed (and in some cases irrefutable evidence showing something is not as advertised) seem to have no affect.<\/p>\n

I also continue to receive phone calls and e-mails from collectors who buy something that is obviously problematic, with readily available information and resources to illustrate why, and they come to me wanting to tell them that it is real… with no interest in what I would characterize in “self help”, and I’m left wondering how it is that they believe that I can help them.<\/p>\n

I am hopeful that the marketplace evolves in the future whereby buyers employ more caution on the front end rather than after having already completed a transaction.\u00a0 But I think some operate in a world where if someone buys (literally and figuratively) what they have to sell, it is acceptable.\u00a0 And others buy with the expectation that if they are able to without someone intervening to stop them, it must be genuine.\u00a0 These two worlds colliding does the field no good, but I don’t have much to suggest to curb either one.<\/p>\n

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10) The Success (and reliability) of Estate Sales<\/h3>\n

While estate-style sales are a staple of the marketplace, it seemed as though in 2011 we saw some that were both prominent and very successful, most notably the John Wayne<\/a> sale handled by Heritage Auction Galleries and the Elizabeth Taylor<\/a> sale events managed by Christie’s.\u00a0 This year also saw Doyle New York offering pieces from the Douglas Fairbanks Jr<\/a> estate and Julien’s Auctions holding events for Tony Curtis<\/a> and Bette Midler<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Estate sales handled by reputable auction companies are great for the field as they offer material from a specific individual, and the issues involving authenticity, as far as “owned by” status, are removed from the equation.<\/p>\n

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9) Crowdsource Buying?<\/h3>\n

One new development we witnessed in 2011 was the notion of “crowdsource” purchasing.\u00a0 Crowdsourcing is a term that generally means appealing to the public, typically via the Internet, to collectively join in an effort.\u00a0 As applied to this marketplace, it obviously involves raising money to purchase a high value (and likely high profile) prop or costume.<\/p>\n

Such an attempt was made by a company looking to purchase the Marilyn Monroe Seven Year Itch<\/em> “subway dress” offered at auction by Profiles in History in their first Debbie Reynolds auction (more on the dress and the auction further down the list).<\/p>\n

As articulated in two articles published on the OPB in 2011 (LINK #1<\/a>, LINK #2<\/a>), this effort raised some questions, which resulted in some<\/em> answers, but I personally remain skeptical of the idea of anyone seeking large sums of money donated from strangers in order to purchase an expensive piece at auction.\u00a0 There is some presumptuousness in the arguments about “saving”, “preserving”, and\/or preventing an item from being hidden away from the public, when one cannot know the outcome of an auction before it happens, nor the intentions of other prospective, competing bidders.\u00a0 And, if successful, someone or some organization will then own the item in question, so it seems like an inherently problematic proposition from my standpoint.<\/p>\n

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8) (Some) Fraud in the News<\/h3>\n

While in substance it generally amounts to mere token efforts compared to what truly occurs in the collecting fields, some fraud-related stories do manage to make the mainstream media, year after year.<\/p>\n

In 2011, we saw an update on the ongoing saga regarding\u00a0 the vintage poster scandal<\/a>, a new story about an entertainment memorabilia dealer on eBay pleading guilty to fraud charges<\/a>, and more stories in the sports memorabilia field regarding court cases and FBI investigations<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I continue to await the day when there is substantial interest by both law enforcement agencies and the mainstream media in focusing on the field of original television and movie props and costumes.\u00a0 There is perhaps more blatant, and possibly more lucrative examples in this specific market than compared with sports memorabilia and posters\/lobby cards.\u00a0 But I think it is also much more niche and also a more sophisticated field for law enforcement and mainstream news media to understand.\u00a0 But I am confident that it will happen one day, and happen in a big way.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, I fairly regularly receive unverified information and claims from interesting sources regarding serious accusations of fraud and other crimes, from some surprising sources, including from individuals claiming to be former employees and even family members and other close associates of certain individuals and parties.\u00a0 While I may not respond to most of this, I do keep meticulous records, and when the day comes that the FBI, 60 Minutes, 20\/20, Dateline, or other law enforcement or mainstream media outlets come knocking on my door, I can point them to some potentially interesting and fruitful sources of information.<\/p>\n

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7) Pop Culture Mecca – San Diego Comic Con<\/h3>\n

While I have only been providing annual news coverage of San Diego Comic Con since 2008<\/a>, I have been attending the show fairly regularly going back to the late 80s, so I have been able to witness its growth and evolution for some time.\u00a0 What is most fascinating is that every year it continues to get bigger and bigger, which for the past few years, hasn’t seemed possible.<\/p>\n

One thing is certain – the event is the singular pop culture event of the year, every year.\u00a0 If you have never attended, it is highly recommended, though it has become increasingly near impossible to secure both tickets and lodging.\u00a0 I do make attempts to alert OPB readers to such opportunities via the official OPB Twitter account<\/a>.\u00a0 Outside of auctions, there are no other regular gathers of individuals from this hobby and art market, so everything else aside, it is a wonderful opportunity to meet and meet up with others who collect, sell, and\/or preserve original pop culture artifacts.<\/p>\n

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6) Collector Loses Lawsuit Against Julien’s Auctions<\/h3>\n

One of the more interesting legal cases (and outcomes) of 2011 was the lawsuit filed by a collector against Julien’s Auctions and other parties involved in the canceled Michael Jackson auction.<\/p>\n

The Original Prop Blog followed this story from its origins<\/a>, going back to the initial, separate legal wranglings leading up to the eventually canceled sale<\/a> of what would have been a huge collection of Jackson’s personal property from Neverland Ranch.<\/p>\n

Following the canceled sale, collector Richard LaPointe filed suit against Julien’s Auctions, MJJ Productions, and others<\/a>, originally claiming $5 million dollars in damages, having placed online bids in advance of the live auction date (though paid no money for any item, since the auction never happened), prior to the auction being canceled.<\/p>\n

This was major news in the mainstream media, with the Beverly Hills Courier providing leading reports on the trial.\u00a0 Their reporting served in part as the basis for the updates on the Original Prop Blog in 2011:<\/p>\n