Large auction today with a lot of original film concept art 0

[cstojano]

1 hour ago, Bronty said:

And that’s the issue IMO.   To bring it back to say Harryhausen I’m sure you could develop a market, it would just take some time and effort.   Gene says there’s no market and he’s right but that market could exist with the right TLC

It seems silly, but my observations suggest that just framing some of this art for presentation would apparently drive sales. I think some of this early concept work needs to be coaxed to attractiveness.

 

In terms of markets, however, I wonder how Bonhams came up with a low to mid 7 figure estimate for Robby the Robot.

 

https://www.awn.com/news/robby-robot-sell-bonhams

Edited September 28, 2017 by cstojano

[chrisco37]

Didn't check out the auction, but that catalog was pretty cool.   Some of the pre-auction estimates had me confused though (and maybe the auction results are different).  The Venkman suit, I think, was 5K.  I would've figured more, especially compared to similarly estimated items; like swords from Gladiator.   What's the thought process behind that?   Is it a display mentality (sword easier to display than suit).   The suit is near iconic especially compared to a sword (and there were like, what?  100+ swords in Gladiator).  

Starlord mask 30-50K seemed nutty for something so new.     It's cool and all, but you could get a Star Wars item for that kind of coin. 

The Star Wars stuff didn't surprise me. 

[cstojano]

1 hour ago, chrisco37 said:

Didn't check out the auction, but that catalog was pretty cool.   Some of the pre-auction estimates had me confused though (and maybe the auction results are different).  The Venkman suit, I think, was 5K.  I would've figured more, especially compared to similarly estimated items; like swords from Gladiator.   What's the thought process behind that?   Is it a display mentality (sword easier to display than suit).   The suit is near iconic especially compared to a sword (and there were like, what?  100+ swords in Gladiator).  

Starlord mask 30-50K seemed nutty for something so new.     It's cool and all, but you could get a Star Wars item for that kind of coin. 

The Star Wars stuff didn't surprise me. 

Did you see the prices realized? The Star Lord mask actually was the most expensive item in the auction, 181k+/-

[chrisco37]

1 minute ago, cstojano said:

Did you see the prices realized? The Star Lord mask actually was the most expensive item in the auction, 181k+/-

Wow!   I figured it went over estimate (based on some of the posts here).  Like I said, I don't understand it really.   How can Starlord's mask get more than a Star Wars ship?  That makes no sense to me.  Why would a sword from Gladiator have roughly the same pre-auction estimate as a Ghostbuster uniform (worn by Bill Murray, no less)?  

[Bronty]

14 hours ago, cstojano said:

It seems silly, but my observations suggest that just framing some of this art for presentation would apparently drive sales. I think some of this early concept work needs to be coaxed to attractiveness.

 

 

Yup.    All of this stuff is buyer psychology after all.    If it looks like others don’t care about it, and it’s never really been on sale before, they won’t go for much.    Present it like it matters to someone and the prices will do better.   It’s what at the heart of every flowery write up you read.    A reminder that everyone else cares about this so you should too.   People are chicken to be the only ones in the lifeboat.    They want assurances that they have company.

so yeah, in some cases a few  bucks on a cheap frame might add a lot to the result, I have no doubt.   

Edited September 28, 2017 by Bronty

[SquareChaos]

3 hours ago, cstojano said:

Did you see the prices realized? The Star Lord mask actually was the most expensive item in the auction, 181k+/-

Crazy town. Unless Chris Pratt really wanted to keep his mask...

[cstojano]

6 hours ago, chrisco37 said:

Wow!   I figured it went over estimate (based on some of the posts here).  Like I said, I don't understand it really.   How can Starlord's mask get more than a Star Wars ship?  That makes no sense to me.  Why would a sword from Gladiator have roughly the same pre-auction estimate as a Ghostbuster uniform (worn by Bill Murray, no less)?  

I can only imagine institutional buyers here. But yeah how this outperforms a y-wing, well I think my Star Wars bias is showing.

[zhamlau]

Remember though, that was a straight up Hero version of the mask. Very screen identifiable and unique. The Y wing was a miniature and those exist out there, and it had condition issues which aren't super paramount in props but they can affect price. I think scale really matters to many collectors and  hero props matter most because of the fact they can be tied directly to the character/star in question who used them in pivotal scenes. The Y Wing was great, but it was from ROTJ not ANH or ESB, and there are others out there. That Hero mask was one of a kind in the market.

I love star wars props, I own a few of them, but If given a choice between the mask and the model I'd take the Mask.

Edited September 29, 2017 by zhamlau

[chrisco37]

1 hour ago, zhamlau said:

Remember though, that was a straight up Hero version of the mask. Very screen identifiable and unique. The Y wing was a miniature and those exist out there, and it had condition issues which aren't super paramount in props but they can affect price. I think scale really matters to many collectors and  hero props matter most because of the fact they can be tied directly to the character/star in question who used them in pivotal scenes. The Y Wing was great, but it was from ROTJ not ANH or ESB, and there are others out there. That Hero mask was one of a kind in the market.

I love star wars props, I own a few of them, but If given a choice between the mask and the model I'd take the Mask.

Thanks for the explanation.  That helps make a little more sense out of the mentality of prop collectors. 

So, the Starlord mask is, more of less, a "1 of 1", whereas there are multiple Y-wings out there. 

[Bronty]

35 minutes ago, chrisco37 said:

Thanks for the explanation.  That helps make a little more sense out of the mentality of prop collectors. 

So, the Starlord mask is, more of less, a "1 of 1", whereas there are multiple Y-wings out there. 

It seems like the starlord mask is pretty well the best or one of the best things you could get for guardians.

The SW equivalent would be like the screen used vader mask or something.   Which would have blown the starlord out of the water.    A case of apples being compared to oranges?

Edited September 29, 2017 by Bronty

[t3quila]

I bid a few times on the Return of the Jedi 30th Anniversary poster but didn't want to pay £11,000 in total for it including Buyers Premium.

I was more shocked by the Harry Potter signed poster that went for £7800 as I was willing to bid it up to £2000 as a present for my wife.

[zhamlau]

1 hour ago, Bronty said:

2 hours ago, chrisco37 said:

Thanks for the explanation.  That helps make a little more sense out of the mentality of prop collectors. 

So, the Starlord mask is, more of less, a "1 of 1", whereas there are multiple Y-wings out there. 

It seems like the starlord mask is pretty well the best or one of the best things you could get for guardians.

The SW equivalent would be like the screen used vader mask or something.   Which would have blown the starlord out of the water.    A case of apples being compared to oranges?

There are other Y-wings i believe, including at Lucas' private collection. He kept the vast majority of props, thats why anything star wars is so valuable. The way he treats his comic art is the way he treats his props, he is very child-like and possessive like that. Bronty you are very right. What else is more identifiable for Guardians? Maybe if they did a physical model for lighting of the "Milano", but with CGI its just so rare to see that anymore. Physical props like the mask are the best option available, and there is really one 1 of them in private hands it seems. Heck, a light up Ironman helmet worn by Downey , even though after all these films there are probably a few, would kill as well. That or a Thor Hammer (again though, there are many of them).

 

[zhamlau]

15 minutes ago, t3quila said:

I bid a few times on the Return of the Jedi 30th Anniversary poster but didn't want to pay £11,000 in total for it including Buyers Premium.

I was more shocked by the Harry Potter signed poster that went for £7800 as I was willing to bid it up to £2000 as a present for my wife.

Its Alan Rickman. Alan was famous for refusing to sign HP stuff after the first movie. To see him on a no question cast piece, that is so all encompassing....wow. Now, the image sucks a little no doubt, but that its a cast item 100% iron clad signed for production purposes (gifts) is just lights out on fire. I don't think i've ever seen a full cast signed with rickman before. I have heard of one guy who has Rickman and Harris on a Sorcerers Stone poster, that's about it.

[Bronty]

6 minutes ago, zhamlau said:

Its Alan Rickman. Alan was famous for refusing to sign HP stuff after the first movie. To see him on a no question cast piece, that is so all encompassing....wow. Now, the image sucks a little no doubt, but that its a cast item 100% iron clad signed for production purposes (gifts) is just lights out on fire. I don't think i've ever seen a full cast signed with rickman before. I have heard of one guy who has Rickman and Harris on a Sorcerers Stone poster, that's about it.

7800 E for a poster?   I know everything is relative or explainable blah blah but jeez.

[zhamlau]

17 minutes ago, Bronty said:

26 minutes ago, zhamlau said:

Its Alan Rickman. Alan was famous for refusing to sign HP stuff after the first movie. To see him on a no question cast piece, that is so all encompassing....wow. Now, the image sucks a little no doubt, but that its a cast item 100% iron clad signed for production purposes (gifts) is just lights out on fire. I don't think i've ever seen a full cast signed with rickman before. I have heard of one guy who has Rickman and Harris on a Sorcerers Stone poster, that's about it.

7800 E for a poster?   I know everything is relative or explainable blah blah but jeez.

if it had rickman and the rest (including coltane, also impossible) and the image was more like a star wars jam image not this goofy thing....Id pay 5k for it just to close the door on the ultimate HP piece.

[SquareChaos]

4 hours ago, chrisco37 said:

Thanks for the explanation.  That helps make a little more sense out of the mentality of prop collectors. 

So, the Starlord mask is, more of less, a "1 of 1", whereas there are multiple Y-wings out there. 

I've always read they  make multiple copies of those type of props, but I honestly have no expertise here. I didn't even consider it a 1:1 when I was thinking about it. Did the listing state as much?

[zhamlau]

54 minutes ago, SquareChaos said:

I've always read they  make multiple copies of those type of props, but I honestly have no expertise here. I didn't even consider it a 1:1 when I was thinking about it. Did the listing state as much?

Now how many they made, i dont know.  Also remember there will be stunt ones, stuntman ones. But those close up hero ones they only make 1-2 usually as i understand it.

 

If you want to see something cool, here is the refit "toysrgus" site star wars prop links. These are all legit ones folks have posted over the years.

 

http://theswca.com/images-props.html

[The Voord]

On ‎9‎/‎28‎/‎2017 at 1:15 AM, Bronty said:

And that’s the issue IMO.   To bring it back to say Harryhausen I’m sure you could develop a market, it would just take some time and effort.   Gene says there’s no market and he’s right but that market could exist with the right TLC

Except for the 'Clashing Rocks' drawing, I thought that the Harryhausen stuff was a little weak for the most part.  Remember seeing a whole slew of his production drawings at London's Museum of the Moving Image back in the 1980s.  Incredible stuff.  Yeah, a little investment in getting the art matted and framed might have helped prompt more spirited bidding, bearing in mind something like JASON & THE ARGONAUTS is an enduring classic . . .

Edited September 29, 2017 by The Voord

[Bronty]

8 minutes ago, The Voord said:

Except for the 'Clashing Rocks' drawing, I thought that the Harryhausen stuff was a little weak for the most part.  Remember seeing a whole slew of his production drawings at London's Museum of the Moving Image back in the 1980s.  Incredible stuff.  Yeah, a little investment in getting the art matted and framed might have helped prompt more spirited bidding, bearing in mind something like JASON & THE ARGONAUTS is an enduring classic . . .

AGreed.   Hadn't seen the pieces or prices at the time of my post, was just adding on to Gene's comment, but IMO they did fine considering how slightly and sketchy they were.     They were something you'd prize as an artifact more so than as art

[The Voord]

Harryhausen at his best . . .