This is a tragedy for those who honestly covet and choose to collect
props, etc. But it is a cautionary tale and is also why I don't
collect autographs, etc. after buying some that turned out to be
forged. If you need any basis to question art 'experts' one need
look no further than Orson Welles' great and honest film on forgery,
F FOR FAKE.
If I hear the call to collect anything but it's a judgement call on
authenticity, I don't accept it.
Patrick
On Feb 7, 2008, at 2:11 PM, Richard Halegua Comic Art wrote:
Of course I echo Sue's feelings
As far as Grey Smith, John Petty and the rest of the movie poster &
comic book/art divisions I have nothing but respect for them. They
do such a great job & by proxy, such a great service for the hobby,
that you have to feel sorry that at least on some small level, it
reflects on these folks. The guy at Heritage whose job it is to vet
these items has clearly done a poor job, especially in light of the
fact that I know this story was also reported last summer
In so far as LA Props.. Clearly their intention was to defraud & I
suspect they will be filing a bankruptcy sometime soon because
their company will in all likelihood be charged criminally by Texas
and probably Mississippi authorities for auction fraud,
misrepresentation etc. as well as being the likely target of a
civil suit by Heritage. Buyers cannot sue LA Props because they
have no contract with LA Props and so bidders can only sue Heritage
- if it were to get that far. It is clearly in the interests of
Heritage to clear this issue out by giving refunds to all who ask -
even if their purchases are not suspect and did not source from LA
Props. Heritage in turn would sue LA Props, or submit losses to
their insurance company.
But you have to ask.. how many other people did LA Props sell to
over what period of time?
Also, if LA Props has a store of truly real Hollywood props, they
have devalued these items by connection to themselves
By the way, I have also heard that Profiles in History has also
been accused of similar issues in their auctions
it's a real sh*tstorm
Rich===============
At 01:56 PM 2/7/2008, Susan Heim wrote:
Very good post Freeman. It is a shame that the shadow is now cast
on Heritage with all the hard work and honest effort in most of
their divisions and, unfortunately, you will have people that
hear this story and it will affect their decision to consign
anything to Heritage. As this story unravels, I'm sure even more
will come to light. My question is the legal ramifications to this
company LA Props. Obviously there was an intention to defraud. The
owners or perpetrators are guilty of criminal activity. There has
to be something more that can be done to them other than just
suing them. I'm wondering how they thought they could get away
with it. Perhaps greed was just too much and they couldn't stop
continuing to pass off these items to an obviously willing
auctioneer.
I have had nothing but wonderful experiences with Heritage and
Grey is one of the most upstanding people I have ever known. I'm
sure this incident will make all at Heritage "over alert" at this
point and I, personally, would not hesitate to consign something
to them.
Sue Heim
www.hollywoodposterframes.com
----- Original Message -----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [email protected]
Sent: Thursday, February 07, 2008 11:33 AM
Subject: [MOPO] Heritage Auction's Prop Bust
You know, I hate to see Heritage get caught in any scandal what
with the hard work of our buddy Grey dedicating immense effort to
get his poster auctions to the caliber they presently enjoy as
well as many of the other divisions that have worked hard to plant
their tent pole auctions including coins, comics, Americana,
jewels, minerals, antiques etc. But the guy running props was
warned time and again on his listings by people I know personally,
as well as a website for props that undertook astonishing
documentation that called into question a shocking number of
their so called certified items.
On this one website, one intrepid member knew the user ID LA Props
would use to purchase items on Ebay. He could actually trace
items purchased on Ebay (this is a non-specific example) but say
a simple cowboy hat would be purchased, exact item would later
be "authenticated" as John Wayne's. I know that sounds incredible
but this individual sited numerous situations exactly like this.
These findings and calls into question would be arrogantly ignored
by the director at Heritage props much to the frustration of
dealers who specialize in such items knowing such a scandal could
hurt the hobby as a whole. How many even know LA Prop is not
even in California?
The guy at Heritage should be terminated, he was warned and
challenged time and again and now his declarations of protest in
the press are a joke. He knew, he knew the entire time. The
implications hopefully will nipped in the bud unique to this
individual and LA Props. But Heritage will have their work cut out
for them on future endeavors. What's the saying, "lay with dogs
you get fleas, or in this case, ticks." It's fraud on the
grandest scale and a shame for an organization that has worked so
hard to be one of the best.
freeman fisher
8601 west knoll dr. #7
west hollywood, ca
90069
310-6579426
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