Hey All, NONE of the major auction houses should be trusted. If you ever get a chance, read the book Drawn To Trouble. It's about one of the best art forgers of all time. He made pen and ink drawings in the styles of old masters, and sold them through all the big auction houses. The thing is, he was an honest art forger. He never made any claims about his pieces' authenticity, and he never forged a signature (he left all his fakes unsigned). He'd just take them to the auction house and wait for the cheques.
Almost without exception, when his pieces finally hit the auction block, fake signature had magically appeared on them... Cheers, Bob ----- Original Message ----- From: Patrick Michael Tupy To: [email protected] Sent: Thursday, February 07, 2008 5:05 PM Subject: Re: [MOPO] Heritage Auction's Prop Bust 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 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Who's never won? Biggest Grammy Award surprises of all time on AOL Music. Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. 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