Thanks for posting the link Bruce. Certainly a lot to take in and consider. I do see that the date on the link you posted is three days after the auction in question from Heritage (and apparently the same auction later referenced in the Dallas News article). Unfortunately I am not a member of the Movie Prop Forum, so i have no idea how long before the auction (if at all), there was discussion about this item or if photos showing the items were similar are evidence that they are the same. It appears the blog author attempted to ask questions to Heritage two days before the auction, but i am not sure if it was specific to this item, or the consignor in general. Nor I am I sure how long it would take after an inquiry like this to for Heritage to be able to check anything (especially if it was a general one and the collector didn't offer up any research they had done). Really - I am pretty clueless when it comes to prop collecting.
I know when you have had items that were incorrect and I have submitted corrections to you, that someone there has made corrections very quickly (I would guess trusting my expertise in that area as proof enough), I have also found this to be true with Grey in the Heritage poster auctions (in fact I was able to help him figure out a fake right before their last catalog went to press). But again, I have no idea how this process would work in their prop department. I will say that it is great to see another forum dedicated to helping collectors weed-out fakes from authentic pieces of memorabilia: be it fake Dr. Jekyll top hats, fake Alien lobby sets, fake Spider-man posters or whatever, most of the research and time spent finding these things out comes from dedicated collectors and it benefits the hobby as a whole. ----- Original Message ----- From: Bruce Hershenson To: Sean Linkenback Cc: [email protected] Sent: Sunday, September 20, 2009 6:07 PM Subject: Re: [MOPO] Big auction houses normal or not normal? Here is the "smoking gun". http://www.originalprop.com/blog/?p=61 This blog started writing about LA Prop and their phony items in April 2007, and gave extensive evidence of the fakes being passed off as real (it wasn't that hard because the people behind LA Prop simply bought old items on eBay and then added a fake COA to them, and then consigned them, so for example, an old hip flask magically became Errol Flynn's hip flask). It was talked about and e-mailed about extensively throughout the rest of 2007 (as I said, many prop sellers were well aware of this), and it was completely blown off by your favorite auction house UNTIL the news media was contacted by a buyer. In the case of Rita Rooney, she had complete documented evidence that the image online on the auction was enhanced digitally to take away defects that were present in the actual poster she received. Do you view the above as "no big deal" or the work of "a bit of a scoundrel"? Bruce On Sun, Sep 20, 2009 at 4:40 PM, Bruce Hershenson <[email protected]> wrote: There are indeed other links to sites that posted about LA Prop well before that story, and I will post them later when I have time. And there is at least one MoPo member who deals in props who knows full well they were told many times about the fakes and completely ignored it. Bruce On Sun, Sep 20, 2009 at 4:32 PM, Sean Linkenback <[email protected]> wrote: I am reading your message but I still don't see the name of the auction house you have now hinted at for weeks is denying responsibility and not refunding money. Does this auction house actually exist? I am not an employee of Heritage, and I will bet that even with your continued attacks of them, Grey does not regret sending you the posters, nor denying your $100 offer as he has consistently shown that he cares about the hobby. (Does he care because it affects his bottom line? my guess is he would answer that question the same as you would). I also don't know anything about the prop situation except for the single story you posted (which someone pointed out was written after Heritage initiated a lawsuit), but am certainly open to reading more about it. Do you have any further links to articles/stories? ----- Original Message ----- From: Bruce Hershenson To: Sean Linkenback Cc: [email protected] Sent: Sunday, September 20, 2009 5:22 PM Subject: Re: [MOPO] Big auction houses normal or not normal? Since you specialize in excusing away all they do, how about explaining away why they completely ignored the many complaints posted and sent to them about LA Prop consigning fakes to them UNTIL a respected collector called a Dallas TV station, and suddenly THEN they cared and did something? Or how about the time Rita Rooney caught them 100% selling an item to her with a doctored photo, and they completely blew her off for a long time UNTIL she posted the entire story on MoPo (complete with undoctored and doctored photos, and suddenly THEN they cared and did something? I sure hope you are getting paid well for your hard work. Bruce On Sun, Sep 20, 2009 at 3:43 PM, Sean Linkenback <[email protected]> wrote: I agree that the appearance of Deep Pockets tends to attract more attention, both good and bad, so the fact that Heritage is nearly 250X the size of Bruce's little operation (this year alone) means they have a much bigger target on their back. While Grey certainly can't be expected to police the entirety of Heritage and it's departments, I believe it speaks volumes that in the seven years they have been dealing posters they have already nearly equaled Bruce's twenty years worth of sales but I have never heard of a single lawsuit or threat of one, nor have I heard of them not paying a consignor nor any other complaints (perhaps aside from their "outrageous" buyer's premium, or the occasional misdescription just like Bruce, Cinemasterpieces or any other volume seller is apt to do). Despite Bruce's constant attacks on Heritage, when Bruce wanted to see an example of one of the fake Universal Horror posters, Grey immediately stepped up and not only provided him with multiple examples, he even declined Bruce's $100 "bounty" for them. It is also interesting that in the article Bruce posted, Heritage is taking the proactive approach of refunding customers and going after the bad guys themselves, NOT telling their customers that they don't have any liability for the fakes. So I guess we can definitely wipe Heritage off the list of auction houses that Bruce has been hinting do this practice. Now if only he would finally tell us who that auction house (or houses) is, so that we can avoid them in the future. I guess fear tactics work better when there are multiple nameless targets or "everyone else but me" rather than naming any specifics. ----- Original Message ----- From: Bruce Hershenson To: [email protected] Sent: Sunday, September 20, 2009 3:49 PM Subject: Re: [MOPO] Big auction houses normal or not normal? I only do $3 million a year which is a pittance compared to the $700 million Heritage does (but is that with or without N.P. Gresham's purchases?), but in 20 years I have never had a lawsuit or court case, either against me or initiated by me. I wonder if that means I am doing something wrong? Maybe if I want to become one of the "big boys" I need to change the way I do business? Bruce On Sun, Sep 20, 2009 at 2:43 PM, Simon Oram <[email protected]> wrote: I was just wondering is it normal for big auction houses to have multiple lawsuits or court cases going on at the same time - is it also part of the normal days work at the big houses to be accusing and have accusers? Simon 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. 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.
