Star Trek auctions
From Memory Alpha, the free Star Trek reference.
| This article is written from the Real World point of view |
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Star Trek is a 40-year-plus franchise, the sum of more than 700 episodes and ten films. During the years of production, thousands and thousands of set pieces, props, wardrobe items, and other production materials have been acquired, as well as thousands of dedicated fans who will pay a hefty price to add parts of this historic series to their personal collections. In the past, Paramount chose to keep the production inventory, to be used again in future episodes, but after the cancellation of Enterprise, when there were no more Trek productions planned for the foreseeable future, Paramount decided to liquidate these assets. This precipitated several high-profile auctions of memorabilia, and a frenzy of starving collectors who fought over each item, with their pocketbooks as weapons.
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[edit] Christie's
Christie's is a world-famous auction house, with an outstanding reputation. It is currently the world's leading auction house by revenues.
[edit] Fred Phillips collection
In November 2000, Christie's auctioned a selection of items given to its Los Angeles auction house by the estate of Fred Phillips. Items that were sold included the original mould for Spock's Vulcan ears (estimate: $20,000), as well as a number of other moulds and makeup pieces, along with scripts, autographs and other memorabilia.
[edit] 40 Years of Star Trek: The Collection
- Main article: 40 Years of Star Trek: The Collection
From October 3 through 5, 2006, Christie's held a very high-profile auction titled 40 Years of Star Trek: The Collection. The auction of 1,000 lots, all of which were Trek studio models, props, wardrobe, or other memorabilia, took in more than seven million dollars. As it does for most of its auctions, Christie's offered a very collectible print catalog, with photographs and descriptions for every item in the sale.
[edit] 2007 Film and Entertainment Memorabilia auction
On May 30, 2007, Christie's held another auction, this one titled Film and Entertainment Memorabilia, Sale 1854, in New York. The sale of 288 lots included a wide variety of items from film and entertainment history, including 26 lots containing items from Star Trek, a few of which were re-listed from October 2006's auction.
- On the date of the sale, exchange rates were approximately as follows: US$1 = £0.51, SFr 1.23, ¥121.52, €0.75.
- The buyer's premium was changed between the 40 Years auction in October 2006 and May 2007. It was changed to 20% up to 500 thousand dollars, but none of the items in this sale went above that amount.
- The highest-priced item in this sale was not Trek-related, it was "A hot pink cocktail dress worn by Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly in Breakfast At Tiffany's, 1961". It sold for US$192,000 including the buyer's premium.
[edit] Selected items
- Lot 283: Replica of Captain Kirk's chair
Estimate: $8,000 - $12,000; Highest bid: $18,000; Price: $21,600 - Lot 279: Six TOS-style men's Starfleet uniforms
Estimate: $2,500 - $3,500; Highest bid: $7,000; Price: $8,400 - Lot 282: Klingon space station model
Estimate: $2,000 - $3,000; Highest bid: $5,500; Price: $6,600 - Lot 272: Spock's headband from Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Estimate: $500 - $700; Highest bid: $4,500; Price: $5,400 - Lot 273: Data's boots
Estimate: $200 - $300; Highest bid: $750; Price: $900
[edit] Profiles in History
Profiles in History is a Hollywood memorabilia seller that often includes several rare or unique Star Trek items in its auctions. Profiles is known for its very thorough research and, like Christie's, offers very professional catalogs of all its auctions. Printed copies can be purchased on-line, or PDF versions can be downloaded for free.
[edit] The Star Trek Auction
On 12 December 2001, Profiles held an auction at the Hollywood Entertainment Museum, featuring many items from the personal collection of Matt Jefferies. Jefferies' proceeds from the sale went to the Motion Picture and Television Fund.
- Lot ???: Scale model of USS Enterprise from the original Star Trek series
Estimate: unknown; Highest bid: $42,500 - Lot ???: Captain Kirk's uniform shirt from season two of the original Star Trek series
Estimate: unknown; Highest bid: $40,000
[edit] The Bob Justman Star Trek Auction
On June 27, 2002, Profiles held an auction featuring many items from the collection of Bob Justman.
- Lot 175: Command Chair and platform from the USS Enterprise
Estimate: $100,000-$150,000; Highest bid: $265,000
[edit] Hollywood Auction #24
This auction contained many items from the collection of the late Frederick Clarke, publisher of the science fiction magazine Cinefantastique. The auction was held March 31, 2006. There were many notable items in this collection including:
- Lot 307: James T. Kirk's hero tunic and sash from TOS: "Mirror, Mirror"
Estimate: $30,000 - $40,000; Highest bid: $37,500 - Lot 319: A complete Gorn head mask
Estimate: $20,000 - $30,000; Highest bid: $27,500
[edit] Hollywood Auction #28
Held August 2-3, 2007, this auction included two very notable lots.
- Lot 816: An original TOS Klingon disruptor prop. The prop had been in the personal collection of Matt Jefferies, who designed it as well as many other original series icons. It had been on loan to the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum from June 1993 to March 1994
Estimate: $20,000 - $25,000; Highest bid: $35,500; Price: $40,250 - Lot 834: A collection of 139 final scripts and guides from the personal collection of Marina Sirtis. Each item is signed by Sirtis.
Estimate: $6,000 - $8,000; Highest bid: $8,000
[edit] Hollywood Auction #30
This was a very large sale of lots from many varied science fiction series, plus some non-SF items. It was held December 13 and 14, 2007, and included 34 Trek-related items, the notable ones including:
- Lot 1222: Jean-Luc Picard's "USS Enterprise-E" command chair from the Star Trek films
Estimate: $45,000 - $60,000; Highest bid: $45,500 - Lot 1212: Nichelle Nichols "Lt. Uhura" duty uniform from Star Trek: The Original Series
Estimate: $8,000 - $12,000; Highest bid: $19,000 - Lot 1218: Geordi La Forge's VISOR from Star Trek Generations
Estimate: $3,000 - $5,000; Highest bid: $15,000 - Lot 1217: Commander William Riker's backlit control panel from Star Trek: The Next Generation
Estimate: $3,000 - $5,000; Highest bid: $8,500 - Lot 1224: Worf's hero metal bat'leth from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Estimate: $3,500 - $4,500; Highest bid: $8,500
[edit] It's A Wrap!
- Main article: It's A Wrap! sale and auction
It's A Wrap! is another Hollywood memorabilia seller. In November 2006 Paramount announced that It's A Wrap! would conduct a major sale of thousands of Trek items, most of them in eBay auctions. This effectively clears Paramount's inventory of all past Trek-related items.
[edit] External links
- The Star Trek Auction Listings Archive - an archive of past Star Trek auction items with results
- The Star Trek Prop, Costume and Auction Blog - a blog about collecting Star Trek props and costumes, which has frequent updates on the current It's a Wrap auctions on eBay; there is also a collecting and auction forum here
