As seen on TV: We get some tips on investing in film memorabilia
I wasn't expecting to, but I grinned excitedly when I saw – with my very own eyes – two of the wand boxes from the first Harry Potter film.
Maybe that’s just my inner fangirl shining through, but it’s that emotional reaction that has made the film memorabilia industry so huge.
It’s that rare glimpse into the magic world of movie-making – props that have helped make the fiction (or actual magic, in Harry Potter’s case) come to life, even nourishing the personal relationship that we can have with films.
Given the popularity of many blockbusters, it’s not surprising that the price of film memorabilia keeps inching up.
For many years, these props were only ever deemed a byproduct of the filmmaking process, and a lot of the stuff from the 60s, 70s, and 80s was thrown away
Film and TV memorabilia shop Prop Store is hosting its fifth annual auction on 20 September, which is expected to fetch in excess of £3.5m. According to figures from the company, the value of film props has jumped by around 300 per cent over the past 10 years, outperforming other categories of collectables.
For real?
When Stephen Lane, the chief executive of Prop Store, gives me a tour of some of the other items up for grabs (you can see them for yourself at the BFI IMAX), I am impressed at the price some are expected to sell for.
Unsurprisingly, Star Wars memorabilia garners the most interest, with a lightsaber expecting to scoop up to £100,000, while a tarnished Stormtrooper helmet may get as much as £60,000. But the show-stealer is a Han Solo jacket from The Empire Strikes Back, which could be bought for an eyebrow-raising £1m.
Plenty of us will wonder how anyone can justify paying that much money for a rather ordinary-looking jacket, but more people are seeing these film “artifacts” as investment opportunities.
Just like housing, the economics of supply and demand dictate the value of some of these items; their rarity, combined with the popularity of the films, drives up the price.
And, as Lane explains, film memorabilia has become harder to find. “For many years, these props were only ever deemed a byproduct of the filmmaking process, and a lot of the stuff from the 60s, 70s, and 80s was thrown away because no one thought it had any value whatsoever.”
After filming, some items would be sold to the production crew for a knock-down price, or – as studios didn’t tend to own the costumes outright – some were given back to the rental houses that had made them.
It’s often a case of hard detective work – almost to a forensic level
In the late 90s (and the early days of Prop Store ), Lane would find reams of material that had been neglected for years, and he brought shipping containers of props back to the UK to sell on his website. It was only when the studios started to see these assets sell that they changed their stance.
“By about 2005, props were no longer made to hire, but made internally so they don’t get outside the studio system,” Lane explains. The studios now have asset managers to track items – even microchipping them.
“The only way that we can continue to secure material is through partnerships with studios and production houses, so Prop Store became a conduit from the companies to the collectors.”
While Lane continues to rummage around special effects houses, there’s also the churn of recycled material that forms part of the supply chain. “Some people have held onto something long enough and decide to sell it, sometimes buying something else that they couldn’t get their hands on before.”
Fake or fortune
There’s also the question of authenticity, and Lane draws parallels to the art and antique world – even comparing it to the BBC One programme Fake or Fortune. “A lot of it is about provenance – we find out the chain of ownership since the production.”
Think about the films that you love – owning a prop should give you an element of enjoyment
He says the prop world was rife with fakes in the 80s and 90s, because people would usually only see films once or twice. Even when VHS came along, the screen would be blurry when you paused the film, making it near-impossible to compare.
Lane says DVD and BlueRay have become exceptional tools for helping to gauge whether an artifact is the real deal.
“We have a huge library of behind-the-scenes references as well, and we know lots of technicians who have worked on these films – so we are having conversations with these guys. We’re also familiar with what paints and glues were used, and how things were constructed; that’s again helped by years of knowledge that we have built up as a company.”
But Lane admits that there is no formula to how you find this stuff. “It’s often a case of hard detective work – almost to a forensic level.”
Money-maker
I ask the Prop Store founder what advice he would give to any investors who want to dabble in this sector, and his philosophy is to “buy with your heart”.
“Think about the films that you love – owning an artifact should give you an element of enjoyment. And if you feel passionate, there are probably other like-minded individuals who feel the same too, and the value will rise with the rest of the market.”
You then need to find out what is out there in the marketplace, because Lane points out that it can be impossible to locate material from some films.
His next tip is to decide how much you are willing to commit. “You should buy at the top of your budget, but buy singularly – so rather than buying two items at £500 each, buy something for £1,000. If it’s worth £1,000 today, it’s because it’s clearly identifiable on the screen, and there’s interest in it.”
We are moving outside of the collector-driven, niche marketplace – which is where our business originated
Once you’ve made the purchase, investors should preserve the prop in order to maximise profit later down the line.
Lane tells me that a Captain America shield sold for £60,000 earlier this year, after it was bought for £11,500 in 2012, while a Star Wars Tie Fighter helmet sold for £216,000 last year, after it was purchased for just £3,000 in the 90s.
The dark arts
Film props have now piqued the interest of art and history organisations. “We are moving outside of the collector-driven, niche marketplace – which is where our business originated,” Lane explains.
“Now, institutions, archives, museums, and exhibitions are all interested in buying this stuff, because they now see that it needs to be preserved, and people are really interested, and want to talk about it. And when you have the investor angle on top of that as well, you’ve got these layers that build up.”
While there is clearly money to be made, memorabilia is essentially about celebrating film, and recognising it as an artform.
For me, Harry Potter is priceless. But if I can make a return from a shared appreciation and love of the franchise, then maybe I’ll invest my own cash in the wand boxes.