by Celebrities are notorious for taking props from sets to keep as personal mementos. Daniel Radcliffe admitted to taking several pairs of Harry Potter glasses, while Adam Driver took home a Star Wars-wrapped visor. However, this could soon be a thing of the past as props from many of our most popular TV shows will be going up for auction.
Instead of reusing or archiving props and costumes, production companies are teaming up with auction houses to sell entire sets from popular TV series.
This week, auction house Bonhams launched a free exhibition in London showcasing more than 450 items from Netflix’s historical drama The Crown, which is set to go under the hammer at two separate auctions in February.
Including everything from a replica of Diana’s “revenge” dress worn by actress Elizabeth Debicki in the show – the original sold in 1997 for almost £40,000 – to two miniature porcelain corgis based on versions seen on Queen Elizabeth’s desk II at Windsor Castle, it. It is estimated that the auction could fetch more than £1m.
However, this pales in comparison to the show’s huge budget. Last year, financial statements revealed that each of the 10 episodes in season five cost £11.6m per hour with lavish set designs skyrocketing the budget. However, the auction is not an attempt to recoup costs. Proceeds from a special live auction of 161 trees are going to a new program for film students, Left Bank Pictures – The Crown Scholarship, at the National Film and Television School.
While celebrity estate sales are common, a growing market for on-screen moments has recently sparked public interest. Charlie Thomas, Bonhams head of sales, says the Crown auction is the first time a complete set from a single production has gone up for sale in the UK. “It’s completely unique, nothing like this has ever happened before.”
Elsewhere, on Sunday more than 200 items, including Waystar-branded coffee mugs, a “miserably capricious” Burberry bag and four “Boar on the Floor” plastic sausages will go under the hammer, one of which is being sold by US Heritage Auctions . Similar terms from the HBO cult TV show Succession.
Jax Strobel, managing director of Heritage Screenbid who worked with HBO to put together the online sale, describes the response from the public as “extraordinary”.
Among the most viewed items on the site are Kendall Roy’s Waystar Royco plastic ID badge and Tom Wambsgans black Calvin Klein wallet that includes a black fake credit card and a wad of dollar bills. “Many fans focused on the hidden details revealed in the documents created by the prop department,” says Strobel, highlighting Roman Roy’s undelivered praise written on pink cards and a birthday card from Logan to Kendall, the missionary sent a day happy birthday and replaced it with “Cash Out and Fuck Off” handwritten in blue ink.
Meanwhile, a tutu worn by Sarah Jessica Parker in the opening credits of Sex and The City and found by the show’s costume designer, Patricia Field, in a “five-dollar bin at a fashion showroom” is estimated to fetch more than £10,000 downtown”. in an online auction next week.
As to who will buy a replica of the coronation chair or a reproduction of Diana’s engagement ring, it’s anyone’s guess, with inquiries from America to the Middle East. Thomas says he could see the gold state coach replica, which is estimated to fetch between £30,000 and £50,000, in a Las Vegas nightclub. Regarding face No. 10 Downing Street (£20,000 to £30,000), sans Larry the cat, would it surprise anyone if Boris Johnson made a winning bid to secure it for a party at his Oxfordshire moat?
Not all fans are happy. “Only people with Succession money can participate at this point,” reads one comment on a Reddit forum indicating that bids are being sought on cranberry sauce stunt foam tanks used by Logan Roy to beat his grandson’s stand for over £260. Others have suggested that many of the more generic royal pieces from The Crown set could be reused elsewhere for sustainability purposes.
“I wonder if some of the best props might go into private ownership never to be seen again,” says Scott Bryan, television critic and broadcaster. “In years to come there might be interest in an exhibition of a popular show from this era, and that might be more difficult if the props were spread out or hard to find.”
What our writers would choose…
Jonathan Freedland: Of course, I’m drawn to the silk chiffon strapless dress with asymmetrical ruffled flounce hemline worn by Sarah Jessica Parker in season 3, episode 17 of Sex and the City. Not so much for me, and for my wife, who was once mistaken for Carrie Bradshaw by a waiter in Paris – a moment that, even now, almost two decades later, I find difficult to convince her that she was not I was on stage. However, and perhaps selfishly, I would like to put my money behind a bid for a mock cover of New York magazine, which shows the Roy family at war. One of the particular pleasures of Succession was his genius for fictional media coverage – the false but believable stories that flashed across the screen on ATN, a channel like Waystar Royco’s Fox News, or the page spread double in the New York Times during the Swedish takeover. (and yes, I paused to examine every readable word of that one). It would be too good to have a real fake on display in the downstairs loo. How much would I offer? I’d act like Logan – gathering intel on my rival suitors, then blowing everyone out of the water before taking my prize for a song.
Jess Cartner– Morley: When Sex and the City first came out, I wanted to be Carrie Bradshaw. Millions of women did. The tutu skirt she wore in the opening credits is Carrie’s final look, and a brilliant piece of costume design by Patricia Field, as it explains who the character is – scary, funny, romantic – in one frame. Bidding is currently at $9,000 – a lot for a skirt Field paid $5 for in a junk sale, and it’s likely to go for much more. But it’s definitely a complete snip for the cultural icon. I want to raise my paddle for sure. In Carrie’s own words, “I like my money when I can see it. Hang in my closet.”
Sam Wollaston: My neighborhood is slowly catching up, even a Tesla is parked a few doors down now and our moss covered Skoda Fabia is embarrassing the kids. So in a (literal) attempt to not only keep up with the Joneses but overtake them (probably not literally), I will reproduce the state gold trophy used in The Crown (seasons 3 and 6) and park it outside . This replica of the magnificent rococo carriage built in 1762 for George III and used for royal carriages ever since, says auction house Bonhams, is a “unique opportunity to own the last one in royal conduct”. perfect I hope it has a good sound system, I’m thinking hip-hop boom, the school run.
Oh, engine not included! Well, how much can eight white horses cost? Or there’s always the donkey sanctuary I guess. The carriage is expected to fetch £30,000 to £50,000? Fine… well, not fine, but Tesla ballpark. And no one is even looking at your Tesla now, are they? Have Olivia Colman and Imelda Staunton riding there? I do not think so…
Sean Craic: The door to No. 10 attractive. But where in the world would I put it? And with a guide price of £10,000, that’s a lot of money for something that will be rotting in the garden. Anyway, there are plenty of photos of me outside of No. 10 from the parties that the prime minister reluctantly spends on lobbying journalists every year. So from The Crown auction, it has to be the little sign that says “Cabinet Room”. The guide price for that starts at just £100 so it’s pretty much affordable and would look great landing outside my home office.
A Succession auction is a little more difficult. I’m not sure I’m the type of person who knows how to buy his way into the world of the wealthy Rupert Murdoch. I mean, even a fake private jet that doesn’t go anywhere, I’ll be bankrupt. So it has to be a Calvin Klein suit for Greg. Not only can I agree with the stranger in need who wants to be adopted, but also because the current offer is only $410. Something that feels really cheap, Logan Roy would approve.
