Guest Blog: Propworx’ Next Star Trek Auction

Propworx, the auction house that held the Star Trek Prop & Costume auction at last year's Las Vegas Star Trek Convention, is holding their second big auction this Saturday, June 4th. There are over 250 lots from high end costumes and props to easily affordable collectibles like scripts, crew gifts and production art.

As many people in the world of Star Trek collecting know, I write the Star Trek Prop, Costume and Auction blog (www.startrekprops.com) and turned my passion for collecting the screen-used props and costumes of my favorite TV show into a business, namely Propworx. Over the last three years, we have had the honor of doing auctions for some major science fiction properties, but none is more important to me, and my team, than Star Trek. So, after last year's highly successful auction in Las Vegas, I was thrilled to see so many collectors tell me that they wanted to consign parts of their collections to Propworx for our next Star Trek auction.

The auction has 257 lots and the pre-auction estimates range from $100-200 up to$ 8-10,000. So, no matter your budget or collecting interest, you are sure to find something you like and can afford. And Star Trek legends Mike and Denise Okuda, Doug Drexler and Rick Sternbach all have consigned items in this auction.

On the high-end collectible side of things, there are two incredibly rareTOS items.  The first is Celeste Yarnall's TOS Red uniform mini-dress. This is the Starfleet uniform she wore as Lt. Martha Landon in "The Apple." It comes with a set of TOS boots, which are incredibly hard to find.  It is red velour, which is quite rare, and prized in TOS costume circles. The other great TOS item is the original matte painting of Starbase 11 from "The Menagerie." It is the most significant matte painting to come to auction from TOS and is expected to close over $10,000.

There are other great costumes, including Worf's gold uniform jumpsuit from the first two seasons of The Next Generation, and Tasha Yar's dress uniform. There are also a few costumes from Captain Proton, including the Delaney sisters' Malicia and Demonica costumes, as well as henchman Lonzak's elaborate costume. There is even Buster Kincaid's laser pistol.

On the prop side of things, the auction is loaded with weapons, such as a detailed First Contact phaser rifle, two different Starfleet phasers, as well as Cardassian, Bajoran, Ferengi and Tellarite pistols. There are also two different Klingon disruptor pistols, one from Enterprise and one from TNG.

The market has seen a lot of Tricorders lately, and there are two in this auction. The first is a Hero Mark X Medical Tricorder that lights up. There is also a resin background version with a holster. Since Tricorders are so important to Star Trek lore, they are always highly prized. However, Tricorders have been selling in the $3-4,000 range the last year, so not that expensive compared to years past.

If you like Enterprise, there is Doctor Phlox's medical kit, which is truly an amazing piece and holds a variety of different hypo-sprays and other medical devices and scanners.

There are a lot of Deep Space Nine fans out there -- including me! In fact, Captain Sisko's uniform was the first costume I won at Christie's in 2006 and is a cherished part of my collection. Well, if you are a fan of that show, there are a lot of props available in this auction. But the best has got to be the Hero Defiant Helm Console. That is right -- the actual helm console that Dax would sit at and fly the Defiant from. Made of Plexiglass with a colored background, this is one of the most important pieces of Star Trek set decoration available. And if you are a Ferengi fan, you can take a shot at the Grand Nagus's Beetle Snuff box! (Beetle snuff not included).

The auction, which starts at 10:00 PST, is open to all Star Trek fans. All you need to do is register on Live Auctioneers at www.liveauctioneers.com/catalog/25208. All bidding is online, and it works just like eBay, but on a lot-by-lot schedule. There is a cool interface that pops up and lets you follow all the bidding. You can also download the full-color, 158 page catalog for free at http://startrek.propworx.com/.

--------------

Alec Peters has been a Star Trek fan since he first watched TOS on TV in the 60's. He started collecting screen-used Star Trek props and costumes at the big Christie's auction in 2006 and then turned his passion into a business, becoming CEO of Propworx, an auction house for Hollywood studios. For additional information about Propworx and their upcoming Star Trek auction, visit www.propworx.com.