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WORLD MARKETPLACE NEWS with Managing Editor Judy Gonyeau

ECOMMERCEBYTES – If you’ve NYC – On Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022, the Federal Bureau of
ever lost collectibles or anything Investigation arrested Filippo Bernardini, a 29-year-old
else in the mail, you might want to rights coordinator for Simon & Schuster UK, saying that he
run over to www.GovDeals.com “impersonated, defrauded, and attempted to defraud, hundreds of
and see if they’re up for auction. individuals” over five or more years, obtaining hundreds of
Vice took an astonishing look at how unpublished manuscripts in the process. The
the Postal Service disposes of items Famous authors such as thefts and attempted thefts occurred primarily
lost in the mail. In 2020, the Margaret Atwood were over email, by a fraudster impersonating
publication filed a Freedom of targeted. publishing professionals and targeting authors,
Information Act request with the USPS for a list of items auctioned by editors, agents and literary scouts who might
the Mail Recovery Center in Atlanta, Georgia – which receives 67 have drafts of novels and other books. The
million pieces of undeliverable mail each year. Vice said the USPS phishing attacks have been so voluminous and
doesn’t track much about the auctions, which are sold in lots on far-reaching, hitting publishing professionals
GovDeals.com, a government surplus auction website. But it does have in the United States, Sweden and Taiwan,
annual data – for example, in 2019, 7,418 lots sold for $6,541,514. among other countries, that some have said
The lot of trading cards, sports memorabilia, and novelty items it could not possibly be the work of just
shown in the image sold for $19,645.50, including 5% premium. one person.

WSJ – Actor and director Fred Savage is a lifelong watch collector, so
when he was working as an executive producer and director on The IRISH EXAMINER – In spite of
Wonder Years, the recent ABC reboot, he wanted the characters to wear Covid the world of art, antiques
watches authentic to the series’s 1960s setting. He turned to his and collecting enjoyed a stellar
friend Eric Wind, former senior watch specialist at Christie’s and 2021 at home and abroad. At $7.3
now independent watch dealer in Palm billion and counting, Sotheby’s
Beach. Wind has carved out a niche enjoyed the best ever year in its
facilitating watch loans for movies and 277-year history last year. This One of a pair of circa
TV. Tight film budgets typically pre- was driven by strength and depth 1738 side tables
clude outright purchasing a handful of of demand and an influx of new
$50,000 Chopards. According to Mr. collectors. A rise in quality works
Wind, some showrunners, directors, coming to market was met by strong demand from new and existing
and even actors are themselves watch collectors. Among many memorable sales on the home front was
hoarders who will go to great lengths Fonsie Mealy Auctioneers in Kilkenny, Ireland, offering of contents
to ensure the watches filmed are both as well as the library at Howth Castle. There was huge international
distinctive and accurate. For the 2018 Many watch geeks noted that the interest in the auction of contents from a home that had been in the
Richard Mille watch worn by
film adaptation of Kevin Kwan’s book Jonah Hill’s character in Don’t same family for 800 years. A pair of c1738 Irish carved giltwood and
Crazy Rich Asians, the author (a client Look Up was a clear counterfeit. gesso side tables, which made $191,000 at Howth over a top estimate
of Mr. Wind) asked him to locate a of $57,000, was just one of many memorable lots there.
watch for a pivotal scene, where the audience would clearly be able to
see the timepiece. In an email to Mr. Wind, Mr. Kwan wrote that he
needed a model “that will really impress watch collectors.” ST. LOUIS,
MO – Do you
know where the
NEW YORK - Abstract geometric Death Star is?
designs at Big Bend National Park in The Death Star
Texas that had survived for thousands model used in
of years were “irreparably damaged” by the blockbuster
vandals who scratched names and dates 1977 Star Wars
into the prehistoric designs, the National film A New Hope
Park Service said. Since 2015, archaeolo- went through a
gists at the park have documented more series of very fortunate events to keep it out of the dump. Many of the
than 50 instances of vandalism, the park set pieces and models used were stored in a California storage facility
service said. Tom Alex, an archaeologist in 1977. The studio decided that they no longer wanted to pay rent
who retired from the park in 2014, said and many of the items were to be thrown away. Todd Franklin was
that the damaged abstract designs were working at a local TV station as a cameraman on a series about local
known as petroglyphs and that they had been pecked into the rock businesses when they went to an antique shop. In a “could this be real?”
panel. Park staff members tried to repair the damage, but much of it moment, Franklin tried to authenticate it (Lucasfilm said it was
is permanent, the post said. Some of the scratches on the panel were destroyed) and then buy it (the shop owners owned the storage
superficial, but others had penetrated the prehistoric designs. “Those facility in CA), but did not have enough money. Years later, the store
scratches are going to be there forever,” he said. was liquidated. Franklin drove to the shop, but was too late for the sale.
He and his friends went inside to find the Death Star in a corner
being used as a trash can with rubbish inserted through the hole from
USA – Over the last few years, the counterfeiting of fine the missing radar dish. He paid for it and strapped it to the back of a
wines and single malt Scotch has come to American pickup truck to take home. Franklin then was able to straighten out the
whiskey. To protect its brand, The Macallan® has started mystery and sold it to collector Gus Lopez. The Death Star went on
to place holographic images on its seals. Other Scottish loan to the EMP Museum in Seattle for five years and has gone
distilleries are adding QR codes to labels, so retailers through an extensive restoration.
and consumers can check for authenticity with their smartphones.

6 Journal of Antiques and Collectibles