UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. - Thousands of items used in film and television productions went on the auction block Thursday as the oldest prop house in Hollywood began a five-day sale of its 1 million-item inventory.
Ellis Props & Graphics is closing after 92 years in business because rentals are declining as film and TV production increasingly leaves Los Angeles, said Keith Burns, a consultant for auction organizer Remarketing Associates.
High-profile items included a life preserver used in ''Titanic,'' one of the pairs of ruby slippers from ''The Wizard of Oz'' and one of Darth Vader's light sabers from ''Star Wars.''
Other items recalled decades of Saturday matinees and popcorn binges in the balcony: assorted skeletons and box of bones, a gas chamber chair and an electric chair, a Radio Flyer wagon, a fake buffalo on wheels, sleds, ship anchors, a ''plasma ray gun,'' assorted Medieval-style pikes and pole axes, jungle and Indian-type drums, mummies, Army canteens and ammo boxes.
The bulk of the offerings, however, were much more ordinary: salt shakers, books, canes, fake money and jewelry, tools, bicycles, eyeglasses, typewriters, Coca-Cola coolers, grandfather clocks, suitcases and patrol car light bars.
''This is one of the rare instances where fans can get props for reasonable prices,'' Burns said.
About 60 people bid in person at the Universal Hilton and many others took part online during the auction's first day.
The vast collection was acquired over the years since 1908, when a pawn shop, Ellis Mercantile, began renting merchandise to early filmmakers. According to Ellis Props, it all began when a studio employee wanted to buy a glass eye, but the pawn shop decided to only rent it in case the owner returned.
''The props are irresistible, you really feel like you want to make a movie after going through (the warehouse),'' said Susan Zatarain, 45, of Santa Clarita, who went to a preview Wednesday in the dim, musty and dusty building in search of posters or anything ''that strikes me as being interesting.''
Fred Iverson wanted to buy a copy of the ''Hush-Hush'' magazine from ''L.A. Confidential.''
''If I get those I'll be a happy camper,'' said Iverson, a retired sheriff's deputy who hoped to resell the magazine along with his collection of letters from gangster Mickey Cohen.
Holly Dyer, a former script supervisor in the film industry, said she was looking for old film equipment, as well as anything that struck her fancy.
Danny and Janet O'Connell of San Dimas were seeking Western gear for shows they perform, including recreations of the shootout at the OK Corral.
Other prop houses, including History for Hire and Disney Imagineering, sent buyers to the auction.
An antique phone sold for $3,800, and Laverne's suitcase from the ''Laverne and Shirley'' show sold for $500. A ''Father of the Bride Part II'' poster sold for $5.
The nine-barrel Gatling gun used by Clint Eastwood in ''The Outlaw Josey Wales'' is expected to sell for more than $35,000, Burns said.
The use of many items in movies or TV productions could not be authenticated because records for them were destroyed by a previous owner, said Jeri Dubner of Remarketing Associates. She suggested that the lack of certification wouldn't hurt sales because ''a lot of it has memorabilia value.''
Office equipment, molds to make many of the props, and all of the inventory of the graphics shop will be sold on June 22 at Ellis' Hollywood location. These will not be sold online.
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