What Is A Period Prop and How to Obtain Them?
A period prop is and accurate reproduction of a historical object that is used by an actor during a show. It could be anything ranging from a war medal to a replica gun. Period props can either hired, brought or made.
Buying A Period Prop
When buying a period prop the first place to look is on the internet at online shopping sites such as eBay. However eBay may not be the best place to look for period props as they may be to overpriced. Other places to look at online are websites that specialise in a certain field like war memorabilia (which would be useful when propping a show to do with war). If you fail to find any period props that you can buy online the next best place to go are charity shops of car boot sales as they are a common place for people to give away old unwanted item that could be a prop that you are looking for. Also a charity shop and a car boot sales are good places to go as you may be able to barter with a seller to get a more reasonable price.
Hiring A Period Prop
If you cannot purchase a period prop you may have to hire it from a hiring company. When hiring a prop from a company you need to be aware of the terms and conditions before you hire the prop. This needs to be done because they could be a clause with the T's & C's that could cause you trouble if for example the props are broken you may have to pay a certain fee due to it breakage. You also need to be aware of hire charges. These should be looked at because you could find the same prop at two different companies but one company could be cheaper than the other and therefore it is best to go for the cheaper company. If one of the props you are hiring is a offensive weapon, like a reconstruction of a gun you need to know the health and safety and legal requirements that surround the hire so that whilst using the props no one is harmed. Finally you should also ensure that when you hire a prop that you keep hold of the paper work that comes with it, as it could be helpful if a prop does not turn up or is not returned to the company. It will also help when you come to keep a record of costs that each hire has.