What History For Hire does

History For Hire is a family-owned prop rental house founded in 1986 by brothers Jim and Bob Elyea, operating from a 33,000 sq. ft. warehouse at 7149 Fair Avenue in North Hollywood, California. The company rents historically accurate props and equipment to film, television, commercial, theatre, museum, and trade show productions, with a catalog spanning Civil War-era military gear, mid-century electronics, musical instruments, sporting goods, housewares, and other period categories. Items are priced at approximately 10% of valuation per week under a tiered multi-week discount structure (full price first week, 50% off second and third weeks, fourth week free), with a $35 minimum and deposits equal to item valuation. The company also operates a custom graphics and illustration services division that provides historically accurate packaging recreation, photo retouching, non-descript (ND) product design, scenic painting on hero props, and book and magazine illustration at $80/hour, billed on time and materials.

Underlying operations are supported by an inventory management system that tracks rental items via barcode, paired with a custom rental catalog accessed through the company website. Distribution combines a walk-in showroom open Monday-Friday, dedicated rental agents reachable by phone and email (john, pam, remy @historyforhire.com for sales; Richard @historyforhire.com for graphics), and shipping to all seven continents via FedEx, UPS, UBER, Lyft, and common carrier, with customers typically supplying their own shipping account. Sales motion is primarily enterprise field sales assisted by a 24/7 self-serve e-commerce catalog with shopping cart and wish list functionality. The customer base spans production companies, individual renters, and students, each with distinct account setup processes; the company is privately held under the Elyea family, with no institutional investors, no disclosed funding rounds, and no disclosed revenue or headcount figures.

Name

History For Hire

Legal name

History For Hire, Inc.

Website

https://historyforhire.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

History For Hire is a family-owned North Hollywood prop rental house, founded in 1986, that rents historically accurate props and equipment to film, television, commercial, theatre, museum, and trade show productions worldwide, and offers custom graphics and illustration services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Film and Entertainment Prop Rental

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Equipment Rental & Leasing (7350)

akta.pro primary industry

Decor Props & Themed Set Rentals (HSACAFAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Event Rentals (Tents, Furniture, A/V, Decor) (HSACAAAG)

Keywords

• Prop rental services
• Historical prop house
• Period prop rental
• Entertainment prop supply
• Film production props

Headquarters

HQ city

North Hollywood

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Prop and Equipment Rental: Weekly rental of historical props and equipment to film, television, commercial, theatre, museum, and trade show productions. Props rent for approximately 10% of their valuation with tiered weekly pricing: full price first week, 50% discount second week, 50% discount third week, fourth week free.
2. Custom Graphics Services: Custom graphic design and illustration services for motion picture, television, commercial, theatre productions, museum exhibits and trade shows. Billed at $80 per hour for time and materials. Includes historically accurate packaging recreation, photo retouching, ND product design, book design, magazine and print illustration, scenic painting on hero props, and fine art services.
3. Graphics Products: Sale of pre-created graphics products with a $35 minimum purchase. Sales tax is charged on graphics purchases and product sales (unlike rentals which are tax-exempt).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

History For Hire rents historically accurate props and equipment to the entertainment industry, including furniture, costumes, electronics, military gear, musical instruments, and period-specific items across categories such as American Frontier, Government, Military, Housewares, and Medical. The company also offers custom graphics and illustration services covering historically accurate packaging recreation, photo retouching, ND product design, scenic painting, and book design for film, television, commercial, theatre, museum, and trade show productions.

Product overview

History For Hire operates as a prop rental house for the entertainment industry, offering two core offerings: a prop rental catalogue featuring historically accurate props and equipment, and custom graphics and illustration services. The rental catalogue includes musical instruments (Fender guitars, Ludwig drum sets), electronics (turntables, amplifiers), sporting goods, government/political props, and military equipment spanning various historical periods. The graphics division provides historically accurate packaging recreation, photo retouching, ND product design, and scenic painting for productions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Prop Rental Catalogue A comprehensive inventory of historically accurate props and equipment available for weekly rental to film, television, commercial, theatre, museum, and trade show productions. Includes furniture, costumes, electronics, military gear, musical instruments, and period-specific items across categories such as American Frontier, Government, Military, Housewares, Medical, Hardware, and Office & Business.
• Custom Graphics and Illustration Services Professional graphic design and illustration services billed at $80/hour with a $35 minimum, serving motion picture, television, commercial, theatre, museum exhibits, and trade show productions. Includes historically accurate packaging recreation, photo retouching, ND product design, book design, magazine and print illustration, scenic painting on hero props, fine art, television news graphics, and police sketches.

Named customers1 record

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Earl Hays Press: Long-standing Hollywood prop house specializing in signs, lettering, graphics, and period-appropriate paper goods for film and television productions. Highly comparable to History For Hire's graphics services offering and overlap on period signage and packaging.
• Omega Cinema Props: Prop house serving the Los Angeles production community with a large multi-era inventory of furniture, set dressing, and hand props. Comparable customer base and rental model focused on film, television, and commercial productions.
• Cinema Vehicle Services: Vehicle and prop rental company serving motion picture, television, and commercial productions. Comparable in serving the same entertainment customer base with a rental model for production-related physical assets, though specializing more in vehicles.
• Independent Studio Services: Largest prop rental house serving the Hollywood film and television industry. Directly comparable to History For Hire in serving productions with physical props and set dressing, with a similarly broad multi-era inventory and direct-to-studio customer base.
• Perlick Entertainment Rentals: Hollywood-based prop rental company serving film, television, and commercial productions. Comparable in LA-based operations, rental model, and entertainment industry customer base, though with a different specialization mix.
• ECPR (Entertainment Clearance & Prop Rentals): Specialized entertainment industry prop rental and clearance house serving film, television, and commercial productions. Comparable in customer base (production companies, art departments) and in combining rental inventory with licensing/clearance expertise for period-authentic items.
• 20th Century Props: Los Angeles-based prop rental house serving film, television, and commercial productions with a wide inventory of period and contemporary props. Comparable in geographic market (LA entertainment industry), rental model, and customer segment.

Broad incumbents

• Warner Bros. Studio Operations (Property Department): In-house studio property department serving Warner Bros. Discovery's own productions. Competes indirectly with History For Hire for studio business but serves only its parent studio's pipeline; relevant as a benchmark for the scale of vertical integration in the prop rental market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about History For Hire