ter.ri.to.ri.al.i.ty n. The behavior of a male animal that defines and defends its territory. cu.ra.to.ri.al.i.ty™ n. The behavior of a curator that defines and defends his collection and its history.
EXPANDING UNIVERSE: 1971-1990 (PART 2)
We’re still in this gallery because there was just too much to cover in one installment of this column. Although we took a look at fast food collectibles, video games, adventurous heroines in comics and television and more, we didn’t get around to looking at a certain galactic phenomenon that enthralled a generation. It’s time for a saga from a long, long time ago to usher in a new age of entertainment and mass marketing. Join together with us, and we will rule this pop culture empire side by side!
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When it came to choosing the centerpiece of this gallery, there was really no choice at all. In 1977, one film forever redefined popular science fiction and ‘event’ cinema. George Lucas’ Star Wars®, and the enormous universe of characters and collectibles that it spawned, has become an indelible part of American and worldwide pop culture.
In the thirty years since the first Star Wars film premiered, the empire that it spawned has grown to include five more films, cartoons, TV specials, books, magazines, toys and collectibles of every conceivable category. Star Wars has woven itself into the lives of generations of children, many of whom grew to adulthood and then introduced their own kids to the saga.
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When assembling our permanent Star Wars case, we wanted to be reverential to this important chapter in pop culture history, but we also added some humor, too. After all, when you have a slavering Rancor on display, he’s going to look underdressed without a bleating Gamorrean Guard hanging out of his mouth. And for me at least, the image of the chicken-like AT-ST Scout Walker is forever linked with that of Chewbacca emerging from the walker’s top hatch. We also feature some of the holy grails of Star Wars collecting, such as the rare vinyl-caped Jawa action figure from Kenner (later replaced with the cloth-caped version), and a poster for the third film still sporting the original title, Revenge of the Jedi.
But the Star Wars universe is just too huge to encompass in one case, so for the 30th anniversary of the saga we knew we had to do something very special. This summer, we featured a Special Edition exhibit from the collection of local Star Wars enthusiast and Director of the Star Toys Museum, Thomas G. Atkinson. The Force™ is With Us: 30 Years of Star Wars ran from June 23 to September 15 and showcased collectibles from the entire Star Warssaga, with special attention to the one movie that started it all on that mythic day in 1977.
Atkinson’s wide-ranging collection incorporates a complete set of Kenner's Star Wars action figures from 1978-1985, including Luke with double-telescoping lightsaber and Boba Fett with non-rocket-firing backpack. Included is a Luke Skywalker AM Headset Radio with a bizarre pedigree, but I’ll let Atkinson explain that himself:
“[It was] actually a repainted, repackaged Six Million Dollar Man toy,” says Atkinson.
Also included is an example of the first-ever lightsaber toy (inflatable!), and a variety of unlicensed items that were released before licensed merchandise became widely available. Some items on display hail from beyond our country’s borders.
“[There are] foreign Star Wars toys like the Canadian wind-up walking R2-D2 and wooden spaceship models from Japan,” says Atkinson. “[Then there’s] Kenner's towering Death Star play set and its cardboard European counterpart.”
“[We also have] items that remind us that Star Wars came out in 1977 after all,” adds Atkinson, “like T-shirts, model customized vans, vinyl record albums and 8-track tapes, and some remarkably primitive electronic games.”
Also showcased are “found items” like those used to create the original props seen in the Star Wars films:
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“Luke’s lightsaber [was] actually a 1940s camera flash, and the Death Star’s main weapon console [was] actually a TV studio's video control board,” says Atkinson.
Some of the most sought-after Kenner Star Warstoys seen in the exhibit met with limited initial success:
“Failed toys like Kenner's large-sized action figures and the Micro Collection [were] overshadowed in their day by the extraordinarily successful 3.75-inch action figures,” says Atkinson.
From the enormous Millennium Falcon hanging above visitors’ heads to the rare UK-only Death Star play set, our Star Wars tribute exhibit was a great success. For those who weren’t able to journey to that galaxy far, far away — Baltimore, Maryland — this summer, rest assured that a part of the galactic saga will still be here year-round in our “Expanding Universe” gallery.
Our year-long tour of Geppi’s Entertainment Museum is slowly coming to an end, but we still have a few more things to talk about first. Next time, we step into the nebulous nineties to look at how GEM begins to segue from the past to the present…and beyond!
or in person at
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(410) 625-7060
This is a guest article. The thoughts and opinions in this piece are those of their author and are not necessarily the thoughts of the Certified Collectibles Group.
