"THE DOUBLE-GUSSET POSTULATE" or "GILDING THE LILY WITH BULL"

In Summer of 2012, Profiles in History offered what they described as "William Shatner 'Capt. Kirk' Tunic from Star Trek: The Original Series". Among their claims was "match on overall tunic size to Shatner including double gussets on tunic sides (unique feature to Shatner tunics)".

The three seams can be clearly seen here on Kirk

Interestingly enough, a self-described Star Trek "authority" and the self-appointed king of Trek Collecting each stated on their blogs that "This tunic features a double gusset design; or the presence of three seam lines running from the armpit area down the torso on each side of the costume - a design characteristic that is considered by knowledgeable Star Trek experts to be only present on those TOS command tunics specifically tailored for wear by William Shatner. The double gussets on this tunic, as well as two photos in which this unique construction detail is visible on William Shatner in costume..." Sounds a lot like the auction info, right?

At the time I questioned this element's characterization as being exclusive to Shatner pieces. How, exactly was this established as a fact? How did these "knowledgeable Star Trek experts" know this to be true? And what proof was offered as to the veracity of this so-called "fact"? None, other than showing a couple of screen caps with Shatner wearing a shirt that displayed this gusset detail. I showed a screen cap of an identical shirt being worn by stuntman Paul Baxley. I was then called all sorts of nasty things by the aforementioned bloggers for having the gall to question their research. Almost like they had some sort of personal interest in the piece. Hmmm.

Since last summer, I have regularly been looking at various episodes of TOS for a variety of research reasons – phaser details, comms, sets, props, etc. And while doing this research, I started to notice something that I wasn't even looking for. I discovered that the "double gusset" detail that was so highly touted was not only NOT exclusive but was wide-spread. I saw it everywhere once I sarted looking for it! It is seen in the earliest episodes all the way through to the end of the series.

As is common in TV production, Shatner's shirts were probably recycled for use by other actors – stuntmen, background extras, guest actors, etc. But, in my opinion, that doesn't address the number of times the detail is clearly seen on so many gold uniform shirts, including regulars Takei and Koenig who would have undoubtedly had their own shirts created exclusively for them. Shirts that clearly show the telltale three seams.

Beyond the gold shirts, the three seams can clearly be seen on Nimoy's blue shirt, Scotty's red shirt and on tons of extra's pieces of all colors. The three seams is in no way shape or form a little-used, "Shatner-exclusive" detail. In short, it's EVERYWHERE! I have cited the episodes from which the images were pulled so anyone can duplicate my findings. And I show only a small fraction of appearances.

If people want to make up stuff for whatever reason, I couldn't care less, providing they don't put it out into the world to mislead. But when these so-called "knowledgeable Star Trek experts" declare something to be fact without doing even the most basic of research to either prove or disprove the theory, they show their true colors – it's all about self-interest and they'll ignore things that don't support their POV. This is a continuing theme with some people.

Why is it so hard for so many people to be circumspect in these types of cases? If you think something is so, state your case as to why you feel that way, offer proof (in this case show the detail is EXCLUSIVE only to Shatner uniforms), and let people make up their own minds. Conveniently, the proponents of the "gusset postulate" showed only shots of Shatner wearing the detail while totally ignoring the fact that the detail IS IN NO WAY EXCLUSIVE TO SHATNER PIECES. This was either shoddy research or an attempt to deliberately mislead, I have no idea which. I still feel the shirt was a real Kirk shirt, but this detail should have never been used to support that idea. It's flat-out wrong.

So the next time some self-appointed expert wants to blow smoke, remember caveat emptor and trust no one. Not even me. Do your own thinking, do your own research, and reach your own conclusions.

LLAP

Don

JULIEN'S TO AUCTION ORIGINAL CAPTAIN KIRK UNIFORM – WITH A TWIST (AND NOT A GOOD ONE)

One of the absolute holy grails of Star Trek collecting is being offered in Julien's upcoming auction (Icons and Idols 2013: Hollywood): an original Captain James Kirk tunic from 1969. I haven't done any actual research on the piece as yet, but at a glance everything looks right.

Except for the signature scrawled right across the shirt's chest.

That's right – this awesome piece of Star Trek history has an autograph of William Shatner written right across the front in huge black marker. Now if you think that's kind of cool, good for you. But I guarantee that most collectors are going to be like me. They'll take one look at this piece, recoil in horror and scream out "WHAT THE HELL WERE THEY THINKING???!!!!???"

Just about anyone who is interested in such an amazing piece is going to want it in original condition. Some wear and tear and perhaps a bit of fading would be expected. But in this writer's opinion, this piece has been RUINED by the autograph. While it's certainly not worthless, I can't see how it will bring the kind of money the last specimen brought ($100,000). Not with that silly signature jotted across it.

Had the owner asked Shatner to sign it just about ANYWHERE else, it wouldn't be such a travesty. Obviously the owner has the right to have the autograph put anywhere they choose, but if they were at all concerned about resale value, they could not have put it in a worse place. Even on the back wouldn't have been such a deal-killer. But right smack dab in the center of the chest is just stupid, in my opinion.

To give a real-world example of this type of folly, a screen-used uniform worn by The Doctor as played by Robert Picardo on Voyager has been on Ebay for years. Literally years. Now The Doctor is one of the most popular characters from Voyager, and the uniform is certainly one of the more desirable versions (his red Command uniform when he became the "Emergency Command Hologram" or ECH). But it has the same problem as the Kirk shirt – the owner thought it would be a great idea to have Picardo autograph it right across the front. The seller has tried a variety of discounts with no takers. What a waste.

Maybe there's some rich collector out there that thinks the signature actually adds value to the piece (or at least doesn't detract). If so, good for them. But there have times in the past when a Shatner piece came up for auction and I put my life on a standstill trying to figure out how (or if) I could pursue it. This time, I certainly don't have that worry.

There's darn few pieces of this caliber still around from the original Star Trek. It pains me greatly that this one was treated so cavalierly. So if you ever want to get an autograph from your favorite Trek actor, please, PLEASE leave the one-of-a-kind "super-piece" at home!

Geez!!!

LLAP

Don

A TALE OF TWO TRANSLATORS – Screen-matching Props

Several years ago I was fortunate enough to acquire a screen-used Klingon Translator used in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. From the photos of the piece, I thought it might match one used by Captain Kirk/William Shatner in the pivotal courtroom scene. Once I got it in hand I was able to specifically confirm that connection – it was indeed Kirk's translator!  The more imperfections there are, the easier it is to match a piece. And Klingon props are purposely "weathered" to emulate great use. The rough, handmade quality of the prop acts as a fingerprint.

My version showing identical weathering
made with brushed-on silver paint

Fast forward to February 2013. I saw where Propstore was selling another Klingon Translator. I hoped that it might perhaps be the translator used by Dr. McCoy/DeForest Kelley in the same scenes with Shatner. If so, I'd have a complete, screen-matched set. I eagerly pored through my photo archive desperately trying to match the translator to McCoy, but no joy. I couldn't say that it was never used by either Shatner or McCoy, only that I couldn't prove it either way. And since it would make sense that they made more than two of the props in case something happened to one or both while in use, I figured the Propstore version was an "extra" – made but not necessarily used. With that, I decided to pass on buying it. 

As it turned out, a collector friend of mine named Doug was the winner (Doug is a member of the Star Trek Prop Room). Knowing of my Kirk version, he contacted me and asked me if I could lend any insight about his version. I shared my findings with him and told him that I was unable to prove specific use. And since I owned the Kirk, and his didn't match the McCoy, I couldn't give him any useful info as to whether or not it was actually screen-used. There was no doubt that it was a production made piece, but proving screen-use was another matter. I was bummed, but probably not as much as Doug.

But then something cool happened.

Like many collectors, I'm a voracious keeper of reference images. As such, I frequently check out Trekcore, an invaluable resource for Trek collectors. Among other things, Trekcore posts screen caps from every episode or film of Star Trek ever made. And they constantly update those images, so that when something is released on HD, for instance, new, BETTER images are posted. So back in April I decided to check their HD images of Star Trek VI to see if there was anything noticeably better that would act as better reference for screen-matching my translator. Sure enough, there was a great series of HD images of the courtroom scene and they were much clearer than older images. I downloaded everything that I thought would be useful and started sorting through them to see which showed the details I was looking for. And that's when I noticed something that I hadn't been able to see before. 

In some of the frames, Kirk is definitely holding a translator that WAS NOT MINE. There were several great shots that showed mine clearly, but a handful were definitely NOT a match to mine. Because of the lower image quality of earlier screen caps, it had not been possible to notice this fact. But now I had pics that were clear enough to show two different examples, both used by Shatner. I got a little excited and pulled out the reference shots I had kept of the Propstore version. Hey, I told you I was voracious.

Doug's version showing tons of organic
features that match perfectly

As I scanned the photos, I saw exactly what I hoped to see – details seemingly matching the new screen caps. I couldn't definitively say they were a perfect match – the Propstore shots didn't show the area I needed in great enough detail for that. But it definitely looked possible. I quickly shot off an e-mail to Doug and told him about what I had found. He didn't have his translator in hand yet, but told me he'd forward some shots to me as soon as he did. 

Last week, those shots showed up in my in-box. I was working at the time, but I was so anxious to see if there was a match that I quickly pulled up my reference shots and started comparing. It took me all of twenty seconds to confirm the match. Doug had a Kirk!  Later on I took my time with Doug's shots and created the comparison image below. I showed it to Doug as well as a few other collector friends to get their opinions. It was unanimous – the prop was a definitive match. I've since been told by Doug that he was able to open it up, put in a new battery and it lit up, just like we see on screen. Even better!

Along with defining the prop's use, the experience also taught me a bit about how props are used on set. Since all the translators looked alike on-camera,  the prop masters would not have needed to keep track of which was which. As props were put down for breaks between takes, there was no need to keep them sorted so that for any given take, the actors might be holding any given version. The courtroom scene undoubtedly took days to shoot, so the translator props could have easily exchanged hands any number of times. There's also the fact that my Translator was damaged, perhaps during shooting (it has since been repaired). If that was the case, my damaged one might have been replaced with Doug's intact version. There's a number of possible scenarios.

So that's the story. I'd be lying if I said that I didn't wish I'd bought the piece for myself. After all, you can never have too many hero props! But Doug is a really nice guy and loves the movie stuff like I do, and I'm always happy when a deserving collector ends up with something cool. Even if it isn't me! 

So congratulations, Doug, you've got a true rarity – a screen-matched hero prop used by Captain Kirk himself! VERY cool. Q'Pla!

LLAP,

Don

UPDATE 3: TOS Phaser Rifle auction stuns!

The TOS Phaser Rifle I've been fascinated with has sold for a hammer price of $192,500 which means that after the buyer's premium is added ("markup" for the uninitiated) this piece went for $231,000 !  That is a lot of cash and approaches the amount paid for the Enterprise-A model at the Christie's auction in 2006.

Is this a record high number for a Trek prop? It might be, but I need to do some research on that. Either way, it's a princely sum. Keep in mind that the seller doesn't get the whole amount – they have to pay the sellers premium (which is yet ANOTHER word for markup in the auction world!). Julien's doesn't post what that number is, but usually it's similar to the buyer's premium, which in this case is 20% which would make the seller's premium $38,500. The seller would then get $154,000, while Julien's would earn a total of $77,000. I hope the seller negotiated a lower fee!

I have no idea who actually won this piece but it is my hope that it is the Science Fiction Museum in Seattle. That way, all fans would have an opportunity to see this exquisite piece for themselves. If it goes into private hands, I fear it will never be seen again. Until the next time it's auctioned, of course.

ADDENDUM: a friend just e-mailed me a told me that it was collector John Azarian of "The Azarian Collection" fame who bought the piece, not the SciFi Museum. Good for him, bad for the rest of us.

LLAP

Don

UPDATE: Original Series Phaser Rifle Photo Match!!

After poring over as much imagery as I could find regarding the Star Trek Phaser Rifle that Julien's auction house is selling (see my previous story) I've been able to photo match the piece which confirms that it is the one and only, true-blue original Phaser Rifle.

I started by looking at screen-caps of the rifle from the only episode in which it was ever used, "Where No Man Has Gone Before". While it has quite a bit of screen time, it was never large enough or sharp enough in a film frame to see any possible "tells" or unusual details that could be used to match the photos from the auction.

So I moved on to something I've had great success with in the past – PR photos. The rifle was used in at least 2 rounds of PR photos, first when the pilot was shot, and later when the show was actually being launched. Low and behold, I was able to find a great shot that shows conclusively that scratches seen on the sale piece are also evident on the piece in the PR shot. The great thing about scratches is that they are irregular and organic and virtually impossible to fake. Judge for yourself in this photo which zeroes in on the front of the rifle's body:

I've numbered 3 areas that show an absolute match. The color difference is simply the lighting. I've found some other marks that match up, but nothing as clear and specific as this.

While this might seem like flimsy evidence, in prop collecting this is as good as a fingerprint. It's not IMPOSSIBLE to fake, but it's really, really, really hard. And when combined with the total accuracy of all the structural details, I think this makes it a 100% certainty that this is an original – THE original – Phaser Rifle.

So if you've got the better part of a hundred grand, bid with confidence!

LLAP

Don

The Ultimate Star Trek Prop Found: The TOS Phaser Rifle

In Star Trek lore there are plenty of iconic pieces to collect – phasers and tribbles, communicators and uniforms, as well as the various incarnations of the Enterprise itself. All of the original versions of these items – original props, costumes or models – are all highly collectible. And while there are some one-of-a-kind pieces out there, like the original Enterprise shooting model, most pieces were made in some kind of quantity, however low. True phaser pistol props are rare, but there's more than one. Same with comms and, of course, tribbles. Lots and lots of Tribbles.

But one piece was made for the original pilot episode "Where No Man Has Gone Before" (actually the second pilot, but that's another matter) and was never seen thereafter – the infamous Phaser Rifle. Infamous in that it was a cool prop used by Captain Kirk himself in one of the best stories in Trek history, but its whereabouts have been unknown ever since it was last seen on the set of Star Trek in 1966. The famous Christie's Star Trek auction of 2006 sold off more iconic screen-used Trek material than at any other time in the history of the franchise, but the best they could do for a Phaser Rifle was a nice replica.

With that in mind, imagine how floored I was when I read  that Julien's auction house would be auctioning off the one and only ORIGINAL Phaser Rifle! The auction listing states that the rifle was made by toy designer Reuben Klamer for Gene Roddenberry at no charge, "in exchange for potential licensing rights". The prop rifle was featured heavily in the Shatner Star Trek pilot "Where No Man Has Gone Before" and was widely used in various PR shots for the new series. Then, the prop was evidently returned to Klamer, never to be seen again.

Until now! The auction shows several pieces of paperwork with correspondence between Roddenberry and Klamer, as well as some great photos showing the piece "behind the scenes". There's even an original sketch. This all makes for a very compelling story in support of its authenticity. The piece looks to be in beautiful condition and was apparently stored all these years in a custom-made case that was originally used to transport it to the set and keep it safe.

I want to note that for years, actress Sally Kellerman, who appeared in the pilot with Shatner, claimed to have the rifle prop and that it was given to her by the prop man on the set. That now seems even more unlikely than it did when I first read about it. I'm not getting the sense that she's the consignor, but we'll see.

I can't think of a more important Star Trek piece to resurface since Chistie's auctions. While the Galileo shuttlecraft find was cool, the piece was in such awful condition that it can now scarcely be considered to be original. But this looks to be in similar condition as when it was last in Shatner's hands those many years ago. It shows some definite wear and tear but it's all there. And it's a hand prop, which means you don't have to have a garage in which to house it. And it's a Phaser Rifle! THE Phaser Rifle! Infinitely cool!!!

 The estimate of $50,000 to $70,000 might seem high, but not for such an important piece, in my opinion. I would not be surprised to see it go for more. MUCH more! If there's such a thing as a priceless Star Trek piece, this is it.

This announcement has to get the juices of flowing of any fan or collector of The Original Series. It's one of a kind, it's in original condition and it will have a new owner soon! Great stuff!

The auction catalog can be viewed at Juliens.

LLAP

Don