While some people know this, it is not public knowledge, but last year, I
acquired a William Shatner Captain Kirk Tunic. Yes, a holy grail to
almost all of us Star Trek prop & costume collectors. It was an amazing find and literally walked in the door of Propworx. (OK, it had help walking in the door).
I traded that tunic to
another collector, who is now selling it in Profiles in History. Why? Well, it really is an expensive item as we will see when it sells later this month. And it is too expensive for a collector like me. I am not rich and having such an expensive piece of history is just not practical. You can't display it unless you build a very expensive display, and you have to insure it. Also, while I love my collection, a Kirk Tunic, while a Holy Grail, isn't going to make me happy. One week with Damaris' (my best friend) two little 6 year old boys brings more more happiness than any item in my collection. And so it was ultimately impractical. And what I got for the Tunic is worth much more to me than owning it would be. (More on that later!)
So I got three of the four top experts on TOS costumes to authenticate this costume. James Cawley worked for Bill Theiss, Roger Romage has studied everything TOS since the 60's and knows the costumes better than anyone I see regularly post anywhere. And Gerald Gurian has spent an enormous amount of time analyzing the multiple costumes he has had access to and does an amazing job with photo essays of TOS costumes.
Each of these experts separately reviewed the tunic and all came to the same conclusion. It is an early First Season William Shatner Kirk tunic.
James Cawley's knowledge of these tunic is first hand from handling so many of them working for Bill Theiss. James even owns the original patterns from Bill. Many know James from his well known fan film "Star Trek: Phase II". If you go to his set, James will spend hours talking Star Trek costuming, and his knowledge is impressive.
Gerald and I had a rocky start to our relationship, but have since become best of friends. Just goes to show you that when you share a passion, friendships blossom. Gerald was the one who first noted that the Sulu Tunic we had in the first Propworx auction was not 3rd season, but Phase II. Gerald does more work on authenticating items than anyone. He will spend hours just getting the right screen match. And he has handled and photographed lots of TOS costumes and done extensive photo analysis of them. Check out his blog here.
So, how about some authentication of the Kirk tunic and the high res photos we took at Propworx before I traded this baby off. I am reprinting much of Gerald's awesome article since I don't want to re-do all his hard work on my blog!
Here is Gerald's photo review (Part 1).
Gelrad Gurian was one of three experts who authenticated this tunic. Here are his notes:
Concerning authenticity, there is considerable evidence to support the
conclusion that this is not only an authentic TOS 1st season command
tunic but also a rare William Shatner Captain Kirk costume.
1. VELOUR
The texture and construction of the velour fabric in this
tunic; both on its front and reverse surfaces, is consistent with that
used to create the 1st and 2nd season TOS starfleet uniforms. Below is a
direct comparison with a 2nd season blue velour sciences dress (sold by
Profiles in History, Auction 37, October 2009). In addition to the
matching textures and thread weaves, note the slight "sparkle" effect
visible on the front surface of the fabric that is frequently seen when
these costumes are photographed at close range with a flash in use.
Below is another direct comparison of this tunics fabric with a
different 1st season gold velour TOS command tunic, where matching
texture is again observed.
Below is a composite image illustrating the distinct sparkle effect of
the TOS velour fabric visible on a different Shatner tunic (a 2nd season
Kirk tunic sold by Profiles In History in Auction 17, Dec. 2003) as
well as on a Cage Science Officer tunic (sold by Profiles In History in
Auction 47, Dec. 2011).
2. COLLAR
i. The black collar fabric used on this tunic is consistent with that
found on other early TOS velour starfleet uniforms. Note the identical
"ribbed" knit fabric construction visible in the comparison below with
the 2nd season TOS sciences dress. (Third season TOS costumes featured a
distinctly different "spring weave" collar fabric.)
ii. The width and contours of the collar on this tunic are also
consistent with those tailored for use by William Shatner on his early
first season tunics. Each of the lead actors on TOS had subtle
differences in their early collar designs. Those worn by Shatner were
low riding with a more rounded contour on the front, while the early
Nimoy collar rose high to cover his oversize Adam's apple. The image
below favorably compares the collar on this tunic with a Shatner
screenshot from "Shore Leave".
Below are some photos that clearly demonstrate the differences between early Kirk and Spock collar designs.
3. Command Patch - this costume bears the smaller style command insignia
patch seen in the first two seasons of TOS on the velour uniforms,
composed of gold mylar material. Below is a direct comparison with a
screen capture from "Who Mourns for Adonais":
Below is another favorable comparison with an authentic early TOS
command patch that was attached to a Phase II fabric tunic for display
in the Star Trek: The Exhibition touring collection. Note in particular
the matching contours of the elongated topmost arm of the 5 point star
on both patches; typically straight on the left side, with a curved
bulge outwards on the lower right side, and not touching the top black
border as is commonly seen in the larger 3rd season TOS patches. Here,
the lower right arm of the star touches the border thread on both
patches.
The overall dimensions of the patch on this tunic are a match with those
published previously on this site for 1st and 2nd season TOS patches.
Specifically, the following photo presents a view of all Original
Series patch dimensions from the pilot episode onwards. The Cage patch
size is clearly the smallest of all at 2.25" tall versus the approx.
2.75" high 1st/2nd season patch and approx. 3.25" tall 3rd season patch.
The width of all patches is constant at approx. 2".
4. Patch attachment to tunic - the "zig zag" sewing pattern seen to
attach the command patch to the fabric on this tunic is consistent with
the pattern observed on other authentic TOS starfleet uniforms. Below
is a direct comparison with a 3rd season command tunic.
5. BRAID (Materials & attachment):
i. The braid present on this tunic is also consistent with the design,
composition materials and appearance of the braid seen on the Captains
tunics in the earliest 1st season episodes of TOS. In particular, the
use of gold, dark brown, and tan thread to create the braid design on
thin gold mylar, as observed on this tunic, can also be observed in the
onscreen braid from "The Enemy Within" in the comparison photo below:
ii. Also to be noted above in both the photo of this tunic and the
episode screenshot is the consistent sewing attachment technique which
features the use of yellow thread that spans the gaps between adjacent
pieces of rectangular braid in the middle row of Captain's braid.
6. Zipper hardware - this costume features a hidden zipper assembly with
metal teeth bearing the brand name "UNIQUE" and the word "JAPAN"
present on the metal slider, which is identical to the zipper hardware
observed on all three seasons of screen used TOS starfleet tunics and
dresses. Below is a direct comparison photo matching the zipper
appearance on this tunic to that on several other screen used TOS
costumes:
And the photo below from the 1st season episode "Miri" provides on
screen confirmation of the use of zipper "tapes" (the side support
fabric strips) bearing metal teeth on TOS starfleet tunics.
7. CLOTH PULL
i. This tunic features a black cloth pull for the zipper that is not a
frequently encountered feature on screen used TOS starfleet tunics.
However, it has been observed on occasion in the past. The photo below
shows the construction details on this costume, and confirms the
presence of a similar cloth pull on a 3rd season Spock tunic (sold by
Profiles In History, Auction 14, April 2003):
ii. Below are some screenshots of William Shatner in costume where it is
evident that he is wearing a costume also outfitted with a black cloth
pull:
8. THREE HOOK AND EYE CLOSURES
This costume features a total of three
hook and eye closures to secure the black neck collar. This large a
number of closures is not typically seen on regular TOS tunics
(frequently just a single closure; occasionally a pair of them); so it
is possible that the presence of three might be some minor indicator of
costumes that were created for a Kirk or a starring role character. The
closures on this tunic are shown below along with a screenshot of
William Shatner from the early 1st season episode "Mudd's Women" in
which it is evident by the visible metal surfaces that his velour tunic
has also been outfitted with three hook and eye closures:
9. Captain Kirk Braid screen match to 1st Season "This Side of Paradise".
As seen in the comparison photo below, the exact braid construction
found on the right cuff of this tunic precisely matches that visible in
the screen capture from the 1st season TOS episode "This Side of
Paradise"; where a close up view of Kirk's hand operating the
transporter controls is the focus of the screenshot. There are
literally dozens and dozens of matching characteristics that may be
discerned upon close examination of the images - including contours of
the gold mylar all along the outside bands of braid, contours on the
individual pieces of braid forming the middle band, relative spacing
between pieces of braid and main features/contours on braid, prominent
thread line locations and thread paths, areas of prominent colored
thread and even some soiling / spotting on the velour fabric itself. By
any reasonable analysis, this screen match alone with all of its
successful points of comparison should be considered sufficient to
confirm the use of this tunic on screen as a 1st season Captain Kirk.
10. DOUBLE GUSSETS
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, is shown below.
11. Evidence of significant costume use and manual repairs on the soundstage
As seen in the images below, this costume bears evidence of not only
machine sewn construction but also hand sewn work. While the machined
elements are reflective of the initial fabrication of the tunic, the
hand sewn portions speak to the subsequent repairs and adjustments made
"on the fly" - sometimes while the actor was still wearing the garment
on the soundstage - and their presence is entirely consistent with
screen used TOS costumes.
As a side note, as was the practice on the Desilu soundstage, when a
"hero" tunic such as this became sufficiently distressed or well worn to
merit its replacement, it would likely be relegated for use by stunt
actors or redressed for background use. This practice was certainly
known to take place during the production of TOS, where budgetary
constraints were famously much more pressing than on later series in the
franchise; though the practice of relegating well worn costumes from
leading actors to stuntmen has also been confirmed on the most recent
Trek series such as Star Trek: Enterprise. Behind the scenes books
such as Justman and Solows "Inside Star Trek: The Real Story" and
Roddenberry and Whitfields "The Making of Star Trek" famously recount
the "dumpster-diving" exploits of Jefferies, Justman, Dwyer, Theiss et
al to secure discarded styrofoam office equipment packing inserts for
use to spray paint as TOS Engine Room brightly colored wall mounted
devices, or cannibalize screen used Eminiar weapons for parts to produce
new Klingon disruptors, or employ inexpensive orange shower curtain
material to fabricate the biohazard suits seen in "The Naked Time".
Thus it is quite likely that this costume was worn by another actor over
the course of its useful life on the Desilu soundstage. But it would
not be likely at all that a gusseted "hero" Captain Kirk tunic would be
fabricated solely for stunt use and was not worn by William Shatner.
12. Overall size - The overall size of this tunic has been found to
match that of a Shatner-worn Kirk costume from Star Trek: The Motion
Picture.
There is more info to come. Stay tuned for the next post.
Alec
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