Original screen worn A New Hope Vader gloves for Auction

[vader45]

I have not seen a thread here but a tour suit and the screen anh gloves are up for auction.

These were in possession of Kermit after he retired from touring and for some reason decided to sell. This is huge.

Bonhams : A pair of screen-worn black gloves from Star Wars: Episode IV–A New Hope, worn by Kermit Eller as Darth Vader in personal appearances

 

[joez2391]

Did anyone notice that the full Vader costume they're selling has non-production made gloves but then they're selling these screen used ones separately? Kind of weird they didnt put these with the full suit

 

[vader45]

Did anyone notice that the full Vader costume they're selling has non-production made gloves but then they're selling these screen used ones separately? Kind of weird they didnt put these with the full suit

It's because that's supposed to be the touring suit Eller wore when LFL requested the original suit back. These gloves were part of the original suit he wore but somehow kept them because a new pair was made and returned if I have that correct .

 

[belloq]

ESB non-screen-used tour suit vs. ANH screen-used gloves.

 

[vadermania]

50 - 100K? C'mon. Prices are at an insane level actually.

So Mr. Eller decided on selling those gloves now.

 

[vadermania]

Holy...do you see what I see? Looks like we've found the original ANH Vader belt boxes.....

Best authentic Vader costume I've seen in years.

 

[vader45]

Holy...do you see what I see? Looks like we've found the original ANH Vader belt boxes.....

Best authentic Vader costume I've seen in years.

Good catch. The detail matches up on the boxes! It's nice that some of the anh pieces are surfacing. Like the face mask in France .

 

[belloq]

I'm still trying to figure out those boxes- the buttons and hole mesh appear to be painted resin. Originals were bare aluminum so there would be no reason to paint those parts.

 

[vadermania]

I'm still trying to figure out those boxes- the buttons and hole mesh appear to be painted resin. Originals were bare aluminum so there would be no reason to paint those parts.

I agree. I‘ve studied the high-res versions of the images and noticed that there is a lot of gaffer tape on that belt. It seems to me that there is even gaffer tape behind the mesh of the belt boxes, perhaps to keep the mesh in place? I do remember reading that Kermit did some touch ups with a paint marker on the hardware components of the suit after several appearances. Maybe he used a silver one on the mesh to retouch glue residue?

 

[vadermania]

Good catch. The detail matches up on the boxes! It's nice that some of the anh pieces are surfacing. Like the face mask in France .

So we have the faceplate in France, now the gloves and belt boxes. The ANH belt and belt buckle has been re-used on an ESB suit, possibly the chest/shoulder armour combo (the one where the shoulder bells are worn „under“ the chest piece), too. There is light at the end of the tunnel...

 

[yodakiller1138]

Excellent pics of the suit. Answers a lot of questions I've had in regards to construction.

 

[Ridire Firean]

Hey Gang! Y'all will have to determine the what's Screen-Used vs. what's Tour-Used, but those are some AWESOME PICS! of a great looking Darth Vader Suit one way or the other!!!

I think they should be here for posterity sake, there were a couple of extras hidden there too! So, here ya go! ...




































































































Have fun oogling these! I hope this helps!

 

[James Kenobi 1138]

Weirdly if I had the cash I would totally buy those ANH gloves.

 

[mgoob]

Ridire Firean Thanks for posting those- it takes a long time for them, or any photo in that auction, to load.

 

[Ridire Firean]

You're very welcome mgoob ! I had three hours to kill the other day, and thought those images were pretty neat. Once the suit makes it into a private collection we may never see it again. I figured we should have those images here for Vader aficionados, amateur Star Wars historians, and everyone else who thought they just looked cool!

Admittingly, I am surprised that that post only got one like from the Vader crowd. Thanks for it dcarty !

I was hoping having the images here in one spot would spark more discussion about the suit so that everyone could learn more about it. I don't have any plans to make a Vader suit, but I thought it would be neat to know how it differed from other suits of the era or how it was very similar. And whoever may have plans to make a Vader suit could use that information for theirs. But the thread seems to have gone silent. The pics are here when someone needs it though!

 

[dcarty]

It's a pity that Paul Allen passed away. I'm really hoping that Arnaud Grunberg will get a hold of everything so at least there's a hope that the pieces will end up in a museum.

 

[Too Much Garlic]

Cool posting the pictures.

 

[juajn7fernandez]

Ridire Firean Thanks for posting the images! For some reason Chrome wasnt loading al the images on the auction website for me.

 

[kurtyboy]

Notice the added front panel to the right (Vader's right) belt box. Must've been a repair as I don't see it in ANH era photos.

 

[Cantina_Dude]

Notice the added front panel to the right (Vader's right) belt box. Must've been a repair as I don't see it in ANH era photos.

I think that might just be a little trick of the light. I too initially thought I saw an additional panel stuck on the front face, but looking at it again I think the chipped paint reveals that it's all a single surface wrapping around to the sides of the box "lid". The caked on paint and the slight imperfection/misalignment of the photoshop removal of the background combined with the artificial drop shadow also kinda makes it all a bit difficult to clearly interpret.