By Pete Vilmur
This is one of those quirky sideline categories of the hobby I occasionally like to explore simply because it's fresh, unusual, and a nice diversion from the toys, statues, and prop replicas that dominate collectors' want lists these days.
Fans and collectors have often been curious about the funky "W" in "Wars" seen in early marketing materials from the first film -- you know, that pointy thing that looks like an inverted capital "M" and is seen on the famous Star Wars mylar advance poster. I thought it might be fun to check out some of the merchandise that actually exhibited this strange variation of the famous logo, for no other reason than to showcase some pieces collectors don't get to see too often, if ever.
But first, a bit of background.
For the Star Wars Poster Book, Steve Sansweet and I were able to track down the original designer of the first Star Wars logo, Suzy Rice, who was tasked to come up with a logo for the front cover of a promotional booklet to be sent to potential licensees, exhibitors, etc. She recalls being directed by Lucas to make the logo look "very fascist," which she interpreted to mean a bold, thick typeface -- Helvetica Black -- modified with ligature extensions on the leading and trailing letters. She claims that the original squared "W" which was used on the promo book and mylar poster was later modified to the version we see today in order to read more clearly in an opening shot planned for the film.
But wait -- all the Star Wars films open with the logo pulling straight away from the camera -- how would changing the "W" make any difference?
This question was at least partly answered by a photo recently published in Jonathan Rinzler's So if not for the problems encountered in shooting the logo for the opening of the film, we may still be living with the "pointy W" logo. But because we're not, and because we as collectors love to obsess over esoteric curiosities such as these, it might be fun to see just where this strange logo ended up after its fleeting brush with fame. Items depicting the early style W logo are for the most part from the early ad campaign -- the promo book, mylar poster, a pinback button, press kit, and other promotional materials put out by 20th Century Fox in late 1976 and early 1977. But it's the items bearing this logo style after the film's release that are most puzzling, since the logo we know today had pretty much been locked and formalized by then. Perhaps not surprisingly, most of these post-release items come from countries outside the U.S., where licensing approvals may have been a bit more lax in those days. Soundtrack cassettes from Australia, a poster from Sweden, a book from the Netherlands, and perhaps more items from abroad sported the funky W, and though these items are not particularly valuable today, they are certainly rare. What may be more puzzling is the appearance of the early-style logo on merchandise produced here in the U.S. by prominent licensees such as Marvel Comics and Factors Etc. -- both of which were using the early W logo after the film's release. Whatever the reasons, there wouldn't be such a fuss made over the look of a Star Wars title until the sixth chapter in the Star Wars saga was renamed Return of the Jedi from Revenge -- but that's another story. Check out the slideshow above for a look at some of the items produced from around the world bearing the early-style "pointy W" logo.
