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YouTube Close-Up Look – Luke Lightsaber Auction Part 4: Roger Christian Responds

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This is a Part 4 follow-up my Part 1 , Part 2 and Part 3 close-up looks at the “[o]riginal production used “Luke Skywalker” lightsaber from Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope from the collection of Oscar-winning set decorator Roger Christian” featured in the upcoming Profiles in History “Hollywood Auction 96” taking place on December 11th, 12th, 13th, and 14th (the lightsaber specifically is scheduled to go under the hammer on December 13th). This latest video highlights a “Reader Comment” made today by Roger Christian himself.  As he took the time to respond to some of my questions in my prior videos as well as correct a few mistakes made by me, I wanted to bring attention to the comment that he published in order to share it with anyone who might have watched prior videos on YouTube and/or read prior articles here on the Original Prop Blog.  One of my primary questions was whether or not the prop lightsaber seen in the photos on the Letter of Authenticity (LOA) is the same lightsaber or a different lightsaber from the one up for auction and as seen in the photos published by Profiles in History in their auction catalog and in the online listing at iCollector.  Today, Roger Christian says that: “[t]he two photos immediately below my signature in my COA depict the exact same lightsaber that is being sold by Profiles in History”.

Below is the full “Reader Comment” made today (12/9/2018 as I write this though the publish date may end up being 12/10/2018) by Roger Christian (which can be viewed at the source here – LINK):

cinemaalchemist • 3 hours ago

Dear Jason,
The two photos immediately below my signature in my COA depict the exact same lightsaber that is being sold by Profiles in History. In your comparison photos there is a scratch on the lever of the clasp holding the bubble strip that matches exactly in all three shots: the image you took at Comic Con, the image I shot for authentication, and the image from Profiles in History’s catalog. My authentication images were taken in darker lighting conditions which explains the darker impression of that rivet head on the lever. Lighting changes everything, especially with chrome objects.
You state the ringed bracket holding the bubble strip is made in a fixed position. This is simply not accurate. When the lever is loosened, the ring assembly can be moved. This explains the different position of the bubble strip you noted in your comparison and also explains the variation you saw on the corners of the T-strip because you were comparing two different T-strips since they are located at different sides of the hilt. The variable positioning of the bubble strip is seen by looking at the original set photos from the film.

The reference photo with the red rectangles I took from an online publication which must have been your blog. It neatly illustrated what modifications I stuck onto the Graflex handle to make the lightsaber.

Best regards,
Roger Christian

Additionally, here is a screen capture of the post: LINK

Also provided further below are links to much of the information that was referenced in this video, which you can find under “FOOTNOTES”.

Click below to watch this video or click through to watch directly on YouTube:

Primary Outstanding Question

As noted in my YouTube video – (per Roger Christian’s statement today “[t]he two photos immediately below my signature in my COA depict the exact same lightsaber that is being sold by Profiles in History”) – my primary outstanding question is the following:

How does one reconcile the statement made in the October 2017 Letter of Authenticity (LOA) (“This Lightsaber below is one of the originals…”) with the prior statement made in the January 2016 post on the Cinema Alchemist Facebook Page (“This is an exact prototype of Luke’s lightsaber…”), if both are referring to the same lightsaber depicted in the same set of photos?

Especially in the context of the prior statement made on the June 2015 Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything)?

What precisely is the definition of the word “prototype”?

FOOTNOTES (links to public sources of information referenced in the YouTube video):

Jason DeBord