Star Wars has been around for over forty years, and over that span of time has become the most mass marketed film saga of all time, effortlessly eclipsing any merchandise spinning entity that came before or since.
There might not be a STARBURST reader out there who at one time or another has not owned a licenced item. The bewildering amount of Star Wars related merchandise truly is as long and wide as a manufacturer’s imagination.
Star Wars Memorabilia provides a kind of beginner’s overview to the some of the items that are out there. Sadly the book’s limitations are all too apparent when the slim 94-page count is taken into consideration against the fact that Kenner and Hasbro have, over the years released well in excess of 1000 action figures between them.
Spread over seven chapters covering action figures, toys models and games, collectables, books, comics and magazines, trading cards and stickers, and finally home entertainment, the book breezes through its subject matter speedily. And this is its shortcoming. There’s no depth or perspective regarding the merchandise. The chapters are little more than quick essays giving the merest nod to a few select items, omitting any attempt at a price guide. The book is unique in that it concentrates more on the items available in the UK and provides a quick comparison in the differences between the Kenner and Hasbro items in the U.S. and those distributed by Palitoy in Britain, but again – given the amount of space devoted to photographs of some of the items, there’s nowhere near enough text to accompany them.
The photographs used to illustrate the book are a bit problematic too. They are very reminiscent of old catalogue photographs and really aren’t large enough or rendered in a high enough definition for the reader to really appreciate the detail.
Easily read in a single sitting, it’s a brisk stroll down memory lane for those of us who were around in the seventies and eighties and will certainly evoke a sense of wistful nostalgia for a simpler time of toys and games. But there’s nothing really new to be learned here and ultimately collectors will find the volume superficial.
STAR WARS MEMORABILIA: AN UNOFFICIAL GUIDE TO STAR WARS COLLECTABLES / AUTHOR: PAUL BERRY / PUBLISHER: AMBERLEY BOOKS / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
