This lot will be auctioned on Thursday, November 3rd. The auction will begin at 3:00PM GMT and lots are sold sequentially via live auctioneer; tune in to the live streaming broadcast on auction day to follow the pace. Note other lots in the auction may close on Friday, November 4th; Saturday, November 5th; or Sunday, November 6th.

Concept sketches of a female Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader hand-drawn by Alex Tavoularis during early pre-production on George Lucas' Star Wars: A New Hope. In his second draft of the script from March 1975, Lucas changed Skywalker - then known as "Luke Starkiller" - to a female character. But in the following draft, he split the character into two - Luke and Princess Leia - suggesting that these rare sketches were completed by Tavoularis, an illustrator and industrial artist who created early concept storyboards, prior to the third draft.

Rendered in graphite on vellum, these three concept sketches - one of Luke wearing a face apparatus labelled "Luke at Alderaan"; one of a bare-faced female Luke; and one of Darth Vader - come from the collection of the film's advertising and publicity supervisor Charles "Charley" Lippincott. The vellum exhibits smudging, stray marks, and staining. Dimensions: 21.75 cm x 28 cm (8.5" x 11")

Sold without copyright; see notice in the Buyer's Guide.

Lots in this section of the auction come from the collection of Charles “Charley” Lippincott. Lippincott is considered among the foremost marketing and merchandising experts in the history of fantasy and science-fiction. After an early start in traditional Hollywood publicity, his career exploded when college friend George Lucas hired him as Lucasfilm’s VP of Advertising, Publicity, Promotion & Merchandising, a role he used to create arguably the most successful – and bombastic – marketing campaign ever for Lucas’ 1977 blockbuster Star Wars. Lippincott subsequently masterminded the publicity strategies for such era-defining properties as Ridley Scott’s Alien and Mike Hodges’ Flash Gordon. The popularity of these projects further propelled him into the top ranks of film executives, leading him to produce Danny Cannon’s cult classic Judge Dredd.

While Charley Lippincott passed away in 2020, his personal collection of rare unseen production and marketing materials reflects a legacy of influence on some of cinema’s most memorable titles. All auction registrants will also be entered into a random giveaway drawing to win a T-shirt or brochure produced by Lippincott for the 2016 convention MidAmeriCon 2 (“MAC II”) which re-united Gary Kurtz, Alan Dean Foster, Marc Pevers, and Gary Kurtz. The giveaway is made possible by Lippincott’s estate.

Estimate: £6,000 - 8,000 Ω

View all lots from STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE (1977)

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