Scope and Content Note
This collection houses Nicholas A. Salerno's collection of publicity materials and merchandising products for the Star Wars film series from 1976-2005. The bulk of the materials focuses on the original trilogy released from 1977-1983 beginning with Star Wars (1977), Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983).
The collection includes press kits and publicity materials; autographed photographs and principal actor headshots; journal, magazine and newspaper articles; co-branded tie in products; licensed merchandise; action figures, creatures, playsets and vehicles; audio and video recordings; posters; store displays; and fabric textiles. Materials relate primarily to the production, publicity, exhibition and importance of the trilogy film series from 1977-1987.
The collection is divided into seventeen series: Press Kits and Publicity, Resources, Photographs, Co-branded Tie In Products, Licensed Products, Action Figures, Vehicles, Creatures, Playsets, Textiles, Magnetic Video Recordings, Film, Audio Recordings, Digital Video Recordings, Posters, Store Displays, and Exhibit Materials. The arrangement revolves principally around chronological order by film release date or alphabetically. See Scope Notes by series for arrangement details.
Series I: Press Kits and Publicity (Boxes 1-3, 1977-1991) contains press kits sent to journalists and acquisition executives. Press kits in this collection are packaged in 8 x 10½ inch folders containing a full cast list, principal actor biographies, story line, cast and crew credits, principal cast photographs and production stills. Of note are two rare items, a white Star Wars Revenge of the Jedi Press Kit (Box 2) and a Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back Portfolio with Darth Vader Medallion (Box 3). This series is arranged chronologically by film release date. Bulk dates are 1977-1983.
Series II: Photographs (Box 4, 1980-1996) contains principal cast autographed black-and-white photographs; and publicity photographs for television broadcasts of the films, including the Sci-Fi Channel Star Wars Special hosted by Carrie Fisher in 1995, and the USA Network Star Wars Trilogy special. This series is arranged in chronological order. Bulk dates are 1980-1996.
Series III: Resources (Boxes 5-6, 1977-2005) contains academic journal, popular magazine and newspaper articles that document the publicity and merchandising of the films, fandom, technical filmmaking advancements used in the productions, cast and crew interviews, and ephemera. Of note is a nine-stamp sheet of Star Wars Trilogy Saint Vincent and The Grenadines postage stamps. This series is arranged in original order as donated by Salerno. Bulk dates are 1977-2000.
Series IV: Co-branded Tie In Products (Boxes 7-14, 1977-1997) contains consumer products with multiple company branded logos or images used to promote the films. Companies represented include Coca Cola, Hallmark, Frito-Lay, General Mills, Micromachines, Pepperidge Farm, Pepsi, Pez, Taco Bell, and Thermos. This series is arranged by manufacturer and then by size. Bulk dates are 1983-1997.
Series V: Licensed Products (Boxes 15-19, 1980-1997) contains consumer products licensed by a company to use the Star Wars branded logo and images. Of note is the Darth Vader action figure collector's case. This series is arranged by size. Bulk dates are 1980-1983.
Series VI: Action Figures (Boxes 20-30, 1977-1996) contains 125 character action figures that are approximately three inches in height; creatures, and vehicles featured in the films. They were produced by Kenner Products. Of note are several rare action figures sold before the first film release in 1977. Many are fragile and have removable parts, such as helmets and weapons. Also of note are action figures in original packaging (Box 30).
Figures produced prior to release of the first film (1977) were sometimes identified using phoenetic spelling rather than alpha-numeric. Manufacturers used the phoenetic spelling found in the screenplay as their resource. The common alphanumeric spelling was used after 1977. Figures are labeled using the alphanumeric character name, which conforms to Library of Congress convention. Phoenetic names that appeared on the original packaging are documented in the notes for those figures.
Duplicate figures may be from different manufacturers and may have noticeable production variations, e.g., face paint, hair color, skin color or paint precision. This series is arranged first numerically, then alphabetically by character name. Action figures that were donated with the playsets are in Box 30. Bulk dates are 1977-1984.
Series VII: Vehicles (Box 31, 1978-1983) contains four action-figure vehicles: two landspeeders, one speeder bike, and one TIE (twin ion engine) fighter from 1978. This series is arranged by size. Bulk dates are 1978.
Series VIII: Creatures (Box 32, 1979-1984) contains five creatures: one dewback, two tauntauns, one rancor and one wampa. This series is arranged by size. Bulk dates are 1979.
Series IX: Playsets (Boxes 33-36, 1978-1983) contains four playsets: Jabba the Hutt's Throne, the Ewok Village, Planet Dagobah and the 1978 Millennium Falcon. The playsets were displayed in Salerno's office with action figures not originally sold with the playset. These action figures are identified in the notes and are housed in Series VI Box 30. Each playset is housed in a separate box. Bulk dates are 1978-1983.
Series X: Textiles (Boxes 37-38, 1978-1983) contains a 25 inch polyfill stuffed Chewbacca doll, and Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back poly-cotton blend fabric sheets, including one fitted sheet, one flat sheet, four pillow cases, one twin bed skirt and one full-size bed skirt. This series is arranged by size. Bulk dates are 1979-1983.
Series XI: Magnetic Video Recordings (Boxes 39-41, 1980-2000) contains three VHS magnetic tape video recordings of the original trilogy, ten Umatic magnetic tape television promotion clips, and one 35mm magnetic film of television promotion clips for Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. The packaging can be viewed; to access the recording content, contact the Special Collections Curator. This series is arranged chronologically. Bulk dates are 1980.
Series XII: Film (Boxes 42-43, 1977) contains one 35mm and two 16mm promotional films produced by Twentieth Century-Fox with short clips for Star Wars (1977). One 16mm film was created by Salerno for teaching purposes. The packaging can be viewed; to access the recording content, contact the Special Collections Curator. This series is arranged by size. Bulk dates are 1977.
Series XIII: Audio Recordings (Boxes 44-45, 1977-1997) contains four audio cassettes that document Salerno's presentation at the ASU Libraries Star Wars Exhibit in 1997, and ten, 33⅓rpm, vinyl phonograph records that primarily contain soundtrack recordings by composer and conductor John Williams. Of note are two original 1977 John Williams' Star Wars soundtracks, and the Christmas In The Stars (1980) album featuring Christmas-themed songs and the original cast. The packaging can be viewed; to access the recording content, contact the Special Collections Curator. This series is arranged chronologically. Bulk dates are 1980-1997.
Series XIV: Digital Video Recordings (Box 46, 1989-1993) contains laser disc recordings of the original Star Wars trilogy. The packaging can be viewed; to access the recording content, contact the Special Collections Curator.This series is arranged chronologically. Bulk dates are 1989-1993.
Series XV: Posters (SPEC Map Case DWR 26, 1977-1996) contains publicity posters sold to consumers or in sales distribution outlets. Most items are standard one-sheet, 27 x 41 inch, all are in color. Of note is a rare, original 1977 Style A
Star Wars poster of art by Illustrator Tom Jung. This series is arranged by size, then chronologically. Bulk dates are 1981-1988.
Series XVI: Store Displays (Boxes 48-49 OV-3, 1980-1996) contains three heavy cardboard store displays used to advertise the films and co-branded products: the 1977 Star Wars Tom Jung poster art; a Taco Bell kid's meal toy prize display of R2-D2; and Yoda. This series is arranged by size. Bulk dates are 1980-1995.
Series XVII: Exhibit Materials (SPEC Map Case DWR 26, 1997-1999) contains construction paper posters and identification cards created for ASU Libraries Star Wars exhibits. This series is arranged by size. Bulk dates are 1997, 1999.
Dates
- Creation: 1976-2005
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1977-1987
Language of Materials
Material in English
Access Restrictions
Access to portions of this collection have been restricted in order to preserve the original materials.
To view this collection, make an appointment at least five business days prior to your visit by contacting Ask an Archivist or calling (480) 965-4932. Appointments in the Wurzburger Reading Room at Hayden Library (rm. 138) on the Tempe campus are available Monday through Friday. Check the ASU Library Hours page for current availability.
Copyright
Arizona State University does not own the copyright to this collection. We recognize that it is incumbent upon the researcher to procure permission to publish information from this collection from the owner of the copyright.
Historical Note
History of the Star Wars Films
Star Wars is an American film epic composed of nine films organized in three trilogies. The original trilogy
follows the story of Luke Skywalker and consists of Star Wars (Lucas, Director, 1977), which is commonly subtitled Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope; Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (Kershner, Director, 1980); and Star Wars Episode IV: Return of the Jedi (Marquand, Director, 1983). The second prequel trilogy
follows the story of Luke's father, Anakin Skywalker, in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (Lucas, Director, 1999), Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (Lucas, Director, 2002), and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (Lucas, Director, 2005). The third or sequel trilogy
begins with Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (Abrams, Director, 2015); the remaining two films have not been produced to date.
Writer, director, and producer George Lucas' (1944- ) earliest science-fiction film was a short titled, Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB (1967), which was written and directed while attending the University of Southern California. Lucas drafted a prologue for the Star Wars universe in 1973, called Journal of the Whills, which outlined the background history of the Star Wars story. In the preface to Star Wars Legends: Splinter of the Mind's Eye (1986), a science fiction novel written by Alan Dean Foster, Lucas said, It wasn't long after I began writing Star Wars that I realized the story was more than a single film could hold. As the saga of the Skywalkers and Jedi Knights unfolded, I began to see it as a tale that could take at least nine films to tell—three trilogies—and I realized, in making my way through the back story and after story, that I was really setting out to write the middle story.
The middle story became the original trilogy.
Lucas described Star Wars as an epic space opera
, introducing fans to spectacular computer-generated special effects and heroic, mythical space adventures. Star Wars opened in 1977 and introduced groundbreaking storytelling and filmmaking techniques, including placing credits at the end of the film, using robots as fully developed characters, and producing the first film trilogy. Star Wars is noted by film historians as the first blockbuster
science-fiction film, along with Jaws (Spielberg, Director, 1977), which began the practice of opening a film on many screens across the country at the same time, as opposed to releasing the films in blocks
on different dates.
The marketing and consumer product campaign of the inaugural 1977 film was broader and more pervasive than any previous film promotions, expanding the practice of merchandising tie-ins and film promotions. Many people can identify characters and creatures whose names were never spoken in the film because of the marketing and consumer products.
Star Wars (1977) received seven Academy Awards for Best Set Decoration, Best Costume Design, Best Sound, Best Film Editing, Best Visual Effects and Best Original Score. Benjamin Burtt Jr. won a Special Achievement Award for sound effects for creation of the alien, creature and robot voices. Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (Kershner, Director, 1980) won two Academy Awards for Best Sound and a Special Achievement Award presented to Brian Johnson, Richard Edlund, Dennis Muren, and Bruce Nicholson for visual effects. Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (Marquand, Director, 1983) won an Academy Special Achievement Award, presented to Richard Edlund, Dennis Muren, Ken Ralston and Phil Tippett for visual effects.
Donor Note
Nicholas A. Salerno, university professor and administrator, author and film critic said, I fell in love with the series with the Empire Strikes Back. With that movie, the underpinnings of the myth fell into place. And then I went on a press junket and talked to the principals - Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher - and confirmed there was more to it than a shoot-em-up in space,
in a 2005 interview for the Arizona Republic. Tickets from The Empire Strikes Back screening night at the Cine Capri Theatre in Phoenix are included in the collection. Salerno said the last item he donated to the ASU Libraries was a stuffed Chewbacca doll because he couldn't bear to part with it.
This collection houses Salerno's research gathered to support his scholarship and teaching, and primary source materials that Salerno has made available to other scholars. Salerno collected a wide variety of materials that document the production, publicity, exhibition and importance of Star Wars in popular culture.
Salerno was born June 21, 1936, in Chicago, Illinois. Early in his life his family moved to Arizona where he attended Phoenix Union High School, graduating in 1953. During his high school years he was strongly influenced by his English teachers. In 1957 he graduated from Arizona State College, later named Arizona State University, with a Bachelor of Arts in English, Journalism and History. He earned a Master of Arts from Arizona State University in 1959. In 1962, he obtained a Doctor of Philosophy in Victorian Literature with a minor in Latin Language and Literature from Stanford University. Salerno's field of specialization was Victorian literature and his dissertation was Romantic Love in Victorian Poetry (1961). He published several literary anthologies, which have been used in many college classes.
Salerno started his academic teaching career at ASU in 1958 as an instructor and became a full professor in 1970. In 1983, he was appointed chairman of the Department of English. At ASU, Salerno taught classes in 19th century literature, composition, Latin, undergraduate and graduate literature survey courses, and film history. He is a recognized scholar on the 19th century artist and poet Aubrey Beardsley and has also published book reviews and articles on the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, the Victorian era and Shakespeare. Salerno received the ASU Distinguished Teacher Award in 1971 and the Distinguished Service Award in 1993. He retired from ASU in 1991 and is professor emeritus.
Salerno is a noted film scholar and critic, with hundreds of articles appearing in journals, magazines and newspapers, including American Film Institute Report, Film History, Moviegoer, Phoenix Magazine, the Los Angeles Times and the Scottsdale Progress. Salerno hosted the KAET Phoenix PBS television channel program Cinema Classics for ten years from 1973-1983. Salerno started the film program in the ASU Department of English, and hosted screenings of classic and foreign films in Neeb Hall. He also sponsored a student film club that regularly attended film screenings in the Valley.
Full extent
50 Box(es)
Full extent
55.25 Linear Feet
Abstract
This collection houses Nicholas A. Salerno's collection of publicity materials and merchandising products for the Star Wars film series from 1976-2005. The bulk of the materials focuses on the original trilogy released from 1977-1983 beginning with Star Wars (1977), which is commonly subtitled Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope; Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980); and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983). Included are press kits and promotional materials; journal, magazine and newspaper articles; still photographs; vinyl phonograph and magnetic tape audio recordings; digital, magnetic tape and film moving images; co-branded and licensed merchandising products; posters; and fabric textiles.
Arrangement
The collection consists of forty-eight boxes and a map case drawer divided into seventeen series.
- Series I: Press Kits and Publicity
- Series II: Photographs
- Series III: Resources
- Series IV: Co-branded Tie In Products
- Series V: Licensed Products
- Series VI: Action Figures
- Series VII: Vehicles
- Series VIII: Creature
- Series IX: Playsets
- Series X: Textiles
- Series XI: Magnetic Video Recordings
- Series XII: Film
- Series XIII: Audio Recordings
- Series XIV: Digital Video Recordings
- Series XV: Posters
- Series XVI: Store Displays
- Series XVII: Exhibit Materials
Provenance
Nicholas A. Salerno donated the bulk of the Star Wars Collection from 1997-1999 in ten accessions. Additional materials were donated by Anna Quan Leon, Clint Lewis, Chris Purpus, Gene Valentine, Victoria Vanransom and Randy Yamamoto.
Processing Note
This collection was processed by Susan Barrett, Arizona State University, December 2014-October 2015.
- Title
- Nicholas A. Salerno Star Wars Collection
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Processed by Susan Barrett under the direction of Kathy Krzys.
- Date
- 2015
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding guide encoded in English.
Repository details
Part of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Repository
Contact
Arizona State UniversityP.O. Box 871006
Tempe AZ 85287-1006 United States
(480) 965-4932
archives@asu.edu