Sunday 15 December 2013

ORIGINAL TV Comic artwork on eBay

These don’t come up so often, so I thought it worth sharing.

Original TV Comic artwork
by John Channing
SOLD FOR £1,020.55

This is the original artwork from TV Comic Issue 1252 by John Channing – featuring the fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane battling some (pretty fast moving!) Daleks. It was first published in December 1975.

It is a finely detailed work in pencil and ink, with much of the finer pencil detail still clearly visible beneath the inked areas. As was always the case with John Channing, speech balloons were overlaid the finished illustration – since these are thinner than the board they’re stuck to they age at a faster rate – which is why you can see some areas of the artwork underneath visible through the speech balloons.

This always happens with work of this genre and in no way distracts from the overall impact of the piece – indeed, it’s part of its history!

The board measures approx 38cms x 47cms.

I obtained this piece from a collector of comic book original artwork around ten years ago.


Wednesday 11 December 2013

Herbert Johnson fedora on eBay

I must say first of all this is NOT a screen-worn hat, but it is an original period Herbert Johnson, by the makers of Tom’s fedoras.

These are quite rare to see, so I thought it worth highlighting just as good reference material as there are some nice pictures accompanying the listing.

I would have bid on it myself, but only being a 6 7/8 it’s too small for me!

Tom Baker hat
Herbert Johnson vintage fedora
SOLD FOR £54.99

Here we have an identical style of fur felt, broad brimmed floppy hat as worn by Tom Baker when he was Doctor Who.

It is made by the same make of bespoke hatters, Herbert Johnson and was made in the 1970’s. These hats are very rare.

The hat is brown (chocolate) colour, size 6 and 7/8*

This hat has seen better days. I think it may have got wet in the rain at some point and has become a bit distorted and shrunk a little. I say this because it is labelled as *6 and 7/8 but I think it is smaller (I have other hats that are bigger and labelled this size, also the crown of the hat seems squatter than it should). The internal band that lines the inside is split in afew places (see pics).

Low starting price because of these issues, so grab yourself a bargain!

Even so, it would look great on a hat stand with a Doctor Who scarf.

This is certainly more authentic than the official BBC, Fourth Doctor hats that are for sale at the moment!

Sunday 1 December 2013

Time Lord robes on eBay

There have been a couple of interesting lots on eBay over the past few months, which in combination make a full Time Lord costume as first seen in The Deadly Assassin, though these costumes possibly date from later stories.

Time Lord Collar
SOLD FOR £565.55

Genuine BBC prop believed to have been made by BBC Enterprises in the late 80's early 90s for the launch of the VHS Doctor Who range with Jon Pertwee. Used in various promotion events in Virgin Megastores. Various promotions also took place with Sylvester McCoy and Tom Baker.

This is a really lovely item and indistinguishable from the original TV props. Cast from the same moulds and decorated with ornate embellishments and the crest of the Prydonian Chapter (in case you were wondering!). It has been stored in a garage for 20 odd years and is remarkably good for its age. This is an incredibly rare piece made available for the 50th anniversary. Auction includes collar and skull cap.


Time Lord Robes
UNSOLD

Rare Original classic BBC TV Doctor Who Time Lord costume prop Bonhams 2010
This costume was purchased initially from the famous Bonhams Doctor Who Auction sale in February 2010.

ITEM DETAILS:
Originally sold at Bonhams in February 2010 to a private collector. Costume comes fully authenticated with certificate.


There is a tag that has been retained with the costume from the original sale, confirming the Bonhams sale number 18192 and the lot number 154.

The Bonhams Catalogue listing for this item reads:
24 Feb 2010 14:00 GMT London, Knightsbridge
Doctor Who: The Auction - Costumes and Props from the BBC Archive
154 The Deadly Assassin, October 1976
A Time Lord Robe,
of pink coloured, heavy cotton mix fabric, with pleated sleeves and front

ADDITIONAL:
I cannot personally confirm that this costume was used in The Deadly Assassin as I do not have any photographs from this.

N.B: A friend advised me that this costume was seen in the 1986 season story; The Trial of a Timelord in the courtroom scenes set on Gallifrey, worn by the clerk of the court, and provided me with a screen snapshot from this. SEE PHOTOGRAPHS. I leave this to the buyer's judgement to verify this.

The robe measures approx 56 inches from the reverse nape of the neck to the floor.

CONDITION:
The robe is in very good condition considering its age; there is no visible damage to the fabric - no rips, tears or holes. There is some production wear to the robe, this is in the form of some slight dirt marks and scuffing to the hem where the long train has presumably trailed along the studio floor.

The costume has been carefully stored since purchase.

Tuesday 26 November 2013

I AM Tom Baker!

With the 50th Anniversary taking place all round us, there’s a lot of amateur photoshop artists making up some nice tribute images.


It’s funny to see the picture pulled together from a variety of sources, spanning many years and different photoshoots, coming together to make one coherent image.

But sometimes they get them from places even I wouldn’t expect.....

Would be nice to be asked next time!


Saturday 23 November 2013

Doctor Who Celebration -
costume exhibition

This weekend’s Doctor Who Celebration has been a feast for the eyes for fans.

As well as catering for those who have come to Who through the relaunch series, there has been a good nod to the history of the show with a wide variety of guests and an extensive exhibition of costumes culled from Cardiff’s Doctor Who Experience.

They had a near complete set of Doctor’s costumes on show (missing was the Eighth and War Doctors) arranged in a circle around Bessie.

The Fourth Doctor costume on show was straight out of the Experience, though it was missing the flying duck brooches I remember it having.


Other Fourth Doctor items on show included a selection of Time Lord robes that first appeared in The Deadly Assassin.

If you want to see the costumes for the other Doctors at the exhibition, click the links below

Thursday 21 November 2013

Bonhams auction - 18th December 2013

With December looming, it is time for another Bonhams Entertainment Memorabilia sale!

The past few auctions have been Doctor Who lite when it comes to items, so there is no surprise that the first post-Anniversary is brimming with costumes and nick backs, dating back to 1968.

Lot 157
DOCTOR WHO: THE KEEPER OF TRACKEN - TWO COSTUME DESIGNS BY AMY ROBERTS, both designs in pencil and coloured chalks, signed by the artist in pencil, one titled Proctor Newman & Fosters the other Katura & Consul, with swatches of material attached and costume details, both framed 17 x 13 inches (43x33cm.)
FOOTNOTES
Olivier nominated costume designer Amy Roberts (born 1949) worked on a number of Doctor Who episodes including the Mawdryn Undead, Time Flight and State of Decay series.

Estimate £800 - 1,200
Sold for £1,000

Lot 158
DOCTOR WHO: THE KEEPER OF TRACKEN - TWO COSTUME DESIGNS BY AMY ROBERTS, both designs in pencil and coloured chalks, signed by the artist in pencil, one titled Consuls, Seron & Luvic and Consul Treamas, with swatches of material attached and costume details, both framed - 17 x 13 inches (43x33cm.)



Estimate £800 - 1,200
Sold for £1,000


Lot 159
DOCTOR WHO: FULL CIRCLE - VARSH'S DAGGER, the prop knife with wooden blade and handle wrapped with metal wire, length 11 inches (28cm)

Estimate £300 - 500
Sold for £325

Tuesday 19 November 2013

Radio Times -
50th anniversary issue covers

The 50th Anniversary week is almost here, and as expected the cover of the latest Radio Times features The Doctor - not just once, but TWLEVE times!

The sources of the images used are quite interesting, the majority of which are from the Radio Times own extensive archive of Doctor Who images. All are out-takes, so are being published for the first time.

The First and Second Doctors come from the 10th Anniversary Special published by the Radio Times in 1973. The Third Doctor comes from a photoshoot in 1970 for the launch of Jon Pertwee in the role.


The Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Doctors are pictured from the shoot for the 30th Anniversary special, which featured in the 1993 Children In Need.

This shows that they were all taken separately before being composited into the group on the cover.

The rest of the Doctors come from bespoke cover shoots done for the Radio Times in more recent years. For example the Ninth Doctor is from the gatefold cover which launched the new series in 2005; and the Tenth from The Next Doctor in 2008. The Eleventh and War Doctors are obviously newly taken.


Here’s the full size version of the Fourth Doctor’s cover.


Finally, have you noticed that all 12 covers join together to form a long single image?

Wednesday 13 November 2013

ADDITIONAL 4th Doctor items on eBay


Fourth Doctor and Romana prints autographed by June Hudson
SOLD FOR £25

This auction is for a colour print of the June Hudson designed alternate costume for Tom Baker, The Fourth Doctor. This one had a pre- printed autograph and June has crossed it out and signed underneath in black ink

The 42 X 30 CM (16.5 X 11.5 Inch) print was bought from June at a Doctor Who event at Longleat around 15 years ago and it has been personally signed by June. It’s on nice quality paper/card and is in mint condition.

The print has a slight indentation at the top, so as a bonus, I have included another print by June of the costume that she designed for Romana (Lalla Ward) for The Horns of Nimon story in 1979. Both would look lovely framed.

Friday 25 October 2013

Ascot ties are cool

While I was researching a vintage pattern I came across something of interest to the Fourth Doctor’s costume.

At various times during seasons thirteen to sixteen Tom Baker sported varying neckwear, tied in a knot at the neck.


These are known as Ascot Ties and my book The Modern Tailor Outfitter And Clothier dating from 1949 describes how they are cut and tied, accompanied by a series of step-by-step diagrams.



Obviously this is not exactly the same cut as screen worn, but I thought readers might find this interesting period-based reference material.

Monday 21 October 2013

The Fourth Doctor in 50 Years trailer

This week has seen the BBC release a fantastic new trailer celebrating the full 50 years of Doctor Who.



In one way or another all eleven Doctors are represented, some only fleetingly others more visibly.

It goes without saying that the Fourth Doctor is seen quite prominently at around 20 seconds into the one minute trailer, floating around surrounded by spilt Jenny Babies and an erroneous third Doctor sonic screwdriver.


But what has stirred up some debate is the clothes The Doctor is seen wearing.
The image has been achieved by compositing Tom Baker’s face onto someone wearing the costume.

The coat is clearly the Power Of Kroll frock coat, known also for its appearance in City Of Death.

The waistcoat appears to have a tweed checked pattern, but is not the classic version he is seen in many episodes.

But the scarf, as ever, fires up the blood of the Fourth Doctor fans. It’s been suggested it was the season15 version with the pattern repeated - or even the promotional scarf which was worn for a variety of photo shoots and personal appearances.

Eitherway, that coat, waistcoat and scarf don't belong together!

Friday 4 October 2013

The multi-talented June Hudson!

I was casually watching tv tonight and up came an ad break.
Only half paying attention, I saw a new commercial for Kellogg's Crunch Nut Chocolate Flakes.

My attention was suddenly piqued when halfway through an elderly shop keeper popped up played by none other than legendary Doctor Who costume designer June Hudson!


Tuesday 1 October 2013

Photocalls - greetings cards

While researching the Fourth Doctor Costume Index, I did come across some great photos of Tom in costume - but not for broadcast episodes.

One set which really catches the eye were taken for the Doctor Who greetings cards printed in the late 1970s by Denis Alan.

I am not 100% sure, but I wouldn’t be surprised to hear they were taken while on location filming for Destiny Of The Daleks. The sandy background reminds me a lot of the landing site of the Movellan ship and the costume looks to be a match to what he wore for that adventure.

Each of the 17 cards had a different message inside, only one is included here. It wouldn’t take a genius to print their own birthday cards from these.

These are not my scans, and I am unsure who did them, but I cleaned them up a little :)