Welcome! As part of its ongoing mission to document the Art and Production History of Star Trek, this site will present technical articles on Star Trek prop and costume authentication - focusing on The Original Series - with detailed photos and episode screenshots to complement the information presented; as well as feature pictorials to showcase Star Trek memorabilia in private & public collections, present rare Behind The Scenes TOS imagery & discuss other topics.
Gerald Gurian is a 40+ year collector of screen used Star Trek memorabilia and a passionate fan of TOS
     
- Star Trek TOS At Auction Part I - Gurian Collection Highlights - Greg Jein TOS Hero Type II Phaser
-Authenticating a TOS Communicator -6 Myths About Star Trek Prop Design -Star Trek 3rd Season Command Tunic
- Design Features of TOS Tricorders -Star Trek Props At National Air & Space - TOS Leatherette Tricorder
- TOS Federation Sciences Dress -Desilu Studio TOS Prop Fabrication - Unreleased Allen/Gurian Prop Photos
- The Beautiful Women of TOS Part I -TOS U.S.S. Enterprise 11' Filming Model - Captain Kirk's Chair from TOS
- Spock Ears -TOS Control Panels & Displays - Mr. Spock's Science Station
- TOS Soundstage at Desilu -TOS Shatner Romulan Pants - The Beautiful Women of TOS Pt. II
- TOS Galileo Shuttlecraft -Greg Jein TOS Cage Laser Pistol - TOS 3rd Season Midgrade Type II Phaser
- Dr. McCoy's Sickbay on TOS -TOS Balok Puppet Head - Captain Kirk "Mirror, Mirror" Tunic
- Greg Jein TOS Hero Tricorder -1992 Smithsonian TOS Cast Video - TOS 1st Season Command Tunic
- TOS "Where No Man" Silver Contact Lenses -TOS Special Effects: The Transporter - The Art of Matt Jefferies
- TOS "Space Seed" Gold Mesh Jumpsuit -Gorn Costume from "Arena" - Rare TOS Behind-the-Scenes Videos
- TOS Stunt Type II Phaser -1993 Bill Theiss Estate Auction - TOS Shatner Command Dress Tunic
- TOS Elasian Royal Guard Tunic -TOS Finnegan Silver "Shore Leave" Tunic - TOS Science Officer Tunic "The Cage"
- TOS Shatner Early 1st Season Command Tunic -William Shatner TOS Tunics At Auction - TOS Shatner Late 1st Season Command Tunic

Monday, August 6, 2012

Special Photo Study: William Shatner Gold Velour Captain Kirk tunic from the 1st Season of Star Trek: The Original Series

It is a great pleasure for this site to present the following set of high resolution photos to document the design and construction details of a newly authenticated William Shatner screen worn Captain Kirk command tunic from the first season of TOS. This is the second extremely rare Shatner gold velour tunic to be the focus of a special photostudy on this site in recent weeks; and this particular costume has been determined to have an extraordinarily rich history of usage in the production of The Original Series. As seen in the composite photos at the beginning of the post, this tunic was worn by William Shatner as Captain Kirk in multiple scenes of the 1st season episodes "A Taste of Armageddon" (first airdate: Feb. 23, 1967), "This Side of Paradise" (first airdate: Mar. 2, 1967) and "Operation: Annihilate!" (first airdate: Apr. 13, 1967). The unique appearance of it's gold mylar command patch - which was attached to the velour fabric with a sharp bend evident at its lower right vertex - is immediately recognizable in images from all three episodes, and both the patch and the 1st row of Captain's braid have been screen matched to the memorable episode "A Taste of Armageddon". Upon completion of its service as a "hero" Captain Kirk tunic, the 2nd and 3rd rows of braid were removed from this costume - effectively redressing the garment to the rank of Lieutenant - where it likely experienced additional usage on screen during the 2nd season of TOS.

The high resolution images that follow the initial screen matched photo set serve to illustrate the detailed design of the TOS gold velour tunic fabric, the gold mylar first season patch, the "hero" black cloth zipper pull and UNIQUE brand zipper hardware with metal teeth; as well as the later style "spring weave" collar fabric (as opposed to the early "ribbed" knit collars) and the late 1st season style of braid found on this tunic. Also of particular note is the double gusset construction on the sides of this tunic - featuring three parallel seams running vertically beneath the armpit region along the length of the torso - a unique design characteristic that was only incorporated into the tunics that were created for wear by William Shatner.

This truly extraordinary piece of Star Trek history, and hallmark creation of TOS Costume Designer William Ware Theiss, is part of a long held private collection in France. Many thanks to veteran TOS collector Paul for his very gracious permission to display all of these outstanding photographs. Many other items in his very impressive Original Series collection may be seen at the website: http://startrekprops.jimdo.com/

And now, a series of screen captures from Star Trek: The Original Series in which William Shatner is featured wearing this particular tunic ...

and many high resolution modern day images that illustrate the construction details of this historic tunic ...

Note the slight sparkle effect visible in the TOS gold velour fabric that is quite evident in the following image ...

The presence of the Japanese manufactured UNIQUE brand of zipper with metal teeth has been well documented on this site to be a consistent feature of TOS screen used starfleet tunics and dresses across all three seasons of The Original Series ...

Note the distinct imprints in the velour at multiple locations on the cuff where two additional rows of Captain's braid were once attached ...

The double gusset construction on both sides of the torso is a unique design feature that is only found on TOS command tunics which were specifically tailored for wear by William Shatner ...