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

Saturday, November 16, 2024

Special Photostudy: The $910,000 Star Trek: The Original Series Hero Type II Pistol Phaser from Julien's Bid Long & Prosper Auction

 

On November 9, 2024, an iconic piece of Star Trek history - the "hero" or working Type II Pistol Phaser prop which had been used for close-up photography in such memorable TOS episodes as "Court Martial" and "The Gamesters of Triskelion" and had been extensively pictured in the famous 1968 behind-the-scenes reference book "The Making of Star Trek" - sold at Julien's Bid Long & Prosper auction for a record shattering $910,000 (based on a hammer price of $700,000 plus a 30% buyers premium); making this phaser the most expensive piece of Star Trek memorabilia ever sold at auction.  The emergence of this prop into the public consciousness was just a recent development; as it was privately held for nearly 50 years by it's consignors who inherited it from a relative in the Hollywood prop industry.   The original pre-auction estimate for the phaser was $100,000 - $200,000; which was consistent with earlier, recent Star Trek memorabilia sales history.   In the Heritage Greg Jein Collection auction on October 14, 2023, Lot #89139, the Jein TOS Hero Phaser prop that is virtually identical to this piece realized a final price of $187,500 including buyers premium - or approximately 1/5th of the price observed in the Julien's auction. 

The TOS “hero” phaser props were elaborately constructed based on the design created by Walter “Matt” Jefferies, the Art Director and Production Designer for TOS – who might be best known as the creator of the original U.S.S. Enterprise starship. The working phaser features:

  • A removable Hand Phaser unit (also called a Type I Phaser) that mounted into the Type II body and could be secured in place or released by depressing the bronze colored cylindrical button (or “Lock Release” ) projecting outwards from the left-side of the Type II body
  • A moving silver thumbwheel ( or “Force Setting Wheel”) on the top surface of the Hand Phaser that would, when rotated fully forward, raise a clear acrylic “sight” mechanism out of the top of the unit, lifting slightly the rear of the silver rectangular meshed plate or “Electron Aspirator Pile” and also causing the beam emitter at the very front of the Type II body to extend forward
  • Fully rotating the silver thumbwheel forward would also cause a tiny “grain of wheat” light bulb mounted into the beam emitter to illuminate. This would be useful for the graphic artists working on the post production “special effects” processing for the series to correctly add in the bright blue or red or white colored light beam seen projecting from the phaser when it was firing.

 

  • A rotating ring piece as part of the aluminum front nozzle section (or “Photon Accelerator”)
  • A machined aluminum rear “Deflector Shield” component with 4 fin-like projections incorporated in the design. (This detail was simply painted onto mid-grade level phaser props.)
  • A removable grip or handle which also served as a PowerPack for the Type II unit; as revealed in the episode “The Omega Glory”, where discarded powerpacks were found as evidence of extensive use of phaser weapons in a battle

This historic piece with it’s intricate internal design mechanisms truly represents the pinnacle of 1960’s propmaking expertise.

Presented below is the complete Julien's auction catalog description, with accompanying photos, for this iconic hero phaser, as well as several rare images that reveal the elaborate internal construction details of the prop.  

Special thanks to John Long, the renowned Star Trek prop expert and prop maker who masterfully performed the restoration and conservation activities on both this Hero Type II Phaser and the Hero TOS communicator prop also sold at the Julien's Bid Long & Prosper auction, for his very gracious permission to include his detailed photography of the phaser's interior within this article.

Lot #7  Star Trek: The Original Series | William Shatner "Captain James T. Kirk" Hero Screen-Matched Phaser Prop

An original screen-matched, hero, Phaser prop used by William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk in the television series Star Trek: The Original Series (Desilu Productions, 1966 - 1969).
 
This iconic prop, created in 1966, is one of only four hero or “practical” versions of the Phaser used on the show which feature intricate details and moving parts that were unique to those few props, making it exceedingly rare. This Phaser is known in the collecting community as the "Finney" Phaser because it was seen on screen used by actor Richard Webb who portrayed the character "Finney" in the season one episode "Court Marshall."  Held by its current owners for nearly fifty years, this Phaser was thought to be lost until now. The current owners inherited the Phaser from a close relative who was a Hollywood prop industry veteran that purportedly acquired it from a former Paramount Pictures employee that worked on early Star Trek productions.
 
Construction
Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry wanted to avoid the sci-fi cliche “ray-gun” and preferred that his new weapons have details and features beyond just a static prop. To that end, the hero Phasers feature a removable top-mounted Phaser 1 that could be used by itself or in place within the larger body which, when combined, were collectively referred to as a Phaser 2. Both of these pieces are marvels of prop engineering with various electric switches, hidden linkages and moving parts that can only be seen when the pieces are opened to reveal their inner workings. The intricate interior details with both custom and off-the-shelf parts from the 1960s are specific matches to another acknowledged hero Phaser previously owned by prop maker and collector Greg Jein.  The handle of the Phaser, which is also removable, is the battery compartment that powers the light in the emitter tip.
 
In addition to the fact that this Phaser perfectly matches the materials and methods of construction seen on the Greg Jein Phaser, this Phaser was also showcased in The Making of Star Trek, a book published in 1968. The Making of Star Trek included a photo section featuring many key Star Trek props.  The section on the Phaser included detailed photos, including interior images of the Phaser 1 section perfectly match this Phaser.
 
Screen-Matching
Thanks to the fact that Star Trek has been re-mastered from its original film to high-definition Blu-Ray, this Phaser can clearly be matched to specific scenes in multiple episodes which is a highly unusual and sought-after feature.
 
This Phaser holds another distinction that sets it apart from its counterparts. It was apparently designated by the prop master as “The Beauty Phaser,” which is demonstrated by its excellent condition and its many close-ups throughout Star Trek’s three seasons, the only Phaser used in this way.  We have been able to identify unique details, scratches and flaws on this Phaser to make positive identifications of this prop to a number of specific episodes.  It can be seen in close-up in the episodes, ”Court Martial”, "The Cloud Minders", "The Gamesters of Triskelion" and “A Piece of the Action,” a singular honor.
 
Restoration
While the Phaser was already in exceptional condition, it nevertheless underwent restoration to stabilize inner working parts to allow gentle movement without risking damage.  The interior battery compartment had corrosion fro a previous battery.  The corrosion was removed and the compartment was stabilized to prevent further damage.  During this process, an external power source was used to illuminate the original bulb still present in the nozzle tip.  Although it is possible to use a battery to enable the lighting of this bulb, further work would be required to fully stabilize these connections for reliability.  The original acrylic semicircular top meter cover was absent from the Phaser, a replacement has been created for display purposes and comes with this lot.  This part was not affixed to the Phaser in any way, to maintain the integrity of the piece.

Estimate:  $100,000 - $200,000
































Some very special internal construction imagery courtesy of Star Trek TOS expert John Long ...









A perfect match of the interior hand phaser compartment cover appearance with a 1968 photo published in The Making of Star Trek ...

A closeup screen shot from the 2nd season episode "The Gamesters of Triskelion" ...

A closeup screen shot from the 1st season episode "Court Martial" ...

Some breathtaking modern day imagery of the hero phaser, illuminated again!, courtesy of John Long ...