The auctioneer didn’t exactly mention the word “rare,” but that’s what he was hinting at when the furry brown head of Chewbacca came up for bids. I had noticed it during my walk-through at the auction house, and I also had read the inscription on the brass name plate.
So it was hard for me to think of the head with fur-covered eyes as rare when its name plate showed it to be number 2,538 of 7,500. There were a lot of Chewbaccas out there.
But that’s what auctioneers do sometimes. They pump up an item to bump up the bids, as this one did when he noted that these were popular when they first came out. I’m a fan of the Star Wars movies – I’m a fan of just about anything sci-fi – but I don’t buy the toys or keep up with the culture surrounding them. So, I missed the sale of the Chewbacca series.
This was how the item was described on the bid sheet:
2004 Limited Edition Chewbacca Bust
2004 Star Wars 14 ½” full size Chewbacca bust, mounted on wood base, limited edition #2538/7500, made of either latex or rubber. Condition: Very good with minor wear.
Whenever I hear or see the words “limited edition,’ I step back. I bought some limited edition prints in my early art-buying days, but I stay away from most limited editions now. Usually they are made in such large quantities that you wonder if they’ll ever be worth any more than you paid for them (or maybe less). So, when it comes to prints, I move up a step, choosing such original prints as serigraphs and lithographs that the artist has at least handled.
As for Chewbacca, I was curious about the head/bust, whose face was covered in synthetic fur (I’m not sure what parts were rubber or latex). So I Googled. I found out that the auction house had sold the same bust for $200 during a Vintage Antique, Collectibles and Toy Sale back in July. I assumed that the buyer had had second thoughts, had never bothered to pay for it, and so it was re-auctioned.
Because of its odd looks and voice, I suspect that Chewbacca was a favorite among a lot of Star Wars fans. He was an oversized teddy bear who looked out for Hans Solo in the movies. I’m not one of those fans who can cite each movie’s title, year, characters or storyline, but I do remember Chewbacca. He was as tall as a tree and had an awful guttural voice that was annoying. It apparently was created by the sound guy for the first movie, using a blend of voices from walruses, lions, camels, bears, rabbits, tigers and badgers (an animal from the weasel family). If you don’t remember his sound, you can hear it here.
A Wookie, Chewbacca appeared in five movies – “Revenge of the Sith,” “A New Hope (or the original “Star Wars” 1977),” “The Empire Strikes Back,” “Return of the Jedi” and “The Clone Wars.” Played by actor Peter Mayhew, he was the right hand and companion of Hans Solo. Chewbacca was also one of only three fictional characters to receive an MTV Lifetime Achievement Award, in 1997.
I was always curious about the character’s name, which several sites repeated that it was Russian for dog. I always thought it was a take on chewing tobacco. Every time I heard it, I thought about all those southern boys and men who chewed tobacco (and some who still do). And baseball players who would drop a chew in their mouths and spit out the juices on the field. I always thought the name referred to that pastime, which was the most popular way to use tobacco until it was rolled into cigarettes in the 20th century.
On the web, I found several variations of heads, busts and statutes of Chewbacca selling from $13 as a small doll to $110 as a mini-bust to $749 as a 16-inch porcelain figure. The original prop of its head from “Star Wars” was listed among the 10 most expensive Star Wars items sold, according to a fans site. It went for $100,000 in 2007.
The price for the bust at auction was closer to the lower end. This time around, it sold for $20.
