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June 6, 2010

Anyone know what this is? (, , )

by fluffy at 8:15 PM
Today I was at the Alameda Antiques Fair, and came across what purported to be an original animation cel from the Star Trek: TAS episode Yesteryear. I of course bought it (after failing to convince Mark that he should), and then after framing and hanging it, I decided to watch the episode it supposedly came from.

The thing is, the actual image on the cel never actually occurs in the show. All I could find was a smattering of information that this was a "limited-edition cel," produced probably as a promotional piece of artwork, and that it is from "the famous six-fingered Spock scene" (which I can't find any more information about).

It also did seem a bit odd to me that as an animation cel, all the characters were composed on a single cel (instead of being layered so they could be individually reused), and it seemed to have been painted from the front, rather than being inked on the front and painted on the back, a much more common technique.

Also, a collectibles dealer claims that the background is a "color laser" print, but those didn't exist back in 1973, right? And anyway it has the texture of something that is very clearly painted, although that doesn't preclude some automated technique that produces a similar texture. (Incidentally, the price I paid was about one-third of what that dealer is asking, so apparently I got a good deal anyway.)

So, anyone with significantly more Trek-Fu able to figure out what this is?

Comments

#13154 06/08/2010 12:53 pm
dubious value... not part of the show production... made to sell just as a collectible. I think there is a market for such things but not a great one and there's a lot of trash in it. An original cel would be best. If it's licensed by the producers that's better than something that isn't (sometimes it's as legit as a "calvin pissing" sticker.) It is kind of neat if it's a unique scene not directly copied from the show, which says that someone made the effort to create it not just trace or copy it.
#13156 06/08/2010 12:59 pm
Well, as far as Mark and I can figure out, it actually was produced by Filmation, as a limited-run hand-painted collector's series. I'm just trying to find out more about its provenance.

Mark also has a theory that it has something to do with the ViewMaster adaptation of that episode.