Star Wars Scrapbook: The Essential Collection [Hardcover]

Stephen Sansweet (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1998

Imagine you've been a Star Wars fan from the very beginning. Way back in Ô77, you started collecting everything from Star Wars gum wrappers to now-priceless relics like the original preview questionnaire. Even better, you had access to special screenings, actual film sets, and all the behind-the-scenes parties. You'd be just like Stephen Sansweet, the world's foremost Star Wars collector. In this magnificent scrapbook, Sansweet has carefully selected and arranged the best of his unparalleled collection, authentically reproduced right down to the bristles on the Luke Skywalker toothbrush. Here are Yoda Christmas cards painted by Ralph McQuarrie himself, early prototypes of logos, invitations still in their envelopes, cutout figures, press releases, stickers, patches, trading cards, press photos, and much, much more. Including Sansweet's anecdotes of the early days and featuring treasures from around the world, this is the ultimate Star Wars collectible. ?

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"You're a collector, all right, a dust collector!" said young Stephen Sansweet's mom, bemused by his horde of spaceship models. We wonder what she thinks of adult Stephen's vast, comprehensive, and... well, obsessive Star Wars memorabilia collection. Chronicle Books has teamed up with Sansweet (creator of the incredible Star Wars Encyclopedia) to give the rest of us a thrill: our own Star Wars stuff, gathered tidily in a sturdy, spiral-bound package. Darth Vader's ominous helmet opens to reveal page after page of reproductions of everything from fan-club newsletters and ticket stubs to your own real stickers and punch-out cards.

Why Star Wars? Sansweet explains in the introduction that it "literally changed my life, and I'm far from alone." He sees this collection as a way to share the fruits of his passion with less lucky fans around the world. And really, it's kind of nice to let him buy 50 bags of chips in search of unique Star Wars prizes inside. You'll feel as if you're being shown around a truly unique museum by a slightly wacky but really enjoyable friend. --Therese Littleton

Review

Reviews from:


Entertainment Weekly

Collector's Showcase

After Star Wars hit big, Francis Ford Coppola told George Lucas he should start a new religion based on the Force. Of course, that never happened—or did it? Behold the all-consuming brand of secular worship that flows through this immaculately produced keepsake album. Bound with a metal spiral like your old grade-school notebooks, it lavishes exquisite care in reproducing the silliest of ephemeral memorabilia: tickets to the "premiere" of the Disneyland Star Tours Ride, a Wall's ice cream wrapper stamped with Darth Vader's puss ("contains: sugar," says the ironic ingredients list), a paper-cutout C-3PO mask, and so on. It's charming, but creepy, and if Jedi Knights existed, they'd probably rank it alongside winking-Jesus 3-D postcards in the annals of misguided relics of adoration.

[In the] Star Wars Scrapbook, Stephen Sansweet has carefully selected the best of his unparalleled collection and meticulously reproduces every item, right down to the bristles on the Luke Skywalker toothbrush. Included in this cleverly designed volume are Yoda Christmas cards painted by Ralph McQuarrie, early prototypes of logos, invitations still in their envelopes, cutout figures, press releases, stickers, patches, trading cards, press photos and much, much more. Sansweet's anecdotes and a "Star Wars Trilogy Timeline," covering major events from 1973 to 1997, complement the images. With reproductions of rare treasures from around the world, this book is the ultimate Star Wars collectible. The 84-page spiral-bound book will include 150 color images, a die-cut cover, inserts, stickers and a punch-out X-wing fighter.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 84 pages
• Publisher: Chronicle Books (April 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811820602
• ISBN-13: 978-0811820608
• Product Dimensions: 11.8 x 8.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #905,317 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lotsa fun -- visitors love it!, January 4, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Star Wars Scrapbook: The Essential Collection (Hardcover)

Leave it on the coffee table, watch your visitors pick it up and turn the pages and see their faces light up!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interactive fun, clever and exciting., November 9, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Star Wars Scrapbook: The Essential Collection (Hardcover)

The lady from Lexington is absolutely correct: "This book wasn't meant to be read--it was meant to be flipped through and enjoyed." If you want text and information, try Sansweet's "Star Wars: Concept to Collectible" or The SW Encyclopedia." This book is interactive fun, clever, fascinating, exciting and just plain cool!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't Read This Book--Play With It!, May 30, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Star Wars Scrapbook: The Essential Collection (Hardcover)

This book wasn't meant to be read--it was meant to be flipped through and enjoyed. Steve Sansweet has included a small (I've seen pictures of his house-this is a REALLY small) sample of his ultimate Star Wars collection. From the toys we all remember to rare and foriegn collectables, the strange and bizarre and the nearly normal (anyone else remember C-3P0s cereal?) it is all here. And to fully appreciate it, you really need two copies--one to keep and one to punch out the interactive pages: these are recreations of real Star Wars cutout toys! (All discretely marked as repros, of course.) For Star Wars fans of all ages, this book is a must. We can't all own Steve's collection (rats!), but at least we can enjoy a little of it.