The upcoming Bonhams auction (see “Bonhams: Entertainment Memorabilia Auction – Los Angeles, June 16, 2008“) offers a book of original prints of Christopher Reeve as Superman in the 1978 film (see Sale 16091, Lot 3146).
With Bonhams’ Flash-based photo viewer, one is able to zoom and piece together high resolution photos, and the photo provided in the auction shows a great amount of detail in the costume, in spite of its lack of color:
High Resolution Archive: Bonhams Reeve Superman Publicity Photo
I thought it might be productive to compare this photo with the “Prop Store Collection” Superman Costume currently on display at the Movieum (which was sourced from Warner Bros.) and the “Superman III” Reference Costume that I have photographed for purposes of comparison (see “High Resolution Photo Reference Archive: “Original Superman III Christopher Reeve Costume”“):
High Resolution Archive: Superman Costume Comparison
Note there are similarities between the costume in the Bonhams publicity photo and the “Prop Store Collection” – the rounded corners of the “S” emblem and the texture/weave of the blue part of the costume matching the material used in the emblem – whereas the “Superman III” Reference costume does not seem to share those same attributes.
Jason De Bord
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