Superman Costumes in the Marketplace: Bermans & Nathans Wardrobe Tag Analysis

Bermans & Nathans of England (acquired by Angels Costumiers in 1992) made the costumes worn by Christopher Reeve in the Superman films of the 1970s and 1980s. As such, one of the components of provenance and authenticity are the wardrobe or asset tags affixed to costumes at the time of production. Of the confirmed authentic costumes I am aware of, these pieces have wardrobe tags. However, some costumes which have been trading in the marketplace exhibit tags that are not consistent with photos of authentic tags I have assembled for my own reference.

This article will provide an archiving of photos of tags already “at large” in the marketplace via public sales on eBay and via auction houses in order to compare and contrast these labels and share information with collectors. I do have a growing database of “B&N” tags from Superman and a variety of other films, but am only providing photos here of examples that have already been published on the web.

NOTE: Correct B&N wardrobe tags on a costume do not exclusively guarantee a costume is authentic.

I understand that some authentic, unused tags have circulated in the marketplace. More, it would not be impossible to bleach authentic tags used in one production in order to type information from another production to “repurpose” them. In other words, again, an authentic tag with correct traits does not guarantee such a piece is authentic, but is merely one component of provenance and authenticity to consider along with other variables.

Also, Bermans & Nathans was in business for many years, so I imagine that there was an evolution of tag style and usage, and of course different employees were involved in making such tags. However, I think it would be logical that wardrobe tags for the same film should have significant consistency.

Bermans & Nathans: “Baseline” Superman III Wardrobe Tags

The only truly “confirmed authentic” examples of Bermans & Nathans tags posted publicly on the Internet currently are those of the Superman III costume sold by ScreenUsed, which included a Warner Bros. Certificate of Authenticity (see Questions About Superman Costumes in the Marketplace: Authenticity, Sources, Quantity). Below are those tags (watermarked):

I have photos of other B&N tags from Superman III costumes that have strong provenance that match these, but that have not been published on the Internet previously, so I will not publish them in order to keep the exact details confidential.

However, another example of a Superman III B&N wardrobe tag published on the net that is consistent with those I have seen on confirmed authentic and examples with strong provenance is the “billybats11” Superman III costume offered on eBay in December of 2007 (see Superman Costumes in the Marketplace Retrospective: billybats11 “Evil” Costume). Below is an example of that wardrobe tag that “appears” correct, and matches confirmed authentic Superman III B&N tags, for the purposes of analysis and comparison:

What is unique to these Superman III Bermans & Nathans tags?

Type of fabric used (white, bright sheen, ribbed vertically)
Type of affixing (loose stitching up sides and across top, bottom open, type of thread)
Style of stitched “Bermans & Nathans” logo
Style of B&N address
B&N Location
Solid horizontal line
B&N logo, location, and horizontal line impacted by “ribbed” tag fabric, showing white uniform vertical gridlines in the black stitching
Baseline production information typed
Font/Typeface
Pitch & Spacing
ALL CAPS
Left Justified

Bermans & Nathans: “Baseline” Superman Wardrobe Tags

In my research, Bermans & Nathan tags used in the original Superman film (Superman: The Movie) and Superman III have many similarities but a few notable and consistent differences.

To my knowledge, no Superman costumes have been offered for sale publicly that have Warner Bros. paperwork. As such, there are no photos of “confirmed authentic” B&N tags published on the Internet.

However, B&N tag photos of Superman costumes authenticated by others have been shared with me privately, and those are consistent with some Superman costume tag photos published on the Internet. Below are examples of wardrobe tags that “appear” correct, for the purposes of analysis.

“calleaume” Superman Shorts (see Superman Costumes in the Marketplace: June 2008, Part 3) [note: second line obscured]:

Profiles in History 27 Superman Costume (see Original Superman Costume Auction House Reference Archive Part 1: Profiles in History):

What is unique to these Superman: The Movie Bermans & Nathans tags?

Type of fabric used (white, bright sheen, ribbed vertically)
Type of affixing (loose stitching up sides and across top, bottom open, type of thread)
Style of stitched “Bermans & Nathans” logo
Style of B&N address
B&N Location
Solid horizontal line
B&N logo, location, and horizontal line impacted by “ribbed” tag fabric, showing white uniform vertical gridlines in the black stitching
Baseline production information typed
Font/Typeface
Pitch & Spacing
ALL CAPS
Left Justified
Some handwritten notes on some tags, in blue

Comparing “Correct” B&N Tags: Superman vs. Superman III

What are the differences between the Superman: The Movie and the Superman III tags?

Font/Typeface

Apart from some handwritten notes (which may occur in both films, I’ve just only seen them on Superman III), the one consistent difference is the font/typeface employed.

Below is a direct comparison between two “correct”-style tags – one from Superman: The Movie and one from Superman III:

Here is a cropped, top/bottom comparison of the font/typeface:

Obviously, a different font/typeface was employed with the Superman tags and the Superman III tags.

Below is a list of differences:

Superman: Characters have serifs
Superman III: Characters lack serifs

Superman: Height of middle vertex is above the baseline
Superman III: Height of middle vertex is on the baseline
See Character “M”

Superman: Vertices of upper-case “M” and “N” are flat
Superman III: Vertices of upper-case “M” and “N” are pointed
See Characters “M”, “N”

B&N Wardrobe Tags and “Fixed Pitch” Typesetting

One key similarity with both Superman and Superman III tags as well as all Bermans & Nathans tags I’ve seen photos of that are authentic is that all use “Fixed Pitch” typesetting – each character is the same width and uses the same amount of space, regardless of the size of the letter (for instance, an “I” traditionally takes up less space horizontally than an “M”, but, as typed, each character occupies the same space as printed on the tag.

If you consider a standard (now vintage) typewriter, each letter/character is on the face of a typebar, and each typebar is of the same size (often with multiple characters on individual typebar arms) as a result of the basic mechanics of typewriters in use at the time of these productions. Below is an example:

As a result, as seen in the B&N tag examples above, all characters as printed occupy the same amount of space on each tag.

“Alternate” Superman B&N Tags In The Marketplace

As I’ve been archiving Superman costume and costume parts offered for sale, I’ve found that some Bermans & Nathans tags shown in photos exhibit characteristics that do not match the traits of the “Baseline” examples.

Below are examples of some of the “Alternate” tags. All of these tags are from eBay auctions already archived on the OPB:

Each of these tags exhibit traits that differ from the “Baseline” tags for both Superman: The Movie and Superman III.

“Baseline” vs. “Alternate” B&N Tags: Typed vs. Handwritten

One of the five “Alternate” examples noted above is a B&N tag that is entirely handwritten. While I’ve seen some B&N tags with handwritten notations, and seen some non-B&N additional tagging with handwritten notes (i.e. fabric without the stitched B&N logo and location), I have not seen any confirmed authentic wardrobe pieces from any production that have B&N tags entirely written by hand, as is the case with this tag:

“Baseline” vs. “Alternate” B&N Tags: Stitching

Four of the five “Alternate” examples noted above are stitched to the costume on all four sides, while the “Baseline” examples and all other examples I have are stitched on just three sides: top and sides. In this example, the “Baseline” is top and “Alternate” is bottom:

Also different is the style of stitching. Most B&N labels I’ve seen, including the “Baseline” examples, feature loose, single thread stitching. With this “Alternate” example specifically, the stitching appears “permanent” (as another collector put it, as you would see with a patch): Again, “Baseline” top, “Alternate” bottom:

“Baseline” vs. “Alternate” B&N Tags: Stains

Four of the five “Alternate” examples noted above feature stains that are consistent with each other, but I have found no similar stains on any other B&N tags I have photos of. Below are the “Alternate” samples showing similar staining:

“Baseline” vs. “Alternate” B&N Tags: Label Overlay

It appears that three of the five “Alternate” examples noted above has a second piece of fabric stitched over the “description” area in the bottom half of the tags. I have not seen this with any other examples in my archive:

“Baseline” vs. “Alternate” B&N Tags: Two Fonts/Typefaces, One Tag

One of the five “Alternate” examples noted above is a B&N tag that features two different fonts/typefaces on the same tag. I have not seen this on any other B&N tag example.

If you look at the tag below, the “A” following “COLOUR” is a different font/typeface than what is used on the rest of the tag (compare “A” to “A”):

“Baseline” vs. “Alternate” B&N Tag Analysis: “Ribbed” Fabric vs. “Smooth” Fabric, Staining

One thing all of these “Alternate” have in common is the fabric they are made of – it appears to be smooth and uniform in texture, while all Bermans & Nathans tags I’ve seen photos of are characterized by the vertically ribbed texture, most with a reflective “sheen” (rather than “matte” appears seen of these examples above). The “Baseline” examples also appear thinner than the “Alternate” examples.

My private archive of B&N tags consists of around 40 examples from a wide variety of productions, going back to Alec Guiness in Cromwell (1970) when “Bermans & Nathans” went by “M. Berman Ltd.” All tags I have photos of are consistent with the “Baseline” examples and none match these “Alternate” tags under examination in this article.

The “ribbed” fabric of the “Baseline” tags impact the stitching of the B&N logo and location.

Baseline “Ribbed” Fabric Example:

Alternative “Smooth” Fabric Example:

“Baseline” vs. “Alternate” B&N Tags: “Fixed Width” vs. “Proportional Pitch” Typesetting

Of the four “Alternate” examples listed above that are typed, all four employ “proportional pitch” typesetting – so that some characters are wider than others. As an example, an “I” takes up considerably less space than an “M”.

All other examples of B&N tags I have photos of are typed using “fixed width” typesetting – each and every character or space uses the same amount of space horizontally.

Baseline “Fixed Width” Typesetting Example:

Alternative “Proportional Pitch” Typesetting Example:

“Baseline” vs. “Alternate” B&N Tags: “Left Justify” vs. “Center-Left Justify”

Of the four “Alternate” examples listed above that are typed, all four employ “center left” justification, with equal open space on either side of the typed description.

Nearly all other examples of Superman-related B&N tags I have photos of are full left justified, with the description nearly flush with the left side of the label.

Baseline “Left Justify” Example:

Alternative “Center Left Justify” Example:

“Baseline” vs. “Alternate” B&N Tags: “D” vs. “O”, “W” vs. “VV”

Of the five “Alternate” examples listed above, three have Bermans & Nathans locations that are stitched in a unique way that I have not found in any other example.

If you compare one of the “Alternate” examples with one of the “Baseline” examples, you will see that “CAMDEN” is stitched with an “O” in place of the “D” (reference the “D” and “O” in “LONDON” on the line below to see the difference between “D” and “O” in the “Alternate” example). Also, “N.W.I.” is stitched with two “V”s in place of the single “W”.

“Baseline” vs. “Alternate” B&N Tags: Superman: The Movie Font/Typeface

Of the four “Alternate” examples listed above that are typed, all four examples are attached to pieces attributed to the film, Superman: The Movie. As noted, the B&N tags for the original Superman film consistently employ the same font/typeface style, just as those from the Superman III film feature an altogether different font/typeface unique to that production. The “Alternate” examples do not match either.

Here is a comparison between a “Baseline” example (top) and “Alternative” example (bottom):

Below is a direct, trait-by-trait analysis of the two examples:

Summary

There are significant differences between the “Baseline” Bermans & Nathans wardrobe labels compared with the “Alternate” examples attached to costumes and costume parts at large in the marketplace, attributed to use by Christopher Reeve in the Superman films of the 70s and 80s. Additionally, in a series of details, the “Alternate” examples do not match any of the 40 or so B&N tags examples I have archived.

If anyone has additional information and insights about Bermans and Nathans wardrobe tags that you can share with me, please contact me.

Jason De Bord