Friends and Original Prop Blog readers Jen and Bryce wrote to me today in regards to one of the latest episodes of Pawn Stars, which premiered last night. In the episode, “Late Night Chum”, a customer brings in what appears to be a Civil War jacket. Mark, the Administrator from the Clark County Museum, is called on to help authenticate it, and speculates that the stamped letters, “TBS”, might be an inspector’s mark. With an alternate assessment, and based on their experience with classic movie memorabilia, props, and wardrobe, and having found the same mark on studio-used garments, Jen and Bryce believe that it might actually be a mark indicating prior ownership by “The Burbank Studios”.
The full episode can be viewed this week on The History Channel; an excerpt of the second part of the Civil War jacket segment can also can be viewed on YouTube (LINK):
In the episode, Alan, the owner, explains that the jacket was part of a collection of costumes donated to a high school for theatrical productions. He is looking to sell it to raise money for their wardrobe department.
One of Rick’s comments, made two different times, is that “it looks to good to be true”. When asked about the history of the piece, Alan states, “we know absolutely nothing about it”.
Rick calls on one of his frequent experts, Mark from the Clark County Museum, to help authenticate the piece. In his examination, Mark raises a number of concerns about the piece.
Mark explains: “Anytime you have a Civil War uniform, anything like that, and it’s in perfect shape, yes, you do want to question it. There are a lot of reproductions, there are a lot of costumes that have been made.”
He continues, “in order to tell whether this is real, what I’m looking for is, you know, what kind of materials they are, how they’re put together”.
In one close-up shot, it shows a stamped imprint of “TBS”:
Mark states: “These are inspector’s marks, that means that it was inspected as it came into the military. That’s what should have happened.”
He also examines the back, pointing out that it lacks the belt loops: “Now that’s a little interesting. You normally have loops here that the belt would have gone through. That doesn’t necessarily mean that its not original to the time period”.
Mark also cautions, “Civil War uniforms are somewhat notorious for having variances from what the ordinance said”.
He also points out another area of concern that there are no shoulder boards or evidence of shoulder boards having been sewn in, explaining, “when you wore this, you wore it with metal shoulder boards and this doesn’t show any sign of ever having shoulder boards on it”.
Even with some concerns expressed, Mark concludes, “even for the fact it doesn’t have the loops, doesn’t appear to have ever had shoulder boards… I think its real. I think what you have is a Civil War model 1854 uniform jacket. My guess is this was worn by somebody behind the lines ’cause it is in wonderful shape, or that came out of surplus. I think that this is a spectacular Civil War uniform. You don’t see these anymore”.
Rick then begins his negotiations, speculating that it would sell for between $1,500-$2,000 at auction. After some haggling, Rick pays the owner $850.
The Burbank Studios?
In my communications with Jen and Bryce, they explained to me that they own some vintage Hollywood wardrobe obtained years ago from the now defunct Backlot Props, which was in the business of renting and liquidating wardrobe from Warner Bros. (the company was subsequently sold, and renamed Abacus by the new owners – this company had its own liquidation “going out of business” sale in April).
Jen and Bryce sent me photos of some of the Warner Bros. wardrobe pieces they acquired from this stock with what appears to be the same “TBS” stamp marking seen on the Civil War jacket that was featured on this week’s Pawn Stars episode (Jen and Bryce’s examples include a women’s period coat and a vintage Hawaiian shirt). From their research, “TBS” was an acronym for “The Burbank Studios”. The Burbank Studios was founded in 1926 and later purchased by Warner Bros. in 1929.
More about The Burbank Studios from the Grace Market Research Hollywood Studio Tour:
The Burbank Studios were built in 1926 by First National Pictures and purchased in 1929 by the ever expanding Warner Bros., Inc. Corporate headquarters were moved here from the Hollywood offices on Sunset Blvd., and the Burbank studios became the center for film production. In the 1930’s the company produced many gangster pictures starring the likes of James Cagney, Edward G. Robinson, and of course Humphrey Bogart. The gangster genre has continued to be a staple in the Warner’s output with Warren Beatty’s”Bonnie and Clyde” as well as the Clint Eastwood “Dirty Harry” movies continuing the tradition. Although the studio’s first bona fide stars were Rin Tin Tin and John Barrymore (not necessarily in that order), the studio signed up many important talents over the years including Bette Davis, Errol Flynn, Jane Wyman, Olivia de Havilland, John Wayne, Doris Day, Joan Crawford, John Garfield, Paul Muni, and James Dean. Jack Warner had his offices in this building in the 1930’s. It still houses executive suites. 4000 Warner Blvd., Burbank.
From the official Warner Bros. website:
In 1972, Warner Communications and Columbia Pictures joined forces to create a single production facility called The Burbank Studios. Serving two of Hollywood’s entertainment giants, the studio resembled more than ever before, a small city with its own fire department, mail services, bank, restaurant and bicycle shop. Also at this time, The Burbank Studios acquired what is now the Warner Bros. Ranch. Adjacent to the Main Lot, the 32-acre facility houses five sound stages and exterior sets, including Park Boulevard and Blondie Street, a circle of residential houses which have hosted such beloved television classics as Bewitched, The Partridge Family, Dennis the Menace and I Dream of Jeannie.
Below is a direct comparison between the “TBS” stamp seen on the Civil War jacket featured on this week’s Pawn Stars episode and the Hawaiian shirt obtained from Backlot Props (along with reverse side showing Warner Bros. asset tag – bar code and number obscured for purposes of this article):
Rick does a great job with his business, and as seen on Pawn Stars, in putting substantive efforts into using the skills and knowledge of experts to authenticate some of the material brought into their shop. In this case, further research may result in an alternate opinion, or it could be that a genuine Civil War jacket was at some point introduced into the wardrobe department at the studios. In any event, I thought it might be helpful to expand the dialogue with the information shared by Jen and Bryce.
Jason DeBord