This is a companion article to several previous features. This article includes an archive of high resolution photos of the costume previously designated the “Superman/Superboy Reference Costume”. In addition to photos of the costume itself, photos and analysis of the accompanying Super Hollywood (super38, Armando Alvarez, Ana Mungia) Letter of Authenticity also follows below.
A prior article presented a similar high resolution photographic archive for another costume in the marketplace, previously given the designation of the “Superman III Reference Costume”.
This article can be found here:
Both costumes – the “Superman III Reference Costume” and the “Superman/Superboy Reference Costume” – were subject to a side-by-side photographic archive here:
As noted previously, this is part of an ongoing series of articles about costumes in the marketplace attributed to use by Christopher Reeve in the Superman films of the 70s and 80s.
My intent is to both collect and share information, ask questions, and facilitate dialogue and discussion about Superman costumes in an attempt to help bring more clarity to the marketplace. In this regard, the Original Prop Blog is intended to benefit the hobby at large (collectors, dealers, auction houses, etc.) by sharing and examining information about what has been offered for sale publicly in the marketplace to date.
If something has been sold or offered for sale in the public marketplace, then I feel that public discussion, analysis, and scrutiny of such pieces is appropriate.
Below is the archive of the January 2008 eBay auction from a prior OPB article showing the listing of the costume (“Superman/Superboy Reference Costume”) which is the subject of this photo analysis:
Higher Resolution Archive: queenrocks eBay Listing -”Superman Superboy Reeve Costume w Trunks”
“Superman/Superboy Reference Costume” Photographic Archive
Below are photos I have taken of the “Superman/Superboy Reference Costume” which was loaned to me for this purpose.
Click on each image for the high resolution version of each photo:
Note: Upon removing the costume from the mannequin, shreds of material fell out such as this, which raises the question of whether this had ever been worn by anyone – it is in every sense “like new”, with no signs of wear whatsoever – though marketed as worn in both Superman: The Movie and the Superboy television series.
“Superman/Superboy Reference Costume” Provenance, Analysis
The “Superman/Superboy Reference Costume” was sold with a “Super Hollywood” Letter of Authenticity signed by Ana Mungia as well as a copy of an article from “Revue Magazine” titled, AREA OUTFITTERS DRESS UP THE INDUSTRY – this article was already examined in part in an article published in May of this year (see Superman, Superboy, and Disney’s Creative Costuming).
Having this document “in hand” to examine, the first question that comes to my mind is in trying to understand and reconcile the way in which this document could have been produced on the date printed, May 15, 1991, given the software and hardware standards at the time.
Given that the month the document is dated is the same month I personally graduated high school, I have a fixed point of reference in my recollection of the state of technology at the time.
Below is a high resolution scan of the actual Super Hollywood Letter of Authenticity:
Looking at the document, it is clear that neither a typewriter nor standalone/dedicated word processor (like the popular Brother-manufactured machines at the time) could have been used, since a photo graphic is part of the published document, as well as the custom font in the header. As such, a personal computer (either Apple Macintosh or IBM-compatible machine) must have been used.
It seems, based on the fonts used on this and other “Super Hollywood” LOAs, to have more likely been produced on an Apple computer than a Windows-based PC.
In 1991, the most advanced form of Windows would have been Windows 3.0 (released one year earlier, May 1990). Windows and the GUI did not really become mainstream until the release of 3.1x in March 1992.
The latest Mac OS as of May 1991 was System Software 6.
Screen resolution on these systems at the time were generally XGA or lower (768×1024 or the Mac equivalent of 792×1056).
The reason I cite this information is that the inclusion of a screen capture from an episode of Superboy on the actual document, in full color, would have been highly advanced at that time.
The key question is – where and how was the image obtained?
We are all now accustomed to incredible access to information and images on the Internet. In May 1991, the World Wide Web did not exist as a public resource. Per Wikipedia (LINK):
On August 6, 1991, [Sir Tim Berners-Lee] posted a short summary of the World Wide Web project on the alt.hypertext newsgroup. This date also marked the debut of the Web as a publicly available service on the Internet.
Where else could the image seen on the document have originated?
Prop collectors have long used DVDs as a source to obtain screencaps or screencaptures, though DVDs did not exist in the United States until 1997. The Superboy television series ran from October 8, 1988 to May 17, 1992.
I was not able to find any matching publicity images circulating at the time. If anyone has one, please contact me.
The LOA attributes this Superman: The Movie costume to subsequent use in the Superboy episode, “Bizarro: Thing of Steel”, Season 2, Episode 6 (original air date November 11, 1989). Below is a higher resolution scan from the document of just the image, for further analysis:
There was some desktop publishing software available at the time, and scanners, as well as color printers, but it is worth noting that what today is ubiquitous and simple, was a much more challenging and costly a proposition circa 1991.
I also raise these questions due to the discrepancies in documentation as well as signatures by “Ana” and “Anna” Mungia on other examples of Super Hollywood documents (as discussed in prior articles).
As an example, below is a comparison of the two typed names and signatures from two “Super Hollywood” letters – one dated July 1991 (“Anna”) and this one under discussion dated May 1991 (“Ana”) – both from prior eBay auctions.
Though the comparison was presented in a prior article, this is now updated with a scan of the second example (rather than low resolution photo used previously) at the same scale (see second graphic with overlay transparencies further below):
In addition to the different spelling of “An[n]a” in the July 1991 and May 1991 letters, the signatures do not appear to match.
Note that both letters employ the same style font (transparency of second letter overlaid on first at 30% – matched over selected words in common as noted):
The other document included with the “Superman/Superboy Reference Costume” is the article also analyzed in a prior article – Superman, Superboy, and Disney’s Creative Costuming – though below a high resolution scan of the actual document is archived:
Another consideration with regards to production – this is a full color, high quality scan on one oversized piece of paper – again, a significant challenge circa 1991.
Also of note is that the pen used to strike names on the “Area Outfitters” article appears to be the same type and color of pen used to sign “Ana Mungia” on the accompanying letter:
Jason De Bord
Additional Related Articles: Market Watch | Superman