- "Topps and Lucasfilm have been collaborating on Star Wars trading cards for 40 years, navigating the hyperspace lanes of the collectibles industry like smuggler and Wookiee co-pilot since their first, classic blue-bordered set in 1977."
- ―Neil Kleid, co-founder of the Topps application divison
1977 Topps Star Wars Series 1 was the first Star Wars trading card set released by The Topps Company, Inc. in June 1977. The set was based on Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, and featured stills from the film, promotional photos and behind the scenes photos, all within a blue starfield border. Backs of the cards featured "Story Summary" or "Movie Facts" themes, or included a portion of a larger image which could be pieced together with other cards like a puzzle. When combined, the cards would make two images. One was a photo from the film of Luke Skywalker, Chewbacca, Han Solo, and Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Millennium Falcon. The second was the Hildebrandt Brother's poster for A New Hope, as redone by artist Augie Napoli. A sub-set of sticker cards was included. The set was followed by 1977 Topps Star Wars Series 2.
Card list[]
Stickers
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Development[]
Conception[]
- "Before long, Topps representative Dave Friedman finally told 20th Century-Fox that we were indeed interested in licensing The Star Wars."
- ―Topps editor Gary Gerani
In preparation for the release of Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, 20th Century Fox executive Marc Pevers came to The Topps Company to pitch the idea to create a set of trading cards to promote the film. Employees had originally been skeptical on the pitch but eventually, Topps president Arthur Shorin warmed up to the idea, and company representative Dave Friedman notified Fox that Topps was interested in licensing Star Wars.[1]
Production[]
- "For the first series of Star Wars cards, images were mostly printed from standard 35 mm slides. These were forwarded to our headquarters in Brooklyn, and there was nothing especially exotic about the content."
- ―Gary Gerani
The images for the cards were printed on 35mm slides. The blue starfield backgrounds used for the set were taken straight from their Star Trek sets, the only difference being that an image of an X-wing starfighter replaced an image of the USS Enterprise. The sixty-six cards of the set depicted stills, promotional images, and behind-the-scenes photos from the original trilogy film Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope. Additionally, eleven sticker cards were produced to accompany the main set. Art director Ben Solomon purposefully colored the background of card 64, titled "Governor of Imperial Outlands," green, so that the head of Grand Moff Tarkin would stand out.[1]
Backs of the cards featured "Story Summary" or "Movie Facts" sections which provided lore and behind-the-scenes information respectively. The back of some cards included a portion of a larger image which could be pieced together with other cards as a puzzle. When combined, the cards would make two separate images. One was a scene from the film of farm boy Luke Skywalker, smugglers Chewbacca and Han Solo, and Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi in the cockpit of Solo's ship, the Millennium Falcon. The second was the Hildebrandt Brother's poster for A New Hope, as redone by artist Augie Napoli. The cards were shipped to the Topps headquarters in Brooklyn, New York City to be released[1] in June of 1977.[2]
Continuity[]
- "It should really be spelled 'lightsaber,' but this was relatively early on, and even the Star Wars Corporation experts weren't certain about the proper presentation of certain exotic words/terms...though we learned quite quickly that there are two e's in 'Wookiee.'"
- ―Gary Gerani
Card 2 titled, "See-Threepio and Artoo-Detoo," was originally just supposed to be a card of C-3PO. However, after a disagreement with Ben Solomon, both droids were added. The caption of card 53, titled "Battle in outer space!", is a homage to the 1959 Japanese sci-fi film, Battle in Outer Space.[1] In story summary 3 on the back of card 17 "Lord Vader threatens Princess Leia!," C-3PO is misspelled as "3-CPO." In card 7, titled "The villainous Darth Vader,"[1] an image is used from a deleted scene featuring Darth Vader and Moradmin Bast.[5] Card 20, titled "Hunted by the Sandpeoples!," incorrectly states that Tusken Raiders hunted humans. In card 64, Grand Moff Tarkin is referred to as the "Governor of the Imperial Outlands."[1] The referenced "Imperial Outlands" would later go on to be known as the Outer Rim Territories.[6] Multiple cards incorrectly refer to the Lars homestead as a control room.[1]
Reception[]
- "Charlie's Angels was hot that year, too. It was a race to see which set of cards could sustain more sets."
- ―Gary Gerani
The set was a hit for Topps,[7] bringing in sales like never seen before.[1] Card grading site beckett.com praised the set, stating that the set is the best to come out of the 1977 Star Wars Series of Topps cards. Beckett compared the cards to the equivalent of a "Rookie" sports card,[8] which are notoriously some of the hardest and scarcest sport cards to come across.[9] The cards are some of the most sought after. Card 1 titled "Luke Skywalker," has the highest demand due to its high susceptibility to damage and thus there is a high rarity for finding one in good condition. The card can sell for thousands of US dollars. Collectors also note that just like card 1, card 53 titled "Battle in outer space!", and card 63 titled "May the force be with you!", are also susceptible to damage. Stickers from the set are also very hard to obtain.[10]
Legacy[]
The set was followed by 1977 Topps Star Wars Series 2, released alongside the first one.[11] In 2015, Topps released the 1977 Topps Star Wars Series 1 Remastered Edition on their digital application Star Wars: Card Trader. Between June 8 and August 12, the cards were released one per day.[12] The cards were all showcased and commented on in the collection art book Star Wars: The Original Topps Trading Card Series, Volume One, written by Gary Gerani and published by Abrams Books[1] on November 17, 2015.[13]
Media[]
Appearances[]
| Characters | Organisms | Droid models | Events | Locations |
| Organizations and titles | Sentient species | Vehicles and vessels | Weapons and technology | Miscellanea |
Characters
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Organisms
Droid models
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Events
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Locations
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Organizations and titles
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Sentient species
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Vehicles and vessels
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Weapons and technology
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Miscellanea
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Out of universe appearances[]
Collections[]
Sources[]
"Getting to the Bottom of the Topps Star Wars Trading Cards" — Star Wars Insider 53- Topps Star Wars Series 1 in the StarWars.com Cargo Bay (content now obsolete; backup link)
- Star Wars: The Original Topps Trading Card Series, Volume One
- "Blaster" — Star Wars Insider 157
- 40 Years Of Star Wars Fandom And Trading Cards With Topps' Ira Friedman on StarWars.com (backup link)
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 Star Wars: The Original Topps Trading Card Series, Volume One
- ↑ 2.0 2.1
Topps Star Wars Series 1 in the StarWars.com Cargo Bay (content now obsolete; backup link)
- ↑ The New Essential Chronology dates the events of Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope to 0 BBY. As 1977 Topps Star Wars Series 1 depicts the events of the film, everything mentioned or pictured can be dated to 0 BBY.
- ↑ 40 Years Of Star Wars Fandom And Trading Cards With Topps' Ira Friedman on StarWars.com (backup link)
- ↑ Star Wars: The Complete Saga
- ↑ Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Getting to the Bottom of the Topps Star Wars Trading Cards" — Star Wars Insider 53
- ↑ 1977 Topps Star Wars Trading Cards Checklist, Breakdown and History by Cracknell, Ryan on beckett.com (archived from the original on February 22, 2022)
- ↑ This card costs 'cause you aren't supposed to have it' by Rovell, Darren on espn.com (May 2, 2006) (archived from the original on February 22, 2022)
- ↑ PSA Set Registry: Collecting The 1977 Topps Star Wars Trading Card Set, The One That Started It All by Glew, Kevin on psacard.com (April 9, 2015) (archived from the original on January 31, 2021)
- ↑ Topps Star Wars Series 2 in the StarWars.com Cargo Bay (content now obsolete; backup link)
- ↑ From Cardboard to Card Trader, it's 1977 Series 1 on toppsapps.com (June 8, 2015) (content now obsolete; archived from the original)
- ↑ Star Wars (Hardcover) on Abrams Books' official website (backup link)
External links[]
- 1977 Topps Star Wars on Trading Card Database (archived from the original on August 25, 2021)
- Jedi Temple Archives Star Wars Series 1 on Jedi Temple Archives (archived from the original on January 1, 2018)
- From Cardboard to Card Trader, it's 1977 Series 1 on toppsapps.com (June 8, 2015) (content now obsolete; archived from the original)