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Star Wars Prequels Media Movies The Almighty Buck

$100k For Kenobi's Cloak 140

Posted by CmdrTaco from the gonk-still-in-dumpster dept.
dws90 writes "The cloak worn by Sir Alec Guinness when he played Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars original trilogy has been sold at a TV and Cinema auction. The cloak sold for £54,000, which is about $103,923 according to Google calculator. According to the article, the cloak was missing for nearly 30 years, during which it was rented out to a number of other films, including the Mummy. It was found two years ago, and has been part of a film memorabilia exhibition in London since then. The cloak sold for more than any of the other movie costumes the article listed, beating out Sean Connery's dinner jacket from Thunderball and a helmet worn by Terry Jones in Monty Python and the Holy Grail."
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$100k For Kenobi's Cloak More

$100k For Kenobi's Cloak

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  • I didn't know there were Jedi in the Mummy!!

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by NinjaTariq ( 1034260 )
      Didn't you know Rick was a Jedi Knight and Jonathan was his Padewan... And Imhotep was really Jonathan and Evelyn's father. However the sabre battle was cut out during post production due to copyright issues with Lucas.

  • Only $100k? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by EveryNickIsTaken ( 1054794 ) on Wednesday March 07, 2007 @10:01AM (#18261266)
    I'd imagine that Leia's slave outfit from ROTJ would go for much, much more than $100k.

  • Of course, it wasn't very pretty... (Score:5, Funny)

    by jpellino ( 202698 ) on Wednesday March 07, 2007 @10:02AM (#18261276)
    With the earlier owners standing at the back of the auction screaming "THIS IS NOT THE CLOAK YOU'RE LOOKING FOR!!!"

  • They knew it was Guinness' cloak (Score:5, Funny)

    by Rob T Firefly ( 844560 ) on Wednesday March 07, 2007 @10:05AM (#18261308) Homepage Journal
    They found a slip of paper in the pocket which said "bald with glasses." [google.com]
  • No wonder Darth V cut him down like a dog - just another Death star mugging stat...

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Yeah, but Darths I-IV couldn't manage it!

  • Cloak (Score:5, Funny)

    by Ikyaat ( 764422 ) on Wednesday March 07, 2007 @10:07AM (#18261326) Homepage
    This is so worth it, I know for a fact that this cloak gives you +12 Agility and +20 Charisma. I personally would wear it to work and get all the babes.
    • also +10 Ool Man Smell!

    • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

      by djtachyon ( 975314 )
      .. and off to JWST (Jedi Workplace Sensitivity Training) with the lot of ya!

    • Re:Cloak (Score:5, Funny)

      by jbeaupre ( 752124 ) on Wednesday March 07, 2007 @11:41AM (#18262362)
      Holy cow! You managed to combine role playing and Star Wars along with a desperate desire for companionship in one line on Slashdot. Geekdom so tightly compressed you risked creating a singularity, destroying humanity.

      • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

        by nomadic ( 141991 ) *
        Holy cow! You managed to combine role playing and Star Wars along with a desperate desire for companionship in one line on Slashdot. Geekdom so tightly compressed you risked creating a singularity, destroying humanity.

        I think he was one Dr. Who reference away from killing us all.
    • posession of the garmment may well imbue you with an ability to acquire females with whom previously you stood no chance, but I would like as not expect, they would not be ones I, nor you, would happily hold forth as example of 'babes'

      • Re:Cloak (Score:5, Insightful)

        by Puff of Logic ( 895805 ) on Wednesday March 07, 2007 @12:36PM (#18263110)

        posession of the garmment may well imbue you with an ability to acquire females with whom previously you stood no chance, but I would like as not expect, they would not be ones I, nor you, would happily hold forth as example of 'babes'
        I suspect, however, that possession of the sort of financial holdings that allow one to blow that sort of cash on a movie prop would imbue the holder with the ability to acquire females definitely falling into the 'babe' category.

        Remember, it's the size of your wallet, not what you do with it!

  • After the novelty wears off (Score:5, Insightful)

    by drooling-dog ( 189103 ) on Wednesday March 07, 2007 @10:08AM (#18261334)
    So I wonder how it feels to have blown that much money on something like this, after the novelty's worn off and you've already worn it around the house and invited your friends over to see and touch it. A little buyer's remourse, maybe?

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by ari_j ( 90255 )
      Buyer's remorse is more the immediate, emotional response to a purchase brought on by emotional doubt that the decision you made was the right one. I think that the rational realization after two weeks of pretending to be an old Jedi that you made the wrong decision is more in line with crappy investing or even garden-variety stupidity than with emotion.

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by mastershake_phd ( 1050150 )
      You kidding? The price can only go up! Well until all the Star Wars fans die off. Or maybe Star Wars fans will never die off. Maybe it will be a religion in 2000 years. And Han Solo Said "Make it so #2" and he did, and it was good.

    • Re: (Score:1, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Hold on, are we talking about the Obi-Wan cloak, or the Wiimote?

      I kid, I kid!
    • A quick bath in the money pool would make that go away fast enough.

    • Re:After the novelty wears off (Score:4, Funny)

      by db32 ( 862117 ) on Wednesday March 07, 2007 @10:45AM (#18261742) Journal
      This is just the precursor to buying the corpse and building a display out of it. The cloak...pft...having a Jedi under glass...now that is impressive.
      • Glass?

        I wonder(but not enough to look it up myself), how much that Han-Solo-frozen-in-carbonite went for at auction?
        Would be a neat thing for Halloween, though I can't see me displaying it in the front entrance any other times of the year.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by db32 ( 862117 )
          Carbonite would make it a tad difficult to see said $100,000 cloak
          Ol Ben was never in the carbonite
          Since I am a tad lazy, and not quite nerdy enough, just consider yourself mocked for a Solo vs Jedi comparison

          Other than that, I think the frozen in carbonite thing would be pretty cool, but not so much for the halloween thing (although it would be), but can you imagine the joys of sending misbehaving children to go open the closet you store it in?
      • Wait till he finds out that Jedis don't have corpses.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by db32 ( 862117 )
          Maybe he should get the lightsaber too and just toss them in a pile to be accurate.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by dr_dank ( 472072 )
      Something like this is a hardcore rich collector's museum piece, not something that would even be sullied by human hands or by wearing it.

      Sort of like how a comic collector nut will buy a comic, only to put it in special bags to preserve it, never actually reading it, lest it become less than mint in any way.
    • $100,000 is "only" £50,000. There are plenty of geeky city boys getting bonuses way over that amount. To me & you (I assume), that's a lot of money. But when you're 30 somthing and pulling down over £500,000 a year working for a hedge fund in London, £50,000 isn't that much.

      Hell, one guy's bonus this year was £50,000,000. And then there's the Russian millionaires & billionaires floating around London.

  • Jedi Cloak Trick (Score:5, Funny)

    by Butisol ( 994224 ) on Wednesday March 07, 2007 @10:10AM (#18261360)
    **"You want to pay $100,000 for this cloak" --"I don't know, it seems awfully expensive" **"You want to pay $100,000 for this cloak" --"I want to pay $100,000 for the cloak"
  • That reminds me.. I should must get a few quid out and book a flight to New York, so I can come over and buy all of your stuff :-)

  • Value? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Lord_Dweomer ( 648696 ) on Wednesday March 07, 2007 @10:12AM (#18261372) Homepage
    You know, I never used to question the value of these sorts of things, and still don't for truly unique film artifacts like the original lightsabers or storm trooper helmets, but I have to ask the question...."SERIOUSLY?!"

    Something tells me the person buying this would be the same person spending $100 on a piece of cardboa...err, Magic card. The only reason I ask this is because I used to be that kind of person, but now I find myself questioning the wisdom of someone who would toss out that big of a chunk of money for a piece of cloth.

    I know that the value assigned to something is determined by what the market will bear...just playing Devil's Advocate is all. Not saying I wouldn't want to own it myself, just not at that price.

    • Re:Value? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Opportunist ( 166417 ) on Wednesday March 07, 2007 @12:28PM (#18263004)
      We're talking a one-of-a-kind here. And one that some people deem valuable for some reason. The more people deem it valuable, the higher its value. That's why paintings are valuable and range in the millions, 'cause pretty much everyone considers a painting of Picasso valuable. By itself, it's pretty much worthless, it's some linnen and some oil paint.

      The same is true for that cloak or the cards you mention. Other good examples are stamps. There is no "real" value attached to them. Their value comes from being rare and the fact that there are some people who'd love to have them.

      As you've said, the price of an item is what the market will bear. And since there is a market, the price goes up. Another reason for the price of those rare items going up is simply that they can't be multiplied. There's one. If you have it, you have the only one in existance. And as long as the economy does not collapse, its value will at the worst stay the same, and given some luck it goes up. In other words, if nothing else, it's a good investment.
      • As you've said, the price of an item is what the market will bear. And since there is a market, the price goes up. Another reason for the price of those rare items going up is simply that they can't be multiplied. There's one. If you have it, you have the only one in existance. And as long as the economy does not collapse, its value will at the worst stay the same, and given some luck it goes up. In other words, if nothing else, it's a good investment.

        I agree with you that certain items, especially unique o
    • Dear Collectors of the World,

      I give you my personal guarantee that the pleasure you would derive from DONATING $100k to relieve poverty and injustice in the world would FAR surpass the pleasure you get from looking at a piece of cloth in a glass case.*

      * I realize this collector expects his purchase to maintain value, so it isn't exactly the same; but if he is looking to invest rationally, he would be putting his money into something other than stage props.

  • who (Score:3, Interesting)

    by mastershake_phd ( 1050150 ) on Wednesday March 07, 2007 @10:14AM (#18261388) Homepage
    It was found two years ago

    Who found it? And how did they know what it was? Did Sir Alec Guinness write his name on the collar?

  • Missing, presumed rented (Score:5, Funny)

    by mccalli ( 323026 ) on Wednesday March 07, 2007 @10:20AM (#18261462) Homepage
    From the summary: "According to the article, the cloak was missing for nearly 30 years, during which it was rented out to a number of other films, including the Mummy."

    For rent: one cloak. Location: unknown. Cost: If sir needs to ask, sir cannot afford it. Renter collects.

    Cheers,
    Ian

  • Dr Who scarf (Score:5, Informative)

    by Rob T Firefly ( 844560 ) on Wednesday March 07, 2007 @10:20AM (#18261464) Homepage Journal
    I know I'm a sad fanboy for pointing this out, but the "Doctor Who" scarf pictured in the article and purported to be part of Tom Baker's costume, looks nothing like any of the scarves he wore on the show. [geocities.com]
  • \waves hand *You will over pay for this Cloak*

  • McCoy's costume sold for more (Score:5, Informative)

    by Brian Cohen ( 1027542 ) on Wednesday March 07, 2007 @10:26AM (#18261526)
    The article implies that this broke some sort of record, but the article fails to mention the space suit worn by Dr. McCoy wore in "The Tholian Web" that sold for $144,000 [space.com] at the Christie's Star Trek auction.

  • Dr Who items also sold (Score:5, Informative)

    by acroyear ( 5882 ) <jws-slashdot@javaclientcookbook.net> on Wednesday March 07, 2007 @10:30AM (#18261560) Homepage Journal
    Outpost Gallifrey [gallifreyone.com] is reporting that several original Dr. Who costumes were sold in the same auction, and Tom Baker's coat and scarf took in over 24000 GBP. Other Doctors' costumes took between 1000 and 8000 GBP each.

  • Moo (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Chacham ( 981 )
    FTA:

    While Sir Alec's cloak was missing, it was loaned to other films - including The Mummy in 1999 - and was even hired out as fancy dress.

    How was it loaned if it was missing? And ever more... how was it "hired out"?!

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Reziac ( 43301 ) *
      That sort of thing is typically owned by a prop or costuming house, not by the studio. Studios tell 'em "we need to rent NN-many cloaks of this description" and the costuming house brings them forth for the production, then hauls them away afterward, to be cleaned and stuffed back into storage until the next studio wants "NN-many cloaks of this description".

      This is why these items ultimately wind up sold at auction, or in a used clothing shop (there are several in Hollywood that specialize in such stuff) so

  • $100k For Kenobi's Cloak (Score:5, Informative)

    by Kortegaard ( 1072782 ) on Wednesday March 07, 2007 @10:52AM (#18261796)

    Ahhhh, but the oldies are the goodies.

    Judy's red slippers in Wizard of Oz stepped away for $666,000 [maineantiquedigest.com]
  • So the owner is not a slashdotter? Shame on you! :P

  • If I remember rightly, Darth Vader cruelly sliced Obi-Wan in half and the Jedi Master vanished to be one with The Force? Surely Vader's lightsaber cut through the cloth of the cloak?

    Ahem.

  • ...but the guy in charge of inventory kept insisting, "This is not the cloak you're looking for."

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by brouski ( 827510 )
      Question. This article had been posted for over an hour before your post.

      How could you not know that this joke would have been done 5 times already?
  • Does anyone know how this cloak was authenticated? The only reason I ask is because if it was lost for 30 years and then rented out to other studios, it seems that said cloak could have easily been misplaced, replaced, taken by someone to give to his/her kid, etc. I'm not saying that it ISN'T the real thing... and I'm certain that there was authentication, but I'm just curious if anyone out there knows how it was done. I ask because its my understanding that in like the art world, there is a lot of
    • Doesn't matter, the Force overrides provenance.

    • Re:Is it really real? (Score:4, Informative)

      by Maximum Prophet ( 716608 ) on Wednesday March 07, 2007 @12:01PM (#18262622)
      Good point. Many movie props have many duplicates, in case one gets damaged, or if one is planned to be damaged during filming. After the fact, it'd be very difficult to tell which was the one that was really filmed, and which was a standby prop.

      I have some friends that have an actual Yoda. It most definitly isn't the one that made it to film, it's more like a pre-production prototype. (looks just like him tho)

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by hey! ( 33014 )
      Well, I suppose one thing that would help is that it's a one of a kind, hand made article. It is possible several identical robes were made, as sometimes happens, but they may not have made a dozen cloaks for Sir Alec, given that his role wasn't all that physically demanding. SW was pretty low rent -- even the Vader mask was reportedly a bit irregular and assymetric.

      Altogether, this probably means that the cloak could be compared in great detail to the original footage, both for irregularities in tailorin

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Reziac ( 43301 ) *
      It's probably based on the rental records of the costuming company that last had it in inventory. These things have inventory numbers, often sewn into the garment. And the fact is, it's probably one of *several* that were either used or on standby during the filming of Star Wars, with no way to tell which one it was.

  • Some people are saying this is not, in fact, Ben Kenobi's cloak. It's just an expensive dressing gown. This site [originaltrilogy.com] is one of the better sites for real-life Star Wars history, and one of the commentators in the linked thread is a prop collector. He's unimpressed, and so am I. (Although perhaps for different reasons.)
  • When Brian purchased Jerry Garcia in a pouch.
  • People pay tons of money for even more garbage than this. Virgin Mary in a pancake or grilled cheese will make you a pretty good chunk of change. Matter of fact, think I saw her on my toilet paper this morning, I feel a payday coming up.
  • The full catalog for the auction can be found at the Bonhoms auction site here [bonhams.com]. There's some cool stuff there for movie buffs, including costumes from Dr. Who, Alien, Superman, Indiana Jones and Highlander.

    A detailed picture of the Kenobi cloak can be found here [bonhams.com]. Apparently there are some hardcore Star Wars fans that doubt its authenticity, based on the locations of some hems and seams.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Reziac ( 43301 ) *
      What a lot of these hardcore fans don't recognise is that there probably wasn't just ONE "Kenobi cloak" -- there probably were half a dozen, to allow for damage, cleaning, etc. (they can't stop the cameras for a week just because you spilled coffee on your costume -- they bring out another one, you change, and off you go again).

      An item that's not yet in the costuming house's inventory is usually stitched together quick and dirty, so I'd be surprised if the probable-several-cloaks were more than a cursory ma
  • ...ESR [userfriendly.org].

  • What I want to know... (Score:4, Funny)

    by fonetik ( 181656 ) <`fonetik' `at' `onebox.com'> on Wednesday March 07, 2007 @01:10PM (#18263634)
    ...Is what sold for the LEAST. Did they have a scarf that Dustin Hoffman wore in "Ishtar"? Kevin Bacon's Bike from "Quicksilver"? Someone had to get some bargains there.
  • The cloak sold for more than any of the other movie costumes the article listed, beating out Sean Connery's dinner jacket from Thunderball and a helmet worn by Terry Jones in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

    Shocking. How about comparing it to some good memorabilia? If it was say up against the golden gun that would be a good comparison. A dinner jacket? Meh.

    This reminds me of when my wife and I were on vacation. We were in Honolulu and ate at the Planet Hollywood there. They have memorabilia but
  • Somewhere there's a naked Jedi running around.
  • I wonder for how much did the coconuts go for?
  • So... it's been missing until 2 years ago but was used in The Mummy (1999)? How did they get a hold of it if it was 'missing' then?

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