UPDATE: We recently uncovered a second volume of rare international Droids and Ewoks merchandise from Licensing's photo archives and have added nearly 20 more images to our previous feature below. While Droids and Ewoks collectibles may not be for everyone, these items are exceedingly rare, and we felt a full image series would offer fans a rare glimpse into a largely undocumented field of collecting.
European Droids and Ewoks Collectibles
While young fans of the Clone Wars generation may not remember Lucasfilm's first foray into animated television over twenty years ago, many old-schoolers fondly recall waking up to catch a weekly dose of Star Wars on Saturday mornings, courtesy of The Ewoks and Droids Adventure Hour.
The shows, which collectively ran between 1985-86, were modestly merchandised in the United States -- there were action figures, vehicles, books, and posters -- which met with some success, but were ultimately short-lived. In Spain and France, however, Droids and Ewoks were heavily promoted, spawning large amounts of merchandise that few in the United States were ever aware of. (Story continues below images)
European Droids and Ewoks collectibles have a special appeal among some collectors, first and foremost because of their scarcity and relative obscurity. In fact, a comprehensive listing of all items produced in Spain and France has been the challenge of many dedicated collectors, some of which have contributed to online databases such as The Star Wars Collectors Archive (Droids or Ewoks).
A recent trip to Lucasfilm's Licensing Archives unearthed several boxes chock full of old photo albums, several pages of which we revealed in the Halloween costume scrapbook story posted a couple weeks ago. The boxes also produced two thin volumes of European Droids and Ewoks collectibles, which we've reproduced above. We're not sure this represents all the Droids and Ewoks items produced in Spain, France, and elsewhere, but it does start to give collectors an idea of the vast array of cool collectibles available for the tenacious few who have to have it all.
(Don't miss our previous coverage on animation collectibles, which also explored some of the rare international items produced for Droids and Ewoks.)
