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Auction History Result
9r0220 EMPIRE STRIKES BACK test 1sh 1980 unedited Kastel art w/added images, last sold for $17,499!
Date Sold 10/23/2025Sold For: Login or Register to see sold price.
An Original Vintage Theatrical Unfolded One-Sheet Movie Poster (1sh; measures 27" x 41" [69 x 104 cm]) (Learn More)
The Empire Strikes Back (now known as "Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back"), the classic 1980 Irvin Kershner science fiction (sci-fi) outer space action adventure sequel ("The Star Wars Saga Continues"; "Story by George Lucas") starring Mark Hamill (as Luke Skywalker), Harrison Ford (as Han Solo), Carrie Fisher (as Princess Leia), Billy Dee Williams (as Lando Calrissian), Anthony Daniels ("as C-3PO"), David Prowse ("as Darth Vader"), Kenny Baker ("as R2-D2"), Peter Mayhew ("as Chewbacca"), Frank Oz ("as Yoda"), Alec Guinness (as Obi-Wan Kenobi), Jeremy Bulloch (as Boba Fett), and John Hollis (as Lobot)
NOTE: Click on linked names to see a biography.
NOTE: Click on linked names to see a biography.
Artist: Roger Kastel
Important Added Info: This is an ultra rare Star Wars poster, that has quite a story behind it! In 2009, a Japanese collector discovered two examples of this poster in Japan. He sent one to us, where it sold for $1,827 (to Star Wars collector, Steve Sansweet), and the other sold privately to Kevin Doyle, another major Star Wars collector. At that time, we said that it could be a "bootleg" poster, or possibly a "test" poster. In 2015, the poster that Kevin Doyle purchased was consigned to us (now linenbacked), and this one auctioned for $5,450. The poster features Roger Kastel's original art for this poster, but after he created it, the studio decided it was "too busy", and they removed several of the elements from the poster (Lando, Boba Fett, Cloud City, and the ion cannon). So this poster was produced BEFORE that decision was made, so how then could it be explained? After he purchased the poster, Sansweet told us he believes that it is absolutely an advance test poster made prior to the decision to alter the image. At the time of the second auction in 2015, we were told by one of the leading Star Wars poster dealers that he knew of the existence of a total of six of these posters that had "surfaced" since the movie was made in 1980, and that three of them had originated in Japan. Between 2016 and 2024, we were consigned a total of eleven more examples, but some of those might have been re-consignments of earlier examples. After the first one in 2016 sold for $8,120, and we have now auctioned eleven of these in all, and the last four sold for $17,499, $15,175, $21,500, and $14,570, but it is important to note that the first, second and fourth examples were only in "good" condition, and that the third one that sold for $21,500 was in "very good" condition. Because of the possibility of some of the results being re-consignments of earlier posters, we can't say how many examples of this poster exist, but it is certain that it is a tiny fraction of the number of "regular" Empire Strikes Back one-sheets, and it is surely one of the most rare (and most desirable) Star Wars posters there is!
Condition: good to very good. The poster was never folded. There is a faint "wave" (not a fold) across the upper one-third of the poster, slightly touching the very top of Ford's hair. There are a few faint creases scattered throughout the poster. Three of the last four examples of this poster that we sold had faint brown stains scattered on the back. This one has one tiny faint brown stain on the back of the bottom of the poster, 2" from the bottom and 6" from the left, but otherwise has no brown staining. It DOES have a fascinating addition on the back. It has Japanese writing on the back of the far right of the top border in a red pen or marker that reads "Star Wars 2" in Japanese, which is how this movie was going to be released in Japan. The writing does not bleed through to the front. Clearly, this poster is in better condition than the three of the four last examples we auctioned (that had faint brown staining on the back), and it has never had any restoration.
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Bruce Hershenson,
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Bruce Hershenson,
306 Washington Avenue, West Plains, MO 65775
Phone: +1 417 256-9616 Fax: +1 417 257-6948
E-mail: Contact Us
Hours of Operation:
Monday – Friday 8:30 AM – 12:00 PM & 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM (CDT)
