Hoy más que una noticia os traigo una review de un libro que lleva disponible un tiempo pero del que no hemos hablado hasta hoy, siendo merecedor de toda nuestra atención. Estoy hablando de La French Touch: History of French Star Wars Merchandising & Marketing, 1977-1986. Aquellos a los que os gustan los libros sobre el merchan de Star Wars seguro que no os es ajeno el autor del libro, ya que en su día publicó el que ya se ha convertido en una pequeña joya en lo que a libros sobre el coleccionismo de Star Wars en lo que al país vecino se refiere, La Guerre des Etoiles: From Meccano to Trilogo, y que no es otro que Stephan Faucourt. Los que tuvimos la gran fortuna de acudir a Essen este verano pudimos disfrutar de su interesante charla dentro de los paneles de coleccionismo.

A través de sus 244 páginas y con sus más de 1200 imágenes, el libro nos muestra todo el diferente merchandising que se produjo en Francia entre los años 1977 y 1986, con todo lujo de detalles y narrado de una forma muy dinámica para que resulte una agradable lectura y no solo una consecución de tristes y aburridos datos estadísticos. Además se puede adquirir en cualquiera de sus dos ediciones, la francesa o la inglesa, dependiendo de qué idioma se nos de mejor… Su precio, 40 euros.

Pero para que tengáis una idea más aproximada de lo que nos ofrece Stephan con este nuevo libro, os dejo unas cuantas imágenes de sus páginas interiores, así como la reseña del mismo tal y como aparece en su contraportada. Eso sí, en inglés, para que vayáis practicando. Pinchad en Leer más y listo.

Lo que no os he dicho aún es la manera de adquirir el libro, pero nada más fácil. Si pincháis en la imagen de arriba iréis directamente a la página oficial en la que podéis obtener más información.

The release of “Star Wars”™ in 1977 brought an incredible opportunity to completely reinvent promotional and marketing strategies through film-related merchandising. Star Wars products hit the market from the very beginning, culminating with the release of “Return of the Jedi”™ in 1983, which enabled consumers to buy almost anything they desired.

France was among the very first countries to have Star Wars-related merchandise at retail, including some items exclusively designed for the domestic market before the progressive standardization of products was implemented across Europe.

This unofficial book is the outcome of years of research spent to identify all of these items and their history. It presents the author’s point of view in the broader context of the 1980s, and re-examines the response the movies received, through a wide selection of documentary references and photos of French merchandise – some heretofore unreferenced or thought to exist only in myth. This book allows the reader to follow and analyze the development of the merchandising and marketing methods associated with this world-famous license. It features photography of most of the merchandise such as costumes, displays, food premiums, games, library and activities, magazines, novels, posters, records, retailer items, toys, viewers… along with their related promotional items, documents, catalogs and advertising.

This book will appeal to all generations of Star Wars fans, as well as to collectors, nostalgia buffs, and anyone curious to relive the evolution of the merchandising and marketing of the Star Wars license in France.

Stephane Faucourt grew up in France in the 1970s and was part of the first generation of star Wars fans. In the mid-1990s, he started to collect vintage Star Wars related toys and merchandise that was marketed in France and across Europe between 1978 and 1986. After assembling one of Europe’s largest Collection of toys and documents from that era, he wrote and published his first book in 2006 – “From Meccano to Trilogo”, about the action figure toys released in France during 1978-86. The book was an instant-hit, featured at Celebration Europe London in 2007 and various magazines. This new book “La French Touch” has taken 2 years of intense work and extensive researches, with contribution from collectors in various French merchandise categories, in order to present the entire range of merchandising and advertising that was released in France during the original Trilogy era. Stephane has also contributed to various websites and magazines by providing content, and was part of the fans collectible tracks panel presenters at Celebration Europe London (2007) and Essen, Germany (2013).