Hello friends,

For the last two weeks I’ve been researching at Steve Sansweet’s Rancho Obi-Wan and George Lucas’s Skywalker Ranch Research Library, scanning and cataloging literally hundreds of hard-to-find magazines, comics, books and newspaper articles.

Here I am in front of Steve’s extensive magazine storage room.

W.R. Miller at Rancho Obi-Wan, Magazine Archive
Photo by Anne Neumann
(c) 2013 W.R. Miller

And here I am at Skywalker Ranch’s main house.

Main House, Skywalker Ranch
Photo by Robyn Stanley
(c) 2013 W.R. Miller

The Skywalker Ranch Research Library—formerly the Lucasfilm Research Library prior to Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm—is itself a treasure trove of information. There’s also a separate Archives building, which reminds one of the last shot of Raiders of the Lost Ark, a storage area of books and filing cabinets and boxes and containers galore. It’s a cool, temperature-controlled environment, helping preserve not only Lucas’s own materials, but the acquired libraries of Paramount and Universal Studios.

In this kind of deep research, it’s amazing to discover some fascinating stories. Like Anthony Daniels wearing his heavy C-3PO costume in the streets of Oslo, Norway, to promote Star Wars in August 1978. Or the reception Star Wars received upon its release in Latin America.

My gratitude extends to Steve Sansweet and Anne Neumann for their hospitality, and to Skywalker’s wonderful librarians Jo Donaldson and Robyn Stanley for their generous time and help. Thanks to their support, The Star Wars Reference Guide and Historical Sourcebook will have the most comprehensive documentation of Star Wars (original trilogy) media coverage in the world.

If you can help, my want list can be found here.