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Howe's Transcendental Toybox Update No. 1: The Complete Guide To 2003 Merchandise by David J Howe and Arnold T. Blumberg
01/04/2005 . Source: Paul Hanley 
pub: Telos. 103 page enlarged paperback. Price: £ 7.99 (UK), $ 8.95 (US), $11.95 (CAN). ISBN: 1-903889-57-X. Buy from Amazon US - Buy from Amazon UK
nb: US titles may only be available from Amazon US, and UK titles from Amazon UK. check out website: www.telos.co.uk
I must first of all declare an interest regarding this. I have a company which operates several websites selling TV and film memorabilia so I was very interested by this black & white illustrated guide to Dr Who merchandise.
I believe it is fair to say that interest in 'Dr Who' is concentrated in, though not entirely exclusive to, Britain. At the various conventions around the UK those relating to 'Dr Who' attract about a fifth of, say, a 'Star Trek' convention so the market for this book and the merchandise it records has a limited audience. This may well change as a new series of 'Dr Who' is about to start on TV.
As a general piece of advice, which I think is applicable to anybody intending to collect anything, buy what you like. It may be that some things will increase in value, sometimes by a lot, but most objects don't or certainly don't do quickly, so buy to enjoy it yourself.
This book has not attempted to list every possible item connected with 'Dr Who' but has, rather sensibly as those buying it will presumably want to obtain Dr Who collectibles, to firstly limit themselves to items which have been available commercially and secondly to those which were Dr Who items in their own right. So this excludes autographs, costumes, scripts and so forth.
David Howe and Arnold Blumberg assume little knowledge on the part of their readers (a good thing in this case) and explain in their 'Determining Value' section, the differences in, for instance, how books are graded from mint condition, through near mint, fine and so forth. Often such phrases are never explained and most of us end up groping for a real meaning but here they explain in detail what these expressions are meant to mean. They also advise on how to determine price. Rarity, as in how many of a given object were produced and how many remain, is clearly an important factor along with condition. However, 'Dr Who' is a little unusual in that whilst some Doctor's may be more popular than others, those of us who watched the series perhaps have a favourite Doctor. Collecting this memorabilia, as with most other collecting, is about cherished memories and what the object evokes.
Quite apart from the new series, the BBC have been publishing a Dr Who novel at least monthly for years. There are now more than 100 of them which is, I believe, the largest ever book range built around a single character. Growing interest in the series and its new manifestation should increase the value of existing merchandise as more potential buyers will push-up prices. If you do want to get involved with something to collect and hope to make some financial gain on your investment, Dr Who memorabilia may be for you.
The book lists and illustrates lots of interesting items. For example, amongst the more valuable is a full-size replica Dalek at £1600 to £2000 or the MBI pewter chess set dating from only 1996 but now valued at £625.
The book also lists plenty of audio and visual dramas in various formats and also a large amount of objects which are or at least were modestly priced. There are etched paperweights, Dalek-shaped bottle openers, anniversary plates and a Dr Who Xmas card. The Germans have a word for such items which is kitsch meaning garish, sentimental and vulgar but they are quite fun, relatively cheap to acquire and often the sight of them cheers one up a grey day.
The book has, as a viewer of the series might imagine, illustrations of models of every conceivable toy Dalek. My only complaint is these are all in black & white but can accept that colour illustrations would markedly increase the price and might well not be available anyway for all the items.
The book not only lists the items produced by the BBC and their licensed suppliers of merchandise but also unlicensed items which have often been produced specifically for sale on ebay such as Dalek teapots.
All in all, only really of interest to someone who wants to collect Dr Who memorabilia and would like to know what is potentially available or to someone who would like to sell some items they have and would like a rough idea of their value. This particular book, stated to be the number 1 update and published in 2004, is likely to be updated again following the new merchandise which is inevitably going to be launched later this year to accompany the new series. However, the price, only £7.99 in the UK and similarly modestly price elsewhere as shown in the opening paragraph, is actually a very small price to pay for a book packed with information if it is going to be used by you.
Paul Hanley
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