Courtney shares an amazing licensed collectible from ’77–a handmade Kenobi coffee mug!
Earlier this week my brother texted me a photo of a pretty sweet Obi-Wan Kenobi coffee mug he recently purchased, vintage 1977. It is a really nice piece, glossy ceramic with the face of Kenobi prominently on the mug. As I was admiring this cup, a lightbulb went off in my head.
I have a tankard like that.
I ran upstairs where I keep a majority of my Star Wars collectibles and dug around in the closet. And there it was, a vintage 1977 box, barely faded in colors. I brought out my Obi-Wan mug, and was a bit surprised. I had forgotten what it looked like. And I was a little blown away. Not glossy, yet ceramic. It is very detailed and looks like a sculpture. It even has May the Force be with You on the back!
As I was looking over the tankard, I was reflecting on how I came about getting it. Many years ago, high school I think, my friend and I were looking around her new house, and eventually wandered into the garage. Up on a high shelf, almost buried, was a box that said Star Wars in bright blue letters. Immediately I asked what it was. She didn’t know. We got the box down and it was a 1977 coffee mug. Opening it, I was shocked to see Obi-Wan Kenobi’s face looking out in perfect detail. It was awesome. I really wanted this item, but alas, I’m not going to just ask for something that isn’t mine. My friend knew I was a huge Star Wars fan, and promised to ask her dad about it later. We put the box away, and I honestly forgot about it for months, then years.
One day toward the end of high school my friend came over to my house. In her arms was the white and blue Star Wars box from the garage. Her dad was cleaning the garage and came across it. She knew how big a Star Wars fan I was (and still am), and asked her dad if I could have it. He just gave it to me! FREE! I was blown away. What an awesome treasure to have. Plus, it was vintage, from the original Star Wars year. Those items have always been my favorites.
I safely stored the mug away when I went to college (hiding it away from the sneaky eyes of my little brother, who always stole my Star Wars stuff when I wasn’t home). Again, years went by and I forgot about the mug. Until that sneaky little brother texted me the photo of his Kenobi mug. And then I rediscovered mine. (PS – my little brother is way cooler now that he’s not stealing my stuff).
The tankard is extremely detailed; it has Obi-Wan’s beard and hair in individual strands; his cloak is textured, and his face is life-like. And his eyes are so blue. For a drinking mug, it’s amazing. The words “May the Force be with You” are easily readable on the back, as is the signature on the bottom of the mug. The box itself is excellent as well, and in great condition. It has a picture of the other mugs that could be purchased in 1977, and Star Wars printed on each side.
I started looking at the box and mug itself for the made by information. Clear and plain on the bottom of the mug are the words: 20th Century Fox 1977 Rumph!
Rumph? What is that? I started to dig online and found the mug was hand crafted by Jim Rumph, an artist and sculptor who worked primary from 1972-1989. But that’s about all that I could find. I had to dig and dig to find out more about this man. There’s no Wikipedia page on him. Not even an official website. The best I found is therumph.com, a fan site dedicated to Jim and his creations. His tankards and mugs are quite interesting, and the website has many photos of his various collections. Apparently the mugs were created by him for a company called California Originals. Again, not a lot of information on California Originals online.
Obi-Wan was not the only Star Wars character he used for his hand sculpted tankards. As indicated on the box, there was also Chewbacca and Darth Vader. Many Rumph collectors believe if Jim Rumph actually hand crafted the item, his signature Rumph! will be on it. My Obi-Wan mug has it, so I hope this makes it pretty rare. I also had a difficult time finding much information on when, where, and how many of the tankards were created for the Star Wars films.
I was able to find some pricing information on how much this awesome piece might be worth. The condition of both the tankard and the box are excellent. The mug will be worth a lot if it truly was hand crafted by Rumph, which I think it is. eBay was the only place I could find both the mug and box together. Boxes are often very rare to have, especially if it is from 1977. The tankard itself seems to run from about $60-$85. But with the box, prices were $150-$185.
Needless to say I was taken back a bit. I couldn’t believe the prices (no matter that I’m not selling the piece). But even more, it’s a pretty rare item, by a pretty rare artist. I kept reading more on Jim Rumph, and he seemed like a genuinely nice person. Unfortunately he passed away in 1993 at the age of 51. But he created many, many pieces of pottery and art, which are definitely worth checking out. From here on out I will be looking for all of the other Star Wars Rumph tankards–they are a worthy collectible for any Star Wars or pottery collection.
Courtney Martin is a graduate of Indiana University and works in publishing. She’s an avid Star Wars fan and wrote the recipe blog Courtney Cooks Star Wars on suvudu.com. When not enveloped a science fiction or fantasy novel, she is watching television with her husband and son, doing crossword puzzles, or playing with her Shih Tzu, Burt.