An English couple made news recently when they discovered a treasure trove of Star Wars memorabilia in a bag in their attic, including an original script, shooting schedules, and call sheets for Chewbacca actor Peter Mayhew, who passed away in 2019, the Washington Post reports.
The couple approached Ryedale Auctioneers to try and sell the historic items at auction, but the announcement drew the attention of Mayhew’s widow, Angie Mayhew. Tweeting from the Peter Mayhew Foundation account, Angie explained that the bag had been left behind due to Peter’s movement difficulties, which made it hard for him to access the attic before they moved from the UK to the USA.
When we moved out of this house Peter’s movement challenges made it impossible for him to get into the attic to get the rest of these memories. It really breaks my heart to see our belongings auctioned off like this by @angusashworth and @RyedaleAuction1. ~Angie Mayhew https://t.co/9dql4g22Wa
— Peter Mayhew Foundation (@TheWookieeRoars) February 8, 2023
It was one of Peter’s and my biggest regrets that we had to leave these items behind, but his knees and joints had gotten to be so painful that he was no longer able to go into the attic to get them.https://t.co/Bc5TqvYI5u
— Peter Mayhew Foundation (@TheWookieeRoars) February 8, 2023
Star Wars fans immediately started tweeting at the auction house, bringing Angie’s sentiment and story to owner Angus Ashworth’s attention. The items have now been pulled from the auction, with the couple who found them agreeing to donate them to the Peter Mayhew Foundation, provided the foundation doesn’t plan to sell them.
Angie and the foundation reportedly plan to add the documents to the “Chewie room,” a building on Angie’s father’s ranch in Texas that already contains a collection of Star Wars memorabilia related to Peter Mayhew’s iconic character.
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