I found this image in a book called "Batman Collected" by Chip Kidd. It says it is a belt buckle from the early 1940's.
My question is where does this design come from? Is it just a random design that the prop department found and decided to duplicate for the Bat-Gauge tv show prop? The black and white image shows the 4 bat design that was dropped for a 2 bat design but the actual gauge dial is the same. I found this very interesting. Did the serials contain an object like this?
Research shows that belt buckle has been talked about for a long time now on various sites and has been erroneously attributed to being from the serial era. Chip Kidd's book was inaccurate. It was not 1940's produced, it was made by the Morris belt company in 1966, (has an NPP trademark on the back) there are 3 variations of the belts on cards and one of the buckle alone on cards. Now what is interesting and nice observation on your part to see the similarities, yes it does look like the BAT-GAUGE device. Perhaps it was copied from that buckle, or better still, the other way around? The BAT-GAUGE appeared in the premier episode, so I doubt any products were made yet. Maybe the Morris company saw the gauge and fabricated the buckle to resemble it?
A. Pennyworth wrote: ↑Tue Mar 02, 2021 4:24 pm
Chip Kidd's book was inaccurate. It was not 1940's
This groups total knowledge on all things Batman constantly amazes me. Great explanation A. Pennyworth. I figured it was a book mistake buy I so wanted to discover some 40s prop that was the inspiration.
I've looked at that Gauge for some time now because most versions and illustrations I've seen are inaccurate. I've redrawn mine a few times as I discover more images and think it's getting pretty close. The interesting part of the buckle Design is the bottom where the button is on the prop. Those 2 dots and that pin pointing to the right has me wondering if that is on the TV prop and I haven't seen it clearly yet.
batfatty wrote: ↑Tue Mar 02, 2021 5:52 pm
There was one on eBay recently with an assurance that it wasn’t a knock-off (even if it looked like one) inside the belt.
Great job. I looked and couldn't find any images but now I know I was looking for 1940s buckles.
Just a wild guess, but perhaps during the licensing process, the belt company was given a selection of Bat-related designs to choose from and they may have even been tier-priced (based upon perceived popularity) and they chose/paid for that particular one and created their own variant.
