The 2nd Doctors Hankie - Update

Patrick Troughton  - The 2nd Doctor

Well, here's a blog I didn't expect to be writing, but research can be a funny old thing... it can lead to twists & turns or even send you up a blind alley as you spend years tracking down one particular item. The trouble is, depending on the path you decide upon, you may become a bit blinkered and overlook something that could have helped in adding a link to find clues a lot quicker in your quest. Yep, it can sit there staring you in the face waiting to be to be looked at again with fresh eyes after years of being ignored. Such a thing has just happened to me, hence my reason for returning to the topic of the 2nd Doctor's Hankie. 

As mentioned in my last  blog entry (what do you mean you haven't read it, go there 1st & then come back. Done it now? Good!) I spent a number of years trying to track down, and succeeding in finding, the actual design of hankie Troughton used during Season 5 & 6. It's getting to the point now where I can instantly spot it from the smallest of images. The pattern is burned into my brain so much so that in July 2019 I found myself another one. 

I always like an 'heir & spare' in any collection & now I'm the lucky owner of two 2nd Doctor hankies. This 2nd one is slightly faded due to regular washes, but as you can see in the photo below, its the same design. It was purchased from America, so I have no idea of its back story, but its a find I'm really pleased with.

My two 2nd Doctor season 5&6 hankies. The latest purchase on the right.

Now, as I've previously stated, I was only ever researching the season 5 & 6 hankie, so haven't really paid much attention to the others Pat wore for his return appearances. Anything after his original run doesn't really interest me.  Perhaps it's because in the JNT years  they were always a bad approximation of his costume. So, looking at photos after 1969 is something I don't do often and probably why I overlooked something that actually ties in nicely to the 2nd Doctors original Hankie. It's a shame I didn't notice before posting up my last blog. But hey, not to worry... as it now has a separate entry all to itself. This section concentrates on...


THE 2ND DOCTORS RADIO TIMES HANDKERCHIEF.

One of the publicity photos from The Radio Times Photo-shoot

As we know, in 1972 several publicity photos were taken of Troughton, Pertwee & Hartnell for The Radio Times, in celebration of 10 years(ish) of Doctor Who (see above). Interestingly, Troughton is the only Doctor who's costume in the photos wasn't wholly used with what was finally seen on screen. 

Another RT Publicity Photo.  - Note Pat's  Hankie & Trousers

The trousers in the photos were changed to a smaller houndstooth check, similar to the pairs he originally wore during his original run and very much like to the ones worn by Hartnell in the Radio Times publicity photos (perhaps even the same trousers as the two actors were never 'live' on screen together). Apparently the reason for the change was the detailed orange pattern caused a strobing effect on the screen. But more on those trousers later!

As seen in the above and opposite photos The 2nd Doctors hankie was of a green paisley pattern. However, this hankie also didn't appear in  The Three Doctors, as it was substituted for a red & white patterned one. At the time of writing, there seems to be no reason given for the change of hankie. Perhaps Troughton preferred one with red in it, similar to the ones he originally used? Or perhaps it was decided by the Costume Department to match the colour's in with his new braces? Who knows? Whatever the reason it's a real shame. Why? Well, looking at the hankie in the Radio Times photos only the other day, I sudden saw that it had a major connection to the original ones Troughton had in 1967-69. 

I've  previously mentioned (see last blog) that the design of his original red hankie was commercially available at the time after I'd discovered another with the red & yellow colours reversed... Well now it appears that there was yet another colour variant. Look closely at the green hankie used in the Radio Times shoot and you can see the same Paisley shapes in this version as detailed in the original red one. ‎The background is now green but the border is back to yellow, as in the original. The reds have now moved position again and sit alongside the blues within the paisley patterns and flower shapes. See the pictures comparing my red hankie alongside the green version and then an one used in the story Invasion.

My red hankie,  RT hankie, RT hankie in B&W & hankie worn in Invasion

Its a match! I can't believe I didn't see this before, especially as I have a clear photo in my own Radio Times 10th Anniversary Special. Mind you, I have not looked at those publicity pictures for years and didn't think to do so in my original search, but the pattern (now I know it so well) is unmistakable. Of course, it makes perfect sense that if there was a yellow variant, then of course there would also be a green and, one supposes, a blue version too! Each of the 4 colours rotating to take primary position over the same pattern. 

So there we have it, another costume mystery solved... and quite by accident!

Trevor Martin as The Doctor -1974

So, what about those those orange checked trouser? (see, I said I'd come back to them). Well, to end this chapter I thought I would throw in a bit of trivia as their story didn't end with the Radio Times Photos shoot, oh no. They re-surfaced twice more. 

The 1st time they were seen again was when there was another publicity photo shoot. This time they were worn by Trevor Martin in 1974 when he played The Doctor in Terrance Dick's stage play Doctor Who & The Daleks - The Seven Keys to Doomsday. This would not be unusual to see them again as most costumes for TV, Film & Stage were hired from Bermans, a big costume hire company in London. (still trading today as Bermans & Angels, also known as Angels)  It is however, a coincidence that they were chosen for another Doctor to wear. (The picture opposite was originally a black and white photo. The excellent colourisation is the work of Clayton Hickman) 

But that wasn't the last time they would be seen in public as they popped up one final time 33 year later...

In 2007 the trousers were teamed up with some replica costume items that had been doing the rounds in a few exhibitions. They were not original items or even replacement items like the trousers. They were just a collection of bits & bobs representing the 'Cosmic Hobo' look of the 2nd Doctor. (Note the 'straps' or button flap as seen in the picture with Trevor Martin).

The trousers as seen in the auction catalogue.

This collection of non connection miss-matched bits of costume, were auctioned off by Bonhams‎, and sold for a staggering £9,600! (see the Photo left, as published in the auction catalogue). The figure paid was of course hugely inflated, just because of that Radio Times photo shoot... Oh, I'm forgetting of course, knowing that you would be owning a pair of trousers that Mr. Troughton had actually worn, all but briefly would add to the value (there must be a bit of his DNA mixed into the fibers surely?). That said, they certainly looked better than the costumes JNT's designers cobbled together for the 5 and 2 Doctor stories. Even so, £9,600 for a pair of trousers. Ouch!

Information on the 2nd Doctor costume auction

Well, that the trousers all sorted, but this blog is really about that hankie sported by the 2nd Doctor  in the Radio Times  photo shoot, so let me turn back to that... What happened to it?  Was the hankie chucked away in some prop-box after the shoot, or just lost for ever? Or could it, by some miracle, have stayed with the trousers throughout the stage show, then the auction and is now in the possession of the new owner? Who knows, and to be honest I didn't really think much about its whereabouts at all while putting all of this together. However, I now have to admit I do favour the latter theory. I think the hankie it IS with the trousers, and there's a very good reason why I think that.

My sole purpose for digging out all this info on the Bonham's auction, was just to add a fun side note about the trousers, nothing more. I just wanted a copy of the photo to illustrate that section of this post. So as I was compiling this section I happened to read over the blurb and then I saw something their in the description... Have a look yourself. Read the info on the costume bid, and take note of the highlighted section.

Sounds familiar doesn't it? 

Now, it wouldn't surprise me at all if the buyer has unknowingly purchased for his £9,600 the very same hankie from the photo shoot, along with the original trousers. If anyone knows the owner do let them know about this blog as they could have a second original item in their possession. Oh, & please do let me know too. I'm curious!

Thanks for reading!