George Lucas routinely credits serialized adventure Flash Gordon and mythology book The Hero With a Thousand Faces as inspirations for his Star Wars saga, but collectors of Darth Vader paraphernalia are now drawing comparisons between the arch-villain and a considerably more obscure reference point: 19th-century firefighters.
Steampunk blogger Steve Erenberg (Industrial Anatomy) points out that during the Victorian era, firefighters wore "rescue masks" that bear striking similarity to Vader's heavy-breathing helmet.
The resemblance could of course be sheer coincidence, but collectors cite one intriguing bit of historic trivia: One of the companies that manufactured breathing helmets was named Vajen-Bader. In a guest column penned for CollectorsWeekly.com, Erenberg notes: "You could easily get the name Vader from that."
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