Collecting The Time Tunnel Autographs & Memorabilia
Irwin Allen's The Time Tunnel (1966–67) packed its single season with history and spectacle, and its short run gives collecting a distinctive, vintage character.
Produced by Irwin Allen, The Time Tunnel ran for a single season across 1966–67, sending two scientists tumbling through history from a vast underground government project. Its brief run and 1960s vintage shape a small but characterful collecting field.
The series is led by James Darren (Dr. Tony Newman) and Robert Colbert (Dr. Doug Phillips) as the two travellers, with Lee Meriwether (Dr. Ann MacGregor) among the project staff at the tunnel complex. As with other 1960s productions, availability of genuine signatures is bound up with the ages of the cast and the decades since broadcast.
A single-season vintage
Because the show ran only briefly, its imagery is concentrated — the spiralling tunnel set and the historical episode settings are its signature visuals. Signed vintage stills carry strong nostalgia appeal, and later convention appearances by surviving cast members account for much of the accessible signed material.
Vintage stills
Period photographs of the leads are the most collected format.
Later signings
Cast appearances at nostalgia shows produced much of the reachable material.
Ephemera
Magazines and licensed items from the era occasionally surface signed.
Collecting notes
Vintage single-season shows call for particular care with age and reference:
- Use period-appropriate references. A signer's hand can drift over decades; compare against examples from a matching era where possible.
- Value documented provenance. Items with a clear signing history are easier to stand behind than those with none.
- Scrutinise deceased-cast pieces. Signatures that can no longer be obtained fresh warrant extra diligence.
- Read certificates critically. See our authentication guide for weighing vintage material.
The Time Tunnel is a natural companion to fellow Irwin Allen production Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and to the classic Lost in Space.