How rare is this Framed Ralph Mcquarrie Neon Lighted Lightsabers Vader V. Starkiller poster print 0806?

So I just picked this up. I had to jump on it. Long story for later of the whole painstaking wait to get it.  I initially saw it posted on the local facebook marketplace  with very little detail and I was skeptical since the post said "1974 Star Wars poster,needs fixing".
So the only other one I found online is a record of one selling at auction and it is cataloged on WorthPoint site but since I dont have an account it wont give me details of the sale or even the date. But it does have some info saying these were distributed by Diamond Comics?

So the guy I bought if from here locally said he worked for the local theatres here in EL Paso Texas in 1977 and that  there were very few theaters here at the time so pre-release items for Star Wars in this small city market were few. He said his boss had him put this poster up in the lobby prior to the movie debut. He said all the talk was that this movie was gonna flop. Once it screened and everyone went bonkers and played forever this lighted poster remainded diplayed until it was time to take it down. He really liked this poster and asked his boss if he could buy it. He says even back then it set him back $300 bucks because his boss said it was expensive to make and only so many were distributed across the country. Once he bought it he had it at home and turned it on an off occasionally. He moved on to other jobs and the one he is currently at for almost 30 years is where this thing was hung up on his office wall until a few days ago when I acquired it.  He says it occasionally turns on but definitely needs some attention. So I have yet to plug it in, if it does not work I will carefully remove the stapled on backboard and explore, maybe it needs a new ballast?  Saber colors look backwards as well ( correct to the mcquarrie orignal cocept art. It is 24x36 and has a thick black wooden frame. Also has a small black cord with an inline on off switch. Any ideas or more info what the real story on these things is? Value? I just feel so lucky to have this thing as it was in the same city all this time from the beginning, it was just a few miles from me and now at age 54 it found me.

That's a great piece and an awesome story about how it came to you.

I can't find anything in any of my books.  Would you mind if I ask some of the other collectors if they have seen it before?

Hello Clint! Finally someone responded! Thank you! Yes it is very cool and unique and i just want to know more about it or how many exist or if this gentleman's story is correct? I am doubting his timeline a little only in the sense of when did they really start printing up Ralph Mcquarries artwork to promote the movie or to promote him as a concept artist and designer for the film? Was there really some promo items like this or maybe even for just behind the scenes people like execs and film industry promoters? The question is when did they really start selling and promoting the art of Ralph Mcquarrie as this what this item is.this item is explicitly promoting Ralph Mcquarrie and his art for the movie not a stand alone Star Wars promotional item in my opinion. One of my co-workers, who is a super collector and seller, also sent out more pics of my framed neon poster to some of his big, big,  collector friends. Here are  some more detailed pics and a screenshot of the sabers on! Its beautiful!
So I did finally connect it and when you flick the inline switch back and forth Starkiller's saber flashes on a beautiful green.. and Vader's a beautiful red! So it does want to work but does'nt stay on.
Upon further inspection it does look like maybe the inner ballast and some re-wiring was re-done at some time as you can see previous taped areas removed and the ballast looks more modern. The black card stock sealing off the back does look like it was removed before.  Like I mentioned in my first post the only place I could find any reference online is on a worthpoint link but since Im a newbie here it wont let post the link so here is a pic of that. Oh forgot to say, if you see the Blue Star Wars logo printed under the image, its a stylized version that is different from others and one could ask when did that version first debut and stop being used to maybe date this unique framed poster? Or is that another Ralph Mcquarrie designed logo for the publication of his artwork once the first movie was a success? Someone did the layout for this poster and as a classically trained Graphic Designer myself I want to know! I dont even really know what font  that Star wars logo is based off of yet.

No, would not mind at all! We all need to know the story on these! who made them and when?!!!

What are the dimensions of the piece?

Like i mentioned in the first post it is a standard 24x36 inch hardstock poster print, ad 1/4-1/2 inch of the frame itself . Some car keys/fob in one of the pics near the frame to show scale. Now I did look up some info on the star wars logo evolution during the years and I remember having the star wars portfolio book pretty early on and yes even by december 1977 they had published the Star Wars portfolio book which has this version of the star wars logo on the cover although the logo on this poster is slightly compressed vertically to make it fit the layout of this poster somewhat ( not a good thing to do in graphic design but someone did this).I teach students not to stretch photos or worse yet, stretch fonts to "make them fit"... I teach them Kerning and proper Typography still! lol!
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See pic showing car keys on edge and Screenshot of Star Wars portfollio book debut.. so maybe this guys story is accurate and they had already prepped some art to showcase Ralph Mcquarrie's art to hype up the release even more?

I finally have some answers.
Here are some of the responses.

"This poster was released in 1996 in conjunction with the Star Wars the Art of Ralph Macquarie postcard book. It’s been customized with electronics."

"The poster came out ~1996. We bought and sold hundreds when we brought Ralph to conventions. They also did Empire (Cloud City) and Jedi (Droids in Janna’s dungeon) versions. I recall some aftermarket company offering this one with neon like this."

"As for the history on the poster, one of the details provided actually seems to set the correct time period. I hadn't read the full description before my post, but while the Diamond Distributors detail matches my memory, Diamond didn't exist until 1982. But this would have come out shortly before the Special Edition theater release, so a local theater could have seen an opportunity for customized promotion. If their memory was from the Special Edition era, though, it's the first time I've ever heard of someone in the theater biz who thought the Special Editions would flop."

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These Details make more sense! Yeah maybe this gentleman I got if from has a little foggy memory as we all do when we get older including myself! lol! I think his story holds up in a sense of how he acquired it but not "when" he acquired it. That person you contacted says we are looking at around 1996 makes great sense! and that Ralph himself went to some of these events! .. So its not the 70's or even 80's! I do believe he bought it from inside local theatre's insiders realm where he worked. I still think its awesome and has to be pretty rare. Would love to know the 3rd party ( and location) who rigged these up with the neon as they had to be hand done to the size of the sabers and very meticulously put together starting with a flat thick stock poster print, drill or punch out the holes for the neon tube( you can see they put black plastic grommets in each hole) then build the deep frame to install the neon hardware. Like I said I'm a classically trained graphic designer with lots or Printshop and Package design experience back in the day before things were made easier with technology so I know the hands on time and work put into something like this. Wish they would have numbered them or something. I still have to take the backing off completely to inspect it and figure out why the neon sabers wont stay on. Will make time soon post when i get it working. Thank you so much for the response. I hope more people investigate these cool posters further in the future! Tony in EL Paso!

Glad to help.
If you have any more questions, don't hesitate to ask.