In an interview included in Titan Books’ “Star Wars: Icons of the Galaxy” (edited by Jonathan Wilkins), Christian related the story of stumbling upon the lightsaber in the London photographic shop Brunnings. According to Christian:
“I asked David French, the manager of the shop, if they had any old or damaged equipment I could buy for a movie I was working on. He pointed me to boxes of equipment that had obviously lain untouched for years. I started rummaging through them and found old lenses and rangefinders, pulling out anything I thought might be useful. I then discovered one old box under the others, covered in dust, that had obviously not been opened in years.”
That box contained what Christian described as “several silver, tube-like objects with red buttons set into the handles.” He’d found the goods. Per Christian:
“I pulled one out, amazed. They actually looked like Ralph McQuarrie’s paintings of the lightsaber. Somehow I was at the moment of finding the Holy Grail. Even the red firing button seemed perfectly designed for a lightsaber handle. I held one in my hand; it was the right weight and size. I had found the treasure that was eluding me, and I knew exactly what to do with it as I headed straight back to Elstree Studios.”