Excellent!
It will be easier if I refer to the whole holster configuration as the "rig" and the yoke/holster itself as the "holster."
I think we had a miscommunication on a few things. The holster was shown in the OT costume book on the "ESB" set up. This is problematic because 1) the jacket shown is a prototype 2) the belt portion of the rig is from Jedi. It lists that the holster may have been the ANH and reused for Empire. I believe this to be true.
This leads me to believe that this is the ONLY piece of the ANH gear that Harrison Ford wore on screen in ANH that still exists.
For those of us who have the OT Costume book, I strongly suggest opening that up to take a look yourself.
Now I originally reached out to CrazyLegs to point out that this is the ANH Holster and that the cap may only have a few stitches near the front of the cap, but not all the way around. It looks like there may only be a few stitches in the groove near the cap. To me, there doesn't look like enough tension to be fully stitched, and it would also be VERY neatly done considering the stitching on the ESB/ROTJ (ROTJ in particular) but that may be down to the ESB and ROTJ rigs being made in house by production and not by Bapty as the ANH Holster was.
Here are some hallmarks that I believe show that this is the ANH Holster. I have some side by sides that show some of these characteristics (also shown in CrazyLegs video) There is a distinct crease on the holster yoke near the snaps that matches. Note - this is NOT The scratch on the ROTJ holster that makes its way around in the traveling display. This to me looks like a crease in the leather, something like latigo. There are the missing snaps, coloring etc. Also included are some shots that show the classic ANH Grooves, shape, etc.
Now, I think this shows that yes, this is definitely the ANH Holster.
BUT - I believe to have some evidence that this rig was reused in Empire. However, I'm not sure if the holster was, but the belt almost certainly is worn in multiple scenes.
I've searched literally thousands of archive photos for this research and Han research in general, and I can only find two. There are screen caps that seem to support this because of the angle of the belt portion, especially in the rear, but I can't find anything conclusive, so I won't be posting them.
Here are the two photos that I really believe show the ANH Belt in ESB.
The first is from the Hoth Hanger - you can see a clear difference in color between the belt and holster, as well as the lack of stitching on the belt pockets and the holsters shape is not ANH. Im doing a quick edit as looking at this photo, there seem to be rivets near the hooks leading me to believe that this was probably repaired with the rivets and put into use in ESB. These can also be seen in Hoth scene when they discover the probe droid.
Next, I believe this is form the med Bay scene with Luke recovering. You can see the belt clearly has the groove lines in it. Absent from the other ESB rig or ROTJ.
The interesting thing about that photo is that is also shows (to my eyes) no grooves in the trouser belt.
So, no real new info on design, etc. but I think its interesting to have proof that 1) the ANH Holster exists and is, presumably, the only piece of ANH gear that Harrison Ford wore that still exists in the archives, and 2) The rig was reused in at least ESB.
With that in mind, what will we consider canon for the ESB Rig? Will it be the stitched pockets? Will it be the ANH Belt for Hoth?
What do you all think?