Written by: Rob Allen
Posted: 06/02/2013From avant-garde black-and-white classics to
modern masterpieces, film posters offer collectors
the chance to own a distinctive piece of cinematic
history, as Rob Allen discovers.
From Clark Gable
planting a smacker on
Vivien Leigh in Gone with
the Wind, to Michael J Fox
travelling Back to the Future,
we all have movie moments that make us
laugh, cry or scream. For film enthusiasts,
owning a piece of a classic picture doesn't
stop at the special edition DVD, and there is
a vast movie memorabilia market out there.
For those of us not keen on Harry Potter
figurines or the James Bond edition of
Monopoly, original movie posters can
provide a grown-up outlet for our film
obsessions. As old as the industry itself,
promotional posters are part of the movie
package. Foyer posters, ‘paste up' adverts and
lobby cards in all colours, shapes and sizes
are available to serious and casual collectors,
and with over a century of film, there are
thousands of budget-sapping possibilities.
Most people know their Vertigo from
their Bullitt, but many movie goers would
be forgiven for missing the 1927 avant-garde
science-fiction film Metropolis. However, a
poster for Fritz Lang's revolutionary flick sold
for a record breaking £443,210 in 2005. With
big money changing hands, understanding
why this obscure German film sends collectors crazy is a good starting point for
any wannabe buyers.
The 41” x 81” poster is one of only four
known originals in existence, causing its
value to rocket upwards. But a little knowledge
of film history goes a long way in collecting,
and a design's cultural significance should
also be considered. As Michael Czerwinski,
a poster design expert from London's Design
Museum, explains: “Metropolis is one of the
earliest and most iconic modernist posters.
It doesn't just convey the essence of the
film, it evokes a time when we were moving
from art deco to modernism and entering the
dawn of a new age.”
From 1895, when the French feature
L'Arroseur arrosé was promoted in print,
through the silent era of Metropolis and
Chaplin and into the ‘golden age' of colour
and sound, posters have been with us as
a disposable form of advertising, while
unintentionally evoking the mood of their
time. Sadly, with little practical value once a
screening had passed, most posters suffered
irreparable wear and tear and were destroyed.
Dwight Cleveland, a Chicago-based
collector of more than 11,500 posters
spanning 114 years of film, says that any
surviving examples from before World
War II are still with us only by some miracle.
“Most pre-1940 posters are almost impossible
to find, so they are arguably the most
collectible, almost like works by Vermeer,”
he says. “These posters were only available
to theatre owners and, since they ran on
small overheads, the posters they ordered
were almost certainly displayed. By the next
week's highlight they were plastered over.”
Moving pictures
While rarity is a consideration, one dealer
suggests it isn't the primary factor for most
buyers. Bruce Marchant, from London's
The Reel Gallery, says that, despite the
scarcity of original posters, demand is
usually determined by a collector's love for
a particular film. “The film is everything,
then rarity, then condition. The artwork
comes in at fourth,” he explains. “The main
driver is emotion. I get asked for titles I have
never heard of that might be 100 years old,
and they might only be £50 if I can find them.
But to that person they're far more valuable.”
Marchant, who sees science fiction,
horror, film noir and Ealing Studios posters
as the most sought after, estimates the value of an original American King Kong poster
at a whopping £100,000, but says collectors
could instead consider the French version
for around £20,000. “The beauty of dealing
posters is that every country produced
different artwork for a film right up until
the 1980s,” he explains. “So, someone might
actually like the poster from France more
than the American version, and it might also
be more affordable.”
Other collectors agree that international
variations in vintage poster designs are
what makes collecting so interesting. Dwight
Cleveland is one, saying: “US posters were
often designed by committee. In Europe,
often just one artist designed the entire
poster. As such, many of the European posters were far superior and many were
signed by the artist, whereas very few US
posters are signed.”
With such variations depending on region
and the era, budding collectors might consider
collecting certain artists. Peter Contarino,
from North Carolina and a collector for 25
years, runs movieposterexchange.com and
advises buyers at all stages and with different
budgets. He says: “Notable American poster
artists are Al Hirshfeld, who designed the
Marx Brothers posters; Reynold Brown, who
is best known for his 1950s sci-fi work such
as The Creature from the Black Lagoon; and Saul
Bass, who basically reinvented the movie title
as art. Anselmo Ballester and Alfredo Capatani
are two of my favourite international artists.”
A quick check on available examples
of Bass' legendary work – such as the iconic
The Man With The Golden Arm – shows prices
between £1,000 and £10,000, with others
like Robert Brownjohn's Goldfinger or Robert
McGinnis' Breakfast at Tiffany's no less costly.
Ballester's dramatic Italian interpretation of 1954's On the Waterfront, starring Marlon
Brando, also yields four-figure sums.
Investment aside, loving a poster is often
the best reason to buy, and that's certainly
the view of Christie's Director of Vintage
Posters, Nicolette Tomkinson. For many
buyers at their auctions, where early James
Bond posters are best sellers, finding the right
poster can simply be a question of interior
design. “One of the wonderful benefits of
collecting vintage posters is that they were
made in standard sizes and several of them
hanging on one wall can create a real
statement look,” she explains. “They carry estimates from only £500, making them an
accessible collecting category for all budgets.”
The abundance of dealers trading privately
– on- and offline – provides many options.
Experts warn collectors to be wary of eBay,
but with dealers often running showrooms
and galleries alongside their websites, there
are plenty around with good credentials.
With modern posters available online for
under £50, making a start is easy, but rolling
out the red carpet and putting a star on your
wall could be a blockbuster investment.
How to pick up a classic
Christie's London's Director of Vintage Posters,
Nicolette Tomkinson, gives her top tips for
anyone considering a collection of their own.
• “Decide on a genre or specific film to start
a collection, and build from there” Like any
type of collecting, consider specialising in
a certain area of interest. You'll learn about
posters to look out for and what you should
be paying for them.
• “Follow the auction market internationally
to gain an insight into the market before
buying” Movie posters are a global business,
and collectors from around the world will
provide auction-room competition as well
as opportunities for a bargain. Knowing that
Westerns don't sell well outside the US is
good to know if you're intending to buy into
that particular genre.
• “Only buy from reputable sources, such
as well known auction houses and respected
dealers” It might sound obvious, but there
are thousands of posters for sale, and knowing
whether you're being offered an original, a
reprint or a fake is a matter of finding sellers
that you can trust.
• “If you are unable to view the poster in the
flesh, request a full condition report” Older
posters have often been folded, held up with
pins and tape and badly stored. Make sure you
don't buy a faded scrap of paper by asking for
detailed information about the poster you've
got in your sights.