What Is Considered Collectible And What Is Not?
The most crucial element of movie poster collecting is knowing which items are collectable and which are not.
While a product description may call something a 'movie poster', this doesn't mean that this piece falls into the collectable movie art category, or indeed that what is being advertised as a movie poster is even a movie poster at all.
This article will illuminate some of the methods and conditions you need to know when collecting film posters.
Besides film posters, there are other promotional materials produced by distribution companies for movie releases. These include movie posters, lobby cards and press stills.
These are all distinct and different, and knowing that difference will be the first step in becoming an expertise poster collectors need to acquire. You wouldn't want to be collecting the wrong pieces, after all.
Movie posters can trace their origins to 19th century Paris. Jules Cheret, a master of Belle Époque poster art, discovered a printing method that allowed for greater texture and richer colours in the images for advertisements.
However, true movie poster collecting didn't start until the 1960s, when an elite group of collectors set modern-day collecting standards.
There is, however, some recent debate over what does and does not qualify as a collectable movie poster. The majority of collectors stick to a method of assessment when they determine the collectability of a piece; the first of these assessments determine the movie poster's original purpose. Once the film has finished its run in cinemas, these posters are always taken down and returned or destroyed.
These pieces were never supposed to be sold or collected and are solely used for advertising films in cinemas. In fact, most film posters carry messaging at the base of the image, denoting that they are not to be sold or reproduced and that they specifically belong to the studio that produced them. These pieces are also only printed in limited numbers, making them quite rare and highly collectable.
Besides this, it is also important to go through what might not be considered a collectable movie poster.
While the following might not be regarded specifically as collectable movie posters, they can be collectable in their own right:
Commercial Posters
These posters are designed and mass-produced for direct sale to public audiences and are never intended for advertising in cinemas. While their design may look identical to legitimate movie posters, they are often of a smaller size. They are sometimes known as Maxi Posters.
Reprint Posters
These are the tricky Trojan horses of the movie poster collector world. Like commercial posters, they are generally mass printed for direct sale to public audiences and are never used for advertising in cinemas legitimately. However, their dimensions are similar to legitimate movie posters and can often be mistaken for them.
Anniversary Issues
Film studios and licensed printers will release these posters to celebrate a popular film's anniversary. Suppose these film posters were released in a limited quantity for use solely in cinemas, rather than mass-produced for sale to audiences. In that case, they might be considered legitimate movie art and, therefore, collectable.
Limited Editions
Film studios release a limited number of these posters through licensed printers, such as Film Prints Inc., for sale to public audiences or fan clubs. While they are not intended for cinema advertising, they are still collectable as legitimately designed film posters from the production studios.
TV Posters
Television networks release these posters to advertise terrestrial TV programs generally. They were initially intended to be displayed in video rental shops rather than cinemas. Depending on whether they were intended for audience sale or not, they can be collectable pieces.
What to look for in the poster
Now that we know what may or may not qualify as a collectable movie poster, the next thing to is consider what specifically you should be looking for when deciding whether to make the investment and welcome a film poster into your collection.
Poster Title
Of course, one of the most important details you need to consider is which film the poster is advertising. Posters for bigger or classic films are far more collectable than those for smaller films, making them more expensive to collect.
For example, a poster for Charlie Chaplin's film 'The Kid' would be worth well over £100,000 in the auction market today, given that there are less than five of these posters in existence.
Examples of posters for big franchises such as Star Wars or Indiana Jones would also lend collectable weight to their film posters. But posters for films from the same era may not bring nearly as much money, simply due to the poster title.
Rarity of Poster
Along with the title, the rarity of the one-sheet poster is the very next detail in desirability. Many early movie posters from the dawn of motion pictures were produced to be plastered onto walls and covered up; not many of them have survived to appear in auctions today.
Therefore posters from the 1930s are majoritively rare and incredibly collectable, and, again, expensive. For example, for both the German poster for Charlie Chaplin's 'City Lights' and Laurel and Hardy's 'Bohemian Girl' from 1931 and 1936, there is only a single copy of each of these vintage posters ever sold at auction.
Seek out European posters
Compared to their American and British counterparts, European posters are becoming increasingly more collectable and valuable. Unlike American posters, those produced in Europe were created as legitimate artworks in themselves, not just advertisements for the movies they displayed. There are famous European poster artists whose work is considered incredibly collectable, valuable and unique, making them far superior to their American or British equivalents.
Does it have great artwork?
Even if the movie shown in the poster is a classic or the biggest film of all time, if the poster's aesthetics aren't up to scratch, this can affect the piece's value and collectability.
One-sheet posters for smaller films can sometimes have incredibly poster artwork, while larger movies may have mind-numbingly dull designs. For example, 'Some Like it Hot' has become one of the greatest comedies of all time and one of Hollywood's biggest movies, but posters for the film regularly sell for well under £1,000 due to the poor artwork.
Is it a one-off?
Along with rarity, one-off pieces are also incredibly collectable. These unique pieces are produced as original artworks for the final one-sheet posters. Given that there is only one copy of these kinds of posters, rarity and uniqueness go hand in hand to create incredibly collectable items that often show up in auctions.
Condition is critical
It is rare, practically impossible, to find a movie poster that has survived in mint condition. Unlike toys or other collectable items that come with protective packaging, posters are pressed by machines, shipped from warehouse to warehouse, pinned up, folded, creased and torn during their lives. Therefore good condition is a relative consideration. So long as the poster isn't destroyed by large rips in the paper or wholly faded, then the condition isn't a problem.
Is the poster signed?
While the provenance of a poster isn't that important - no one really cares who owned the poster in the past - but if a poster is signed by a star or creator of the film it advertises, this can add untold memorabilia value, especially if the signature is from someone who notoriously refuses to add their signature to pieces, such as Martin Scorsese. Signatures can, therefore, make a poster far more valuable and collectable.
Original Vintage Movie Posters for Sale
We created this website to provide a vintage movie poster guide. If you have an interest in classic movie posters from the 1950s, 1960s or 1980s, we hope you will learn more about the most popular posters of the period.
Take a sneak peak at some of the posters we have in stock here. However, if you have a film in mind and don't see it here, please get in touch as we'd be happy to locate it for you.
Are you interested in movie poster collecting? Follow the links below to discover more about collectable movie posters.