Film posters were born in an era rich in poster tradition, an era considered to be the golden age of the poster in the western world. The public were used to seeing Toulouse-Lautrec posters for the Moulin Rouge, and Alphonse Mucha and Pierre Bonnard posters pasted on advertising boards, with their brilliant colours and few words. The early film posters, with their beautiful full-colour art, were in complete contrast to the black-and-white films they represented. In the early days of cinema the main source of advertising was through poster art, and it was the public’s first exposure to what they could see at the cinema; posters had to entice the viewer.
Posters and lobby cards loaned to cinemas were returned to poster exchanges when the films had finished their run. In many cases they were returned and stored in warehouses until the Second World War, when many of the posters were recycled due to paper shortages. Advertising material that remained was rented to cinemas if films were re-released, but in the late 1960s and early 1970s a handful of people began dealing in cinema memorabilia. It was more profitable for the owners of the poster exchanges to sell items to these people than to wait for a small rental fee.
Film posters and lobby cards were not really accessible until the 1960s, so they are a relatively new area of collecting. Like many great novels and works of music that are now cherished, their commercial origins kept them from being taken seriously at first. In contrast, comics and baseball cards were collected in the 1930s and 1940s and are now an established market.
The early film posters, with their beautiful full-colour art, were in complete contrast to the black-and-white films they represented
In the 1990s, a Boris Karloff poster for The Mummy (1932) sold for £280,000 in Sotheby’s New York. This was key in bringing film poster art to a wider audience and making it a serious art form. Many major institutions, including MoMA, the US Library of Congress and the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences, now have their own collections of film posters. The appeal of films is now huge, with box office revenues exceeding £23bn.
The most highly collectible film posters have already exceeded £100,000. These will carry on increasing owing to their incredible scarcity. Posters for King Kong (1933), Frankenstein (1931) and Metropolis (1927) have made huge sums, but there is an area of the market, which is accessible to more people, where availability and tremendous growth opportunities remain.
Posters for James Bond films have already proved a good investment. The early Sean Connery posters from the 1960s have gone from hundreds to thousands of pounds in the past 15 years. Only a limited number of Roger Moore posters survived from the 1970s, and they will increase in value as availability decreases. Iconic film posters for classic titles in the 1960s and 1970s are very affordable and have potential for excellent growth.
For more information: reelposter.com
