The definition of what constitutes a 'vintage' poster is surprisingly elusive, even to so-called professional traders. A vintage poster must be relatively old, but also needs to be in good condition to sell at high auction value. A gnarly, torn up version of the original 'Casablanca' poster wouldn't be considered 'vintage' by serious collectors--it would be considered junk.

At what age does a movie poster become vintage, then? Most people agree that the poster of Boris Karloff's 'The Mummy,' which recently sold for more than $400,000, setting the world price record, would be considered vintage. However, is a limited edition 'Godfather' poster vintage? Is an 'Empire Strikes Back' movie poster vintage? Can a youthful cult classic, like 'Donnie Darko,' give rise to a vintage poster, even though the film is only a few years out of the theater?

The question gets more complicated when you consider artwork and advertisements. 1920s ribald French liquor posters and 1930s posters, like 'Monaco--August 37' by Goatamm and 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes' by Grumon are most certainly vintage. Yet, do old framed covers of 'Fortune' magazine constitute vintage items? Do hand-drawn cartoons or old photographic images rise to the level of vintage?

Part of the problem is that the concept of 'antique' is much more well-formed. An antique by definition must be 100 years old. That said, there's room for ambiguities here, as well. Some people suggest that antiques must date from the 19th-century or earlier. Others contend that items created prior to WWII may qualify as antiques. Thus, figuring out what constitutes a 'vintage' or even an 'antique' poster really comes down to 'you know it when you see it.'