Film Posters

In the late 1800's, vaudeville companies began a tradition of posting advertisements for shows in lobbies. The emerging film industry borrowed this idea and put up so-called one sheets to attract fan attention. Today, film posters range from tiny postcard size advertisements which producers give away at parties to giant billboards which get spackled on the sides of the nation's tallest skyscrapers.Collectible film posters can fetch tens of thousands of dollars. Indeed, a mint press of the one sheet for Boris Karloff's, The Mummy, fetched over $450,000 at auction. Generally, any movie poster from before 1935 is valuable today. Theaters and collectors didn't preserve posters prior to this time, so there are few artifacts remaining in circulation. Hence, these posters are quite prized.How should you go about collecting film posters? One smart tactic is to gather only posters related to a certain genre or from a certain era. If you have the money and resources, for instance, you might want to collect all of the posters associated with movies directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Bear in mind that collectors evaluate posters not just on their rarity and artistic merit but also on their condition.Old movie posters deteriorate as a result of exposure to the elements, so you want to preserve them as carefully as possible. Certain framing devices should be avoided. Never roll posters or tie them together with rubber bands. Counterfeiting has become a major problem of late, so before investing in an expensive rarity, authenticate your purchase with the help of an expert.