New York's Broadway musical industry is a multibillion dollar a year business. Tourists from around the world flock to the Big Apple to take in such shows as The Phantom of the Opera, Tommy, and Avenue Q. Broadway musical posters compete ferociously for the limited attention of the New York theatergoing crowd. As a result, these posters are often highly evocative and curiously artistic. Well-preserved posters from the early days of the Broadway scene in the 1940s and 1950s can score big bucks on the auction market. Rogers and Hammerstein signed posters of The Sound of Music and South Pacific have sold for over $2,000. If you're fortunate enough to come across one of these old Broadway musical posters vis-à-vis an estate sale or a lucky auction, make sure to preserve and frame your treasures. Old vaudeville shows, as well, used musical posters to attract audiences. These posters featured brilliant performances of now forgotten comedians and silent movie stars. Their age and rarity alone make them good sellers. Posters from early movie musicals, like Singin' in the Rain and The Wizard of Oz, are both well known and highly prized. Objectively evaluating a poster's worth requires detailed research. Posted values that are more than 10 years old are usually unreliable. Confirm and double confirm a poster's value by getting multiple expert appraisals. If a musical poster has a linen back, it will sell for more. Foreign musical posters may be more valuable or less valuable than their U.S. counterparts, so refer to catalogs and your network of collectors for back-up advice. | 
