 |
|
| Condition |
|
Since these movie posters are the actual theatre-used advertising materials their conditions may vary. The following grading system has been used to describe a poster's condition. As these gradings are intended only as a guideline, please feel free to request a more detailed condition report on specific items of interest.
MINT: No imperfections allowed. No holes, tears, marks, fading, bleedthroughs or any other defects or blemishes whatsoever.
NEAR MINT: Minor imperfections allowable such as: minor wear along fold lines, borders or minor paper tear at centre points of fold line.
EXCELLENT: Light use with no serious defects, a relatively clean poster. May have minimal wear with possible pinholes in the borders or slight fold wear. Minor tape on the back and very small tears allowed, as is slight fading.
VERY GOOD: Average to moderate use, containing a few cosmetic flaws such as: tears, tackholes, and small tape or light staining borders. Overall image is still relatively clean.
GOOD: Heavily used but still fairly presentable. Could use restoration.
FAIR: Very heavily used. Usually contains damages to image area, restoration usually required
*Unless otherwise noted our movie posters are in excellent to near mint condition or above.
*We can have any poster paper or linen backed. |
|
| Glossary |
|
LOBBY CARD: 11 x 14" printed on heavy paper stock. Used as display in theatre lobbies and first distributed in the 1930's. Originally made in sets of eight. Most sets have a title card, which contains credits and artwork, essentially a mini-poster. The remaining seven cards are coloured photographic credits and poster artwork showing different scenes from the movie. Today lobby cards are no longer used in America, but are still used in Europe and various other countries.
STILL: 8 x 10" Black and white photographs usually with a glossy finish, used for lobby display and press promotion.
HERALD: Printed on paper. Used as handbills / flyers and usually included as part of press kit. No longer used today.
WINDOW CARD: 14 x 22" printed on heavy paper stock. Top 4 - 6 inches usually left blank by the printer for the local exhibitor to fill in their names as well as the play date. Printed in quantity since they were meant to be displayed in areas outside of theatres, window cards were tacked on telephone poles or placed in store windows around town to spread the word about what was currently showing. First used in the 1910's and phased out during the 1970's.
HALF SHEET: 22 x 28" printed on heavy paper stock. First used in 1910's discontinued in 1980's. There are often two styles: A and B. The image may be different from that used on 1 sheet.
INSERT: 14 x 36" printed on heavy paper stock. Inserts usually have the same artwork as a one sheet. Popular with collectors since they are smaller and easier to frame. First used in 1910's then discontinued in the early 1980's.
THIRTY BY FORTY: 30 x 40" printed on heavy paper stock. Rare since they were primarily used for major motion pictures only. Same artwork as one sheet but may be silk screened instead of lithographed. First used in the 1930's, current usage is limited.
FORTY BY SIXTY: 40 x 60" printed on heavy paper stock. Rare since they were primarily used for major motion pictures only. Designed to be used outside the theatre, on an easel. Introduced in the 1930's for major motion pictures only, current usage is limited.
ONE-SHEET: 27 x 41" printed on thin paper stock. This is the most common size poster, intended to be displayed in a glass "marquee" case. Most sought after size by collectors. First introduced in 1909, now the most widely used size in American and foreign theatre markets. Spanish, German, Danish, Swedish and Polish one sheets were usually slightly smaller than the U.S. one sheet, approximately 25 x 39". Also, with the advent of backlit light boxes in 1985, a growing number of modern movie posters are double-sided.
THREE-SHEET: 41 x 81" printed on thin paper stock. These were printed on two or three separate sheets designed to overlap, few survive. Used for larger advertising spaces, normally posted on walls, perfect for huge movie palaces or drive in theatres, where crowds could see them for a distance. From the 1970's on, three-sheets were sometimes printed in one piece and issued as "international" versions to be used abroad.
LINEN BACKING: A mounting process whereby a poster is mounted on linen or cloth. This helps preserve the poster and make it more durable.
PAPER BACKING: A mounting process whereby a poster is mounted on paper. This helps preserve the poster and make it more durable.
TRI-FOLD: Movie posters which are folded horizontally in three sections without the vertical fold down the middle of the poster. |
|
| Special Editions |
|
RE-RELEASE / RE-ISSUE: A poster that has been printed for the release of a movie after its original release date. Still collectable, usually commands a lower price than a poster from the film's original release date (but there are some exceptions such as the 1964 re-release poster for The Hustler). On US movie posters, there is normally an R before the National Screen Service number code.
ADVANCE: A poster, which was issued prior to a film's release to create early interest. There may be a release date printed on the poster or a tag line, which reads: 'Coming this Fall' or 'Coming Soon'. Advance movie posters usually contain limited credit information and very cool artwork.
TEASER: This is a poster specifically designed to stimulate interest. All Teaser movie posters are Advances, but not all Advances are Teasers.
AWARD: Award movie posters indicate somewhere on the poster that the film has either won an award, or been nominated for an award.
DOUBLE-SIDED: Many current movie posters have printing on both sides; these are typically used today in theatre light boxes.
REVIEW: Movie posters containing quotes from movie critics, newspapers and magazines.
ANNIVERSARY: A poster, which marks the anniversary of all-time favourite movies such as Casablanca and Godfather. |
|
| Other Countries |
|
| Australia |
|
|
AUSTRALIAN DAYBILL: 13 x 30", similar to the US insert but printed on thinner paper. |
|
| United Kingdom |
|
BRITISH QUAD: 30 x 40" Most common poster size used in the UK. British Quads are horizontal and may have different artwork to the US one sheet.
BRITISH ONE-SHEET: 27 X 41Ó, printed on thin paper stock. Not as common as British Quad. |
|
| Italy |
|
ITALIAN LOCANDINA: 13 x 28" six inches shorter than the US insert, very nice size to frame. Italian poster illustrators are some of the best in the industry.
ITALIAN PHOTOBUSTA: 18 x 26" Glossy, high quality, used as lobby cards in Italy. Size may vary, either vertical or horizontal format. There are also double Photobusta or mini Photobusta.
2-FOGLIO (DUE): 39 x 55" This is the standard poster size used in Italy. Italian poster illustrators are some of the best in the industry. Look out for Brini, Martinati, Ballester and Nistri to name a few.
4-FOGLIO: (QUATTRO) 55 x 79" Very large Italian poster printed in two pieces, often contains very beautiful artwork.
|
| France |
|
FRENCH: 47 x 63" or 24 x 33" French movie posters usually contain beautiful artwork. Look out for Soubie and Grinsson.
|
| German |
|
A1 POSTER: 23 x 33" printed on paper stock.
A0 POSTER: 33 x 46" larger size German poster printed on paper stock.
|
| Belgian |
|
These movie posters measured 24 x 33" before 1939 and are now about 14 x 22". The images are either vertical or horizontal. Often, Belgian movie posters are very colourful and have the title in English, French, and Flemish.
|
| Polish |
|
These movie posters are mostly the same size as the German A1, 23 x 33". As a result of the Soviet Occupation there were paper shortages. Therefore, the movie posters are not uniform in size, paper, or colour. Polish movie posters have very striking artwork often focusing on a film's plot and theme rather than on the main actors or actresses as do the Westernised movie posters.
|
| | | | |
|
|
