Movie posters have a long history, as does collecting movie posters. The earliest cinema posters are credited to artist Jules Cheret, who produced two of them in the 1890s. Movies had developed into a significant kind of popular entertainment by the end of the first decade of the twentieth century. Around this time, the movie poster would standardise on a size known as the “one sheet,” which was 27″ x 41″.
The absence of actors’ names on the posters in the beginning was preferred by the film studios since it meant that they would get a lower salary. Nonetheless, it was at this early stage of the history of cinema that film companies discovered movie stars were just as appealing to moviegoers as the actual film. As a result, the movie star was created, and movie posters started including performers’ names in addition to the film’s title.
Movie companies engaged skilled painters to create portraits of the stars for posters in the 1920s, the heyday of silent cinema, as movie posters got increasingly creative and spectacular. At the end of the 1920s, movie posters had clearer pictures thanks to a new printing technique created by the Morgan Litho Company.
Another kind of movie poster was developed in the 1930s, a period commonly referred as in the film business as “The Golden Age of Cinema,” the half sheet. Big motion pictures sometimes received more than the two styles. Yet, because of the Great Depression, many cinema-related items were produced more inexpensively, which reduced the quality of movie posters.
Several cinema stars left for the war when World War II broke out in 1941, and at that time, war was a big topic in movies. Due to the wartime paper scarcity, the cinema business reduced advertising expenses and utilised less expensive paper for posters.
Movie posters began to incorporate photography in the 1970s, with sporadic usage of sketching and painting techniques. Movie posters from this era had a glossy sheen because they were produced on clay-coated paper. The most popular posters at the time were Star Wars and Star Trek, and many people still own them.
The tiny sheet was developed in the 1980s, the decade of the special effects blockbuster, and video shops gained popularity, leading to the development of the video store poster. Reprints of movie posters are now widely distributed and easily accessible online or at numerous retail outlets. Movie posters come in a variety of styles. The passionate movie poster collector has focused on movie posters or theatrical art because of their scarcity. These are the movie theatres’ delivery and display posters, which are thereafter meant to be discarded. The commercial poster is a different kind of movie poster that is mass-produced for retail sale to the general public. Distribution of video posters as promotional materials for video rental shops. TV stations employ cable and TV posters as marketing collateral for their programmes. Similar to theatrical art, video, cable, and TV posters are not made for the general public. These kinds of posters are still popular among collectors even if they are not as expensive as theatrical art. A movie and a product are both promoted on special posters. Lastly, limited-edition publications such as anniversary issues and special releases are becoming more and more popular among collectors of theatrical art. Advance posters, which advertise a film far in advance of its debut, are another kind of movie posters. The Oscar-winning film’s poster, which announces its victory. The combination poster promotes two films rather than simply one. The common double-sided poster featuring artwork on both sides, one of which has the artwork inverted. There are featurette posters that spotlight short films or cartoons, review posters that are shown when a film receives a favourable review, serial posters that are displayed during movie serials, and special distribution posters.
The need for different poster sizes has increased along with the popularity of movie posters. The one sheet, which is typically 27″ x 41,” is the original and most popular kind of poster. The subway, often referred to as the two sheet, is bigger than the one sheet but not quite twice as big. The dimensions of the 3 sheet, which is 41″ x 81,” is three times that of the 1 sheet. The one sheet is 81″ by 81″ and the six sheet is six times that size. Moreover, there is a 24 sheet that is enormous in size, spanning 246″ by 108,” and a 12 sheet that is almost twelve times the size of a one sheet. Additional sizes include the stock sheet used for cartoons or other short films, which is often considerably smaller than the one sheet and is available in a number of sizes.
When determining a poster’s worth, like with other collectibles, condition is an important consideration. Demand, rarity, and condition all have a role in a movie poster’s price. The same grading scale used by comic book collectors is utilised by poster collectors: mint (perfect), near mint, very good, good, fair, and bad.
You must be knowledgeable about caring after your movie poster art if you want to be a serious movie poster collector.
How to keep movie posters’ full collectible value
Never change a poster’s look. Even while hanging it on the wall, avoid folding, bending, tearing, or punching holes in it.
Avoid putting a movie poster in the sun’s direct rays. UV lighting may also be dangerous.
Never write anything on your poster, not on the back. Sometimes, marks on the back are visible from the other side, diminishing the value of the poster.
Never use tape to fix rips on the front of a poster. If you do use tape, make sure it’s acid-free tape from an art supply store and stick it to the back. Send costly movie art to an expert for restoration. a a.,……
Use sturdy poster tubes or bubble envelopes for sending posters.
Put the poster in a frame, a plastic bag, or a tube for long-term storage, and store it somewhere cold and dry.
Choose an acid-free backing board when framing a poster and avoid dry mounting it.
Start your collection now that you are more knowledgeable about movie posters and movie poster collecting! For more details John Wick: Chapter 4 movie
