Poster
See also : Movies II
1874 Sport, Business and Red Stockings
2014 SOLD 190 K$ including premium
Sport is not only a physical feat. The American baseball blew the barriers between sport and money. The bold pioneer of commercial application in this sport was Harry Wright, who also tried cricket.
In 1869, on the initiative of Wright, the Cincinnati Base Ball Club founded three years earlier became the first team entirely composed of professionals. Another novelty of this team is the use of long red stockings. The club was known colloquially as the Cincinnati Red Stockings.
Harry's younger brother George Wright became the best baseball player of his time. The world of baseball was still to to be built. In 1871, the brothers created a second Red Stockings club in Boston.
Advertising companies are interested in these developments. In 1874 in Boston, the cigar maker Nichols & Macdonald creates a lithographic poster to be used in the tobacco shops. This poster 58 x 68 cm is the earliest American advertising document combining commerce with the image of an athlete.
George holds a bat in closeup. His jersey is marked Boston. Behind him, other sportsmen are playing or waiting on the field. Red Stockings, in large text and symbolically illustrated with a sample of this artefact, has become a brand of cigars.
We now know how deeply the tobacco manufacturers were involved in this sport at the time of the baseball cards. This poster is a far-away and unexpected precursor. The only surviving copy, in good condition, is for sale online from New Jersey on April 26 by Robert Edward Auctions.
The poster is illustrated on the page shared by Paul Fraser.
In 1869, on the initiative of Wright, the Cincinnati Base Ball Club founded three years earlier became the first team entirely composed of professionals. Another novelty of this team is the use of long red stockings. The club was known colloquially as the Cincinnati Red Stockings.
Harry's younger brother George Wright became the best baseball player of his time. The world of baseball was still to to be built. In 1871, the brothers created a second Red Stockings club in Boston.
Advertising companies are interested in these developments. In 1874 in Boston, the cigar maker Nichols & Macdonald creates a lithographic poster to be used in the tobacco shops. This poster 58 x 68 cm is the earliest American advertising document combining commerce with the image of an athlete.
George holds a bat in closeup. His jersey is marked Boston. Behind him, other sportsmen are playing or waiting on the field. Red Stockings, in large text and symbolically illustrated with a sample of this artefact, has become a brand of cigars.
We now know how deeply the tobacco manufacturers were involved in this sport at the time of the baseball cards. This poster is a far-away and unexpected precursor. The only surviving copy, in good condition, is for sale online from New Jersey on April 26 by Robert Edward Auctions.
The poster is illustrated on the page shared by Paul Fraser.
1891 An Invitation to the Moulin Rouge
2014 SOLD for $ 390K including premium
The poster designed in 1891 by Toulouse-Lautrec for the Moulin Rouge is a masterpiece of the illustration for shows and entertainment, anticipating the subtlety of the movie posters of the following century.
Founded two years before, the famous Parisian cabaret wished to display its dynamism. The picture is perfect, with the tall serious guy in the foreground, the cancan dancing girl on the ring and the tight and joyful crowd as backdrop silhouettes.
The actress is named in the title : she is La Goulue. The slumming bourgeois is a local celebrity of Montmartre known by the nickname Valentin le Désossé.
The poster was first edited in large size, 189 x 114 cm in three joined sheets. A highly rare copy of the first version is for sale at Sotheby's in New York on October 30, lot 175 estimated $ 325K.
This advertising image was an immediate success that called for a second version of the same format, also in three sheets. The drawing is unchanged, but an additional text is inserted in the lower part to announce masked balls twice a week.
A copy of that second state, also very rare, has been discussed previously in this column. It was sold for $ 300K including premium by Swann on December 17, 2008.
Founded two years before, the famous Parisian cabaret wished to display its dynamism. The picture is perfect, with the tall serious guy in the foreground, the cancan dancing girl on the ring and the tight and joyful crowd as backdrop silhouettes.
The actress is named in the title : she is La Goulue. The slumming bourgeois is a local celebrity of Montmartre known by the nickname Valentin le Désossé.
The poster was first edited in large size, 189 x 114 cm in three joined sheets. A highly rare copy of the first version is for sale at Sotheby's in New York on October 30, lot 175 estimated $ 325K.
This advertising image was an immediate success that called for a second version of the same format, also in three sheets. The drawing is unchanged, but an additional text is inserted in the lower part to announce masked balls twice a week.
A copy of that second state, also very rare, has been discussed previously in this column. It was sold for $ 300K including premium by Swann on December 17, 2008.
1891 La Goulue and Valentin le Désossé on Stage In New York
2008 SOLD 300 K$ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
The featured lot of the sale of Swann Galleries in New York on December 17 is at number 132 of the catalog.
It is an original example of the most famous and first Lautrec poster, made in 1891 for Moulin Rouge, the renowned Parisian cabaret. The cabaret makes dancing and concert every night, and masked ball on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Such pleasure houses are a tradition in Paris for several decades. There were a wide range of them, some were luxurious, others were dirty.
Toulouse-Lautrec, fan of Parisian life, used the poster as a technique to capture the stars of this underworld. The glory of Aristide Bruant survived until today, that of Yvette Guilbert is outdated and forgotten. Here, our poster introduces La Goulue, a dancer of French can-can. She is represented in dancing action, the right leg thrown to horizontal. We see in the foreground an enigmatic grayish character, stange mixing of serious and underground middleman, who used to be named Valentin le Désossé ("Boneless Valentine"). The artist has signed the poster with his monogram HTLautrec.
It was a large poster (about 2 x 1.2 m),in three sheets, found rarely as full as here and with all its text. This quality makes it estimated by Swann at 250 K $.
POST SALE COMMENT
The exceptional copy presented by Swann sold 250 K $ excl. This price, which is exactly at the low estimate, is an excellent result.
The featured lot of the sale of Swann Galleries in New York on December 17 is at number 132 of the catalog.
It is an original example of the most famous and first Lautrec poster, made in 1891 for Moulin Rouge, the renowned Parisian cabaret. The cabaret makes dancing and concert every night, and masked ball on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Such pleasure houses are a tradition in Paris for several decades. There were a wide range of them, some were luxurious, others were dirty.
Toulouse-Lautrec, fan of Parisian life, used the poster as a technique to capture the stars of this underworld. The glory of Aristide Bruant survived until today, that of Yvette Guilbert is outdated and forgotten. Here, our poster introduces La Goulue, a dancer of French can-can. She is represented in dancing action, the right leg thrown to horizontal. We see in the foreground an enigmatic grayish character, stange mixing of serious and underground middleman, who used to be named Valentin le Désossé ("Boneless Valentine"). The artist has signed the poster with his monogram HTLautrec.
It was a large poster (about 2 x 1.2 m),in three sheets, found rarely as full as here and with all its text. This quality makes it estimated by Swann at 250 K $.
POST SALE COMMENT
The exceptional copy presented by Swann sold 250 K $ excl. This price, which is exactly at the low estimate, is an excellent result.
1925 The Loving Creature
2014 SOLD 203 K$ including premium
Tomorrow July 19 in Dallas, Heritage sells one among four known copies of an original poster for the movie The Phantom of the Opera, in a one sheet format 69 x 104 cm, lot 83322.
This poster once belonged to the same collection as the piece in the same condition sold for $ 155K including premium by Heritage on 7 November 2008. This information is not sufficient to state that it is the same copy, but it is probable.
Here is my 2008 article:
Movie posters are a nice theme for a collection. They often let us go back to films that became unavailable or even lost, and we dive into the atmosphere of another era. Among them, posters for horror or scary movies constitute a specific market that is also not the same as for the posters of magics.
Universal Studios made a specialty of this type of motion pictures by starring Lon Chaney, the actor who raised his own make-up to the rank of art. This lot is an original poster of the 1925 film, from the only type that has shown Lon Chaney in the appearance of the loving ghost. He is under water with a periscope.
This film comes very early in the history of horror movies, and can be considered as legendary. It started a trend that moviegoers will continue to plebiscite during all these difficult years preceding World War II, for their relaxation. The visionary producer who worked these successes for Universal was Carl Laemmle.
I add (in 2014) that such early posters of horror movies offered the general atmosphere without trying to recreate a specific scene. There is no poster on the famous action when the actress removes the mask of the phantom, violently revealing the skull without flesh of the creature. This unexpected and unannounced scene gave the public the extreme thrill that they had expected.
POST SALE COMMENT
It is confirmed as one of the best posters of horror movies: sold for $ 203K including premium.
This poster once belonged to the same collection as the piece in the same condition sold for $ 155K including premium by Heritage on 7 November 2008. This information is not sufficient to state that it is the same copy, but it is probable.
Here is my 2008 article:
Movie posters are a nice theme for a collection. They often let us go back to films that became unavailable or even lost, and we dive into the atmosphere of another era. Among them, posters for horror or scary movies constitute a specific market that is also not the same as for the posters of magics.
Universal Studios made a specialty of this type of motion pictures by starring Lon Chaney, the actor who raised his own make-up to the rank of art. This lot is an original poster of the 1925 film, from the only type that has shown Lon Chaney in the appearance of the loving ghost. He is under water with a periscope.
This film comes very early in the history of horror movies, and can be considered as legendary. It started a trend that moviegoers will continue to plebiscite during all these difficult years preceding World War II, for their relaxation. The visionary producer who worked these successes for Universal was Carl Laemmle.
I add (in 2014) that such early posters of horror movies offered the general atmosphere without trying to recreate a specific scene. There is no poster on the famous action when the actress removes the mask of the phantom, violently revealing the skull without flesh of the creature. This unexpected and unannounced scene gave the public the extreme thrill that they had expected.
POST SALE COMMENT
It is confirmed as one of the best posters of horror movies: sold for $ 203K including premium.
1927 From Metropolis to King Kong
2012 SOLD 1.2 M$
Released in 1927, Metropolis is the last of the great silent films. It inaugurates a narrative genre that will make the glory of cinema. Reminding the importance of that date: the Jazz Singer, which was the first musical film, was released in the same year.
The international poster for Metropolis, designed by Heinz Schulz-Neudamm, has survived in only four copies. In a typical Art Deco perspective, it expresses the power of the robot woman.
One of the four copies was purchased in 2005 in a private sale by a collector for $ 690K. Too ambitious, he was unable to repay a loan.
Nine pieces, movie posters and paintings, among the most important items of his collection are grouped as a single lot, with a starting price of $ 700K covered in advance by a buyer, in a court-ordered sale held on December 13 in Los Angeles by the United States Bankruptcy Court. Due to this unusual procedure for a sale of art, I will not catch the final result unless it is released to the press.
The poster for Metropolis is illustrated in the article by Hollywood Reporter.
The market for old movie posters at auction is flourishing. I will not mention all the nine pieces to be sold by the court, but another one is worth to be mentioned: a 1933 three sheet poster of King Kong.
Defined by the same summarized description, another King Kong original poster was sold for $ 390K including premium by Heritage just one week ago on a lower estimate of $ 80K. I have no way of knowing if it is the same version and the same size as the bankrupted poster. The Heritage copy measured 1 x 2 m.
POST SALE COMMENT
This lot was sold for $ 1.2 M. The Notice of sale indicated that the additional expense would not exceed $ 10K.
The poster for Metropolis is the star of this lot and it is legitimate to consider that the success of this sale is due to it for a very high proportion.
The international poster for Metropolis, designed by Heinz Schulz-Neudamm, has survived in only four copies. In a typical Art Deco perspective, it expresses the power of the robot woman.
One of the four copies was purchased in 2005 in a private sale by a collector for $ 690K. Too ambitious, he was unable to repay a loan.
Nine pieces, movie posters and paintings, among the most important items of his collection are grouped as a single lot, with a starting price of $ 700K covered in advance by a buyer, in a court-ordered sale held on December 13 in Los Angeles by the United States Bankruptcy Court. Due to this unusual procedure for a sale of art, I will not catch the final result unless it is released to the press.
The poster for Metropolis is illustrated in the article by Hollywood Reporter.
The market for old movie posters at auction is flourishing. I will not mention all the nine pieces to be sold by the court, but another one is worth to be mentioned: a 1933 three sheet poster of King Kong.
Defined by the same summarized description, another King Kong original poster was sold for $ 390K including premium by Heritage just one week ago on a lower estimate of $ 80K. I have no way of knowing if it is the same version and the same size as the bankrupted poster. The Heritage copy measured 1 x 2 m.
POST SALE COMMENT
This lot was sold for $ 1.2 M. The Notice of sale indicated that the additional expense would not exceed $ 10K.
The poster for Metropolis is the star of this lot and it is legitimate to consider that the success of this sale is due to it for a very high proportion.
1931 The Gaze of Dracula
2017 SOLD for $ 525K including premium
A stage actor in Broadway with a limited cinema experience, Bela Lugosi finds in 1927 the role that suits his atypical personality matching his origin in current day western Romania : Dracula. He displays a terrifying performance with his hypnotizing gaze, his extended arms and his long fingers that are easy to make crooked. He does not even need a make up.
His success on stage helps him to obtain in 1931 the title role of the Dracula film presented by Carl Laemmle for Universal Pictures. Sound movie is still in an early phase. Lugosi's loud voice with a terrible Eastern European accent was undoubtedly important for the attribution of the role to him.
Posters had then a growing place in movie marketing. Four single-sheet types identified retroactively as Styles A, B, C, and F are printed for Dracula's first release. The images are very different from each other. A poster of the Style F terror scene was sold for $ 310K including premium by Heritage in March 2009. This type is known in three copies.
Style A is a close-up portrait of Lugosi. All the fascination is in the eyes. This beautiful image 68 x 104 cm without fantastic element might not have all the features to appeal the public. It is known in only two copies. One of them recently discovered is estimated $ 150K by Heritage in Dallas on November 18, lot 86267. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
Universal's horror films were highly successful in 1931. A three-leaf poster for their Frankenstein was sold for $ 360K including premium by Heritage on March 28, 2015.
His success on stage helps him to obtain in 1931 the title role of the Dracula film presented by Carl Laemmle for Universal Pictures. Sound movie is still in an early phase. Lugosi's loud voice with a terrible Eastern European accent was undoubtedly important for the attribution of the role to him.
Posters had then a growing place in movie marketing. Four single-sheet types identified retroactively as Styles A, B, C, and F are printed for Dracula's first release. The images are very different from each other. A poster of the Style F terror scene was sold for $ 310K including premium by Heritage in March 2009. This type is known in three copies.
Style A is a close-up portrait of Lugosi. All the fascination is in the eyes. This beautiful image 68 x 104 cm without fantastic element might not have all the features to appeal the public. It is known in only two copies. One of them recently discovered is estimated $ 150K by Heritage in Dallas on November 18, lot 86267. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
Universal's horror films were highly successful in 1931. A three-leaf poster for their Frankenstein was sold for $ 360K including premium by Heritage on March 28, 2015.
1931 Frankenstein trimmed in its own Success
2015 SOLD for $ 360K including premium
Since 1923, Universal Pictures produced the best horror movies of classic cinema. The main producer Carl Laemmle Jr. gradually assimilated the public's expectations toward this new art.
The masterpiece of the genre is Frankenstein, released in 1931, which offers all the features of this theme: a powerful and stupid but sentimental monster, a charming actress entered into his possession, a mad scientist in an odd lab.
Universal are also the distributors of their films. The level of attendance depends on the attractive force of the message offered outside the theater. The movie poster becomes an art in its own right with its shocking images that are more or less related to the plot of the film. When the theater's program changes, the poster is destroyed or kept without care waiting for a possible replay of the film.
It was a long time before the artistic qualities of these posters went to be recognized. The surviving posters of the best horror movies have become extremely rare.
On March 28 in Dallas, Heritage sells a poster printed for the release of Frankenstein. This is one of the two known versions of the three-leaf format 104 x 200 cm, and the only surviving copy of its style. It is in used condition, including trimmed edges. This piece is estimated over $ 100K, lot 86187.
Today all the glory of this film focuses on the monster played by Boris Karloff. It is interesting to note that at the debut the actors announced in larger letters were not Karloff but Colin Clive who played Frankenstein and the very young Mae Clarke who is nicely swooning on the poster.
The masterpiece of the genre is Frankenstein, released in 1931, which offers all the features of this theme: a powerful and stupid but sentimental monster, a charming actress entered into his possession, a mad scientist in an odd lab.
Universal are also the distributors of their films. The level of attendance depends on the attractive force of the message offered outside the theater. The movie poster becomes an art in its own right with its shocking images that are more or less related to the plot of the film. When the theater's program changes, the poster is destroyed or kept without care waiting for a possible replay of the film.
It was a long time before the artistic qualities of these posters went to be recognized. The surviving posters of the best horror movies have become extremely rare.
On March 28 in Dallas, Heritage sells a poster printed for the release of Frankenstein. This is one of the two known versions of the three-leaf format 104 x 200 cm, and the only surviving copy of its style. It is in used condition, including trimmed edges. This piece is estimated over $ 100K, lot 86187.
Today all the glory of this film focuses on the monster played by Boris Karloff. It is interesting to note that at the debut the actors announced in larger letters were not Karloff but Colin Clive who played Frankenstein and the very young Mae Clarke who is nicely swooning on the poster.
1933 Come and See the Invisible Man !
2010 SOLD 236 K$ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
The themes of the films produced by Carl Laemmle for Universal were an opportunity to diversify the special effects such as to frighten an audience which asked and paid for that! It was logical that the Invisible Man, as initiated in the novel by HG Wells, joins Dracula and Frankenstein in the list of his successes.
The film and the poster were released in 1933. A copy of this very rare poster is for sale on December 17 in Beverly Hills by Profiles in History. It is visible on the catalog shared by the auction house and by the online auction site iCollector.
This is a single sheet model, whose online catalog unfortunately fails to indicate the dimensions. A quick search through Google Images enabled me to locate another copy of totally identical picture and proportions measuring approximately 70 x 100 cm. If you wish more information, please contact the auction house.
In very fine condition with normal foldlines, this lot is estimated $ 200K.
POST SALE COMMENT
The poster was sold for $ 200K before fees. Including the premium, the price is 236K.
For such a piece which was not unique, this price is outstanding.
The themes of the films produced by Carl Laemmle for Universal were an opportunity to diversify the special effects such as to frighten an audience which asked and paid for that! It was logical that the Invisible Man, as initiated in the novel by HG Wells, joins Dracula and Frankenstein in the list of his successes.
The film and the poster were released in 1933. A copy of this very rare poster is for sale on December 17 in Beverly Hills by Profiles in History. It is visible on the catalog shared by the auction house and by the online auction site iCollector.
This is a single sheet model, whose online catalog unfortunately fails to indicate the dimensions. A quick search through Google Images enabled me to locate another copy of totally identical picture and proportions measuring approximately 70 x 100 cm. If you wish more information, please contact the auction house.
In very fine condition with normal foldlines, this lot is estimated $ 200K.
POST SALE COMMENT
The poster was sold for $ 200K before fees. Including the premium, the price is 236K.
For such a piece which was not unique, this price is outstanding.
1934 Poster for Dream and Nightmare
2009 SOLD 335 K$ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
Start with the nightmare. In 1934, Universal Studios already accumulated more than ten years of success in horror movies. The originality of that year is to highlight two star actors, Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff, in a film that was titled "The Black Cat".
And now the dream (of any collector): the poster of this film for sale by Heritage Auctions in Dallas on November 13was a model not listed so far, and it is in excellent condition (near mint +) .
The black cat, whose eyes and whiskers shine, is walking between the faces of the two actors. The design is beautiful and expressive, typical of that period. This sheet about 70 x 100 cm is immaculate, without even the trace of a pinhole.
It comes from a prestigious collection, the same as The Mummy (1932), sold 453 K$ including premium by the same auction house in 1997. For the Black Cat, Heritage is taking little risk in announcing an estimate of 250 K$. It is well known that the rarest pieces in perfect condition can expect that price.
The image of that lot is shared by Antique News.
POST SALE COMMENT
The sale is successful for this exceptional poster: 335 K $ including premium.
Start with the nightmare. In 1934, Universal Studios already accumulated more than ten years of success in horror movies. The originality of that year is to highlight two star actors, Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff, in a film that was titled "The Black Cat".
And now the dream (of any collector): the poster of this film for sale by Heritage Auctions in Dallas on November 13was a model not listed so far, and it is in excellent condition (near mint +) .
The black cat, whose eyes and whiskers shine, is walking between the faces of the two actors. The design is beautiful and expressive, typical of that period. This sheet about 70 x 100 cm is immaculate, without even the trace of a pinhole.
It comes from a prestigious collection, the same as The Mummy (1932), sold 453 K$ including premium by the same auction house in 1997. For the Black Cat, Heritage is taking little risk in announcing an estimate of 250 K$. It is well known that the rarest pieces in perfect condition can expect that price.
The image of that lot is shared by Antique News.
POST SALE COMMENT
The sale is successful for this exceptional poster: 335 K $ including premium.
1946 Italian Realism for Casablanca
2017 SOLD for $ 480K including premium
After the war, the Italian illustrator Luigi Martinati and his associates Ballester and Capitani specialize in the design of posters for American films in an original art that does not copy the American posters.
Although such works are ephemeral by nature, Martinati creates posters of high quality. He shows the stars in close-up with an expressive realism. Moviegoers appreciate this believable truth without complacency that does not erase the imperfections of the faces and the dark circles under the eyes.
Released in 1942 in the United States, Casablanca produced by Warner Bros. meets the new expectations of the public by mixing suspense and emotion within a contemporary story. Spectators recognize their own hopes and uncertainties in the starring couple played by Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman.
Casablanca is finally released in Italy in 1946. The numerous posters realized by Martinati for this movie are considered as his masterpieces. On July 29 in Dallas, Heritage sells a poster on linen of large format 140 x 200 cm 4-fogli in fine to very fine condition which is the only known copy in its variant. It is estimated in excess of $ 180K, lot 86354.
Although such works are ephemeral by nature, Martinati creates posters of high quality. He shows the stars in close-up with an expressive realism. Moviegoers appreciate this believable truth without complacency that does not erase the imperfections of the faces and the dark circles under the eyes.
Released in 1942 in the United States, Casablanca produced by Warner Bros. meets the new expectations of the public by mixing suspense and emotion within a contemporary story. Spectators recognize their own hopes and uncertainties in the starring couple played by Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman.
Casablanca is finally released in Italy in 1946. The numerous posters realized by Martinati for this movie are considered as his masterpieces. On July 29 in Dallas, Heritage sells a poster on linen of large format 140 x 200 cm 4-fogli in fine to very fine condition which is the only known copy in its variant. It is estimated in excess of $ 180K, lot 86354.
