An example of a Rowland & Marsellus Co. Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition commemorative blue transferware plate, ca. 1909. The exposition was held in Seattle in 1909 and the face decoration depicts various Seattle and area landmarks.

From lovely plates and delicate pitchers to decorative trinket boxes and figural animals, souvenir pottery was proudly displayed in American homes for decades.

Today, many of the more interesting pieces—such as a plate honoring the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition or a ceramic dog labeled Wheatland, Wyoming—are the subject of renewed interest among the current generation of collectors.

America’s “golden age” of souvenir pottery began in the 1890s and extended through the 1930s. While numerous items were also produced in the years that followed, production costs and public demand generally reversed positions.

Ironically, the country’s first true romance with souvenir pottery was not linked to tourism but rather the simple appeal of interesting scenes. Early in the 19th century, England’s Josiah Wedgwood was successfully producing wares for the American market which depicted scenes of the Revolutionary war and historical sites.

By the 1820s, the entire Staffordshire pottery district of England was busy applying European and American scenes, or “views,” to their distinctive pottery. Blue-and-white transfers produced striking images for buyers who would not likely visit the actual sites themselves.

You don’t have to guess where this commemorative place hails from.

Landscapes and modes of transportation were sometimes featured, but a major focus was on specific buildings and other structures of note. Typically, such views appeared on plates or serving dishes, but they could also be found on mugs, spittoons, pitchers, creamers, trinket boxes and even chamber pots.

Most images were of a deep blue at first (in the earlier 1820s), but gradually, new and improved light blues were used over the next two decades. Still later, in the second half of the 19th century, potters were able to add multiple colors to a basic transfer for an even more striking image.

By the 1850s, such unique souvenir pottery was being proudly displayed in the homes of America’s more affluent people. The range of selected topics varied widely from the harbor of New York City to the hamlet of Vevay, Indiana. The scene of the “town” of Pittsburgh could be found along side another which highlighted the Deaf and Dumb Asylum of Hartford, Conn.

For some educated Americans, it might be relatively easy to recognize buildings of New York’s Crystal Palace if not, perhaps, the Mormon Temple at Nauvoo, Ill. However, for the makers of such pottery in England, it could be much more of a problem.

A souvenir teacup & saucer depicting the Mt. Washington Cog Railway of New Hampshire. Multicolored transfer on both pieces, gold trim. Marked "Jonroth English Bone China.”

“If most (souvenir pottery) were copied from paintings or from portfolios of prints, all were equally strange to the Staffordshire potter,” noted Los Angeles County Museum curator Gregory Wilcox in “The Concise Encyclopedia of American Antiques.” The potter, therefore, could be forgiven, “if sometimes he mixed the tiles printed on his views.”

One of the first major connections between souvenir pottery and a specific event came with the
U.S. Centennial celebration of 1876 in Philadelphia. A number of that city’s own buildings appeared on items distributed to those who attended the event, including Independence Hall.

Those pottery souvenirs with historical views were particularly popular that special event. “Mementos of colonial and revolutionary days were discovered as if seen for the first time at the Centennial Exhibition . . . by people in great numbers,” Wilcox wrote.

By the time the Columbian Exposition arrived in 1893, Americans were totally fascinated with all manner of illustrated souvenir pottery. That same year the Jones, McDuffee, and Stratton Importing Company of Boston contracted the ever familiar Wedgwood company to produce a series of plates with scenes from the Boston area. In the years that followed, the Boston company would commission more than 300 different “views” on souvenir plates.

Of course, Wedgwood produced a vast number of other scenic plates with American locations in the late 19th century. Souvenir plates and similar pottery also came from the Williams Adams Company, Frank Beardmore and Company, British Anchor Pottery Company, W.T. Copeland and Sons, Royal Doulton, Edwin Knowles China, D.E. McNicol Pottery, Royal Staffordshire Pottery, F. Winkle Company, and many others.

Major events of the new 20th century, including the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis, naturally lent themselves to great assortments of souvenir pottery. One of the most popular items at that St. Louis event was a simple souvenir cup and saucer.

An art pottery Scotty dog figure, with a souvenir promotion for Greensboro N.C. around the center area, circa 1940s.

A few years later, visitors to the nation’s capitol in Washington could find a presidential platter which featured the White House and 10 presidents, including William McKinley. On the reverse the platter was marked La Francaise Porcelain.

Elsewhere in the country during the early 1900s items were as diverse as a pottery Old Oaken Bucket in Scituate, Maine, or a Mayflower Arriving advertising tile for a Boston company celebrating its 100th birthday, which sold more than 12,000 copies.

A good example of the diversity of such souvenir pottery early in the 20th century came from an eastern newspaper advertisement. It offered a full line of souvenirs including, “toothpick holders, pin trays, ashtrays, vases, baskets, cups, saucers, creamers and boxes.” All items were 25 cents each.

By the 1920s “patriotic and preservation groups were restoring and maintaining historic sites” throughout the United States, according to Arene Burgess’s book, “A Collector’s Guide to Souvenir Plates.” “The souvenir stand became an intrinsic part of almost every tourist attraction,” she wrote

A souvenir pitcher from “Lincoln's Birthplace Kentucky.” The pitcher is 3 inches high and marked “PCA, Hand crafted, made in USA” on bottom.

During the Roaring Twenties and the decade that followed, travelers could find a blue-and-white plate with floral border promoting Mechanic Island or something depicting the Women’s League Building at the University of Michigan. They could pick-up a pitcher depicting the fabled House of Seven Gables or a clearly marked ashtray from Moose Jaw in Canada.

The 1939 World’s Fair in New York City was the site of an amazing array of souvenir pottery, ranging from various sized teapots and pitchers to hand-painted plates depicting the skyline of the Big Apple.

Certainly a great deal of souvenir pottery was produced in later years, especially plates which could be proudly propped up on cupboard shelves or hung on dining room walls. However the variety and quality seldom rivaled that which had been produced in such great numbers during its golden age.

Today souvenir pottery in unique forms such as animal figurals and structures are highly prized, along with images of buildings and other constructions which may no longer exists.

Recommended reading: “Collector’s Guide to Souvenir China,” by Laurence Williams (Schiffer Publishing) and “A Collector’s Guide to Souvenir Plates,” by Arene Burgess (Schiffer Publishing).

— by Robert Reed

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On Jan. 20, Warlick’s forecast—as well as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s dream of racial unity and reconciliation—will come to fruition as the inauguration of America’s first president of African-American descent is held on the Capitol steps before the eyes of the world. Obama’s unprecedented presidency will resonate throughout history, and undoubtedly, the material evidence of his victory, swearing-in and presidency will be treasured for generations to come.

As the owner, producer and curator of the American Presidential Experience’s InauguralFest and with his store, Political Americana, located literally just down the street from the White House, rest assured that Warlick will be at the center of Tuesday’s events (and the inevitable flood of “Obamabilia”) as an estimated crowd of two to five million will be in Washington, D.C., as Obama takes the oath of office.

Crystal paperweight with 2009 inaugural seal

Presidential memorabilia, like many collectibles, can serve as social barometers and indicators of an ongoing narrative describing the times we lived in, are living in and will live in as the future approaches. It is little wonder, then, that “Obamabilia” speaks to messages of hope and change in a dark economic and geopolitical climate.

Jim Warlick’s work in the political-collectibles field as a retailer and an acknowledged authority has helped to preserve this ongoing narrative. From saving campaign literature in childhood to selling buttons at the 1980 Democratic National Convention and on through the opening of his Political Americana store, Warlick’s involvement with political collecting has been lifelong. He has parlayed his keen understanding of the presidency’s significance into a success measured more in the preservation of America’s political heritage and the extension of the presidential experience to everyday Americans than in sales or personal gratification.

Autographed Obama picture

“I’ve always been a student of American political history,” says Warlick. “Being a part of political campaigns and collecting early American political memorabilia, I’ve learned more about American history than I ever did in school. Collecting and documenting political memorabilia is a great way to preserve American history for future generations to share and learn from.”

Those visiting D.C. next week will have an opportunity to share in Warlick’s passion as part of the larger festivities that will be occurring throughout the nation’s capital not only at his Political Americana and five official souvenir store locations selling inauguration memorabilia, but also at the American Presidential Experience’s InauguralFest. As did visitors to the American Presidential Experience in Denver last August during the Democratic National Convention, those attending InauguralFest will get a hands-on look at three centuries worth of presidential memorabilia and collectibles including scale-model replicas of Air Force One and the Oval Office.

A John-John pose in the Oval Office replica

From an exhibit of First Ladies’ gowns to one of the infamous Florida voting machines that introduced the phrase “hanging chads” to the world, the range of exhibits that Warlick has curated tells not only the story of the American presidency but also of the nation itself—a story that will reach one of its defining climaxes as the son of a white Kansas woman and a black Kenyan man accedes to the most powerful office in the world.

First Ladies' gowns

It is a historic moment in American history, and Jim Warlick will be there as it happens to collect, identify and share the significant artifacts that will capture the spirit of this turning point in our national, cultural and social narrative.

The American Presidential Experience’s InauguralFest is located at the old Washington Convention Site at 1001 H. St. NW Washington, DC (Metro Center subway stop). It is open every day from 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Jan. 16 through Jan. 23 and from 9 a.m.-5.p.m. Jan. 24. For tickets and further information, visit the InauguralFest Web site.

The Political Americana store is located at 1331 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20004. Four other locations selling official inauguration memorabilia are in Washington, Virginia and Maryland. Visit www.officialsouvenirs.com, www.politicalamericana.com , email info [at] officialsouvenirs [dot] com, or call 202-737-7730 for more information.

Other articles about Jim Warlick and political collectibles:

Jim’s WorthPoint Worthologist profile

Jim’s WorthPoint blogs

Warlick profile by Mark Jaffe

Top Obama collectibles

The American Presidential Experience

WorthPoint at the American Presidential Experience (video)

Jim Warlick’s Political Americana (video)

WorthPoint—Get the Most from Your Antiques & Collectibles

It’s an extraordinary moment that stamps an exclamation point on hundreds of years of shameful history. Slavery. Jim Crow laws that segregated buses, restaurants and restrooms. Separate-but-not-equal schools. Restricted civil rights and liberties. All of which served to make blacks second-class citizens.

It took decades upon decades of sacrifice and sit-ins, lawsuits and lynchings before President Lyndon Baines Johnson signed into law the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. And one man who championed the movement and gave his life to it was the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

Collectibles and memorabilia shed light on an era

Collecting artifacts and memorabilia from the Civil Rights era helps preserve and contextualize both the facts and the emotions of this complicated time. Few commercial dealers have tackled the topic like Syl Turner, owner of the Broad Street Antique Mall in Chamblee, Ga.

Syl Turner

For two decades, Turner has maintained one of the nation’s largest commercial inventories of Black Americana collectibles. Online, Turner also operates the BlackHistoryStore.com and offers items on GoAntiques.

He has several King-related historical items on GoAntiques in the weeks leading up to the MLK holiday.

Interest in Black Americana grows

Turner said interest in King collectibles spikes around the holiday. But King collectibles—and Black Americana generally—have been steadily growing in importance and price. The holiday and the Obama inauguration draw extra attention to what’s available, but it’s a category that has transcended any particular event, he said.

“I see a little spike in activity around the King birthday, but that’s about it,” Turner said. “The additional interest actually continues through February because that’s Black History Month.”

The slain civil-rights leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate was born Jan. 15, 1929, but a national holiday and day of service honoring him is on the third Monday in January. It was observed for the first time on Jan. 20, 1986. Speaking of the importance of service, Dr. King said, “If you want to be important— wonderful. If you want to be recognized—wonderful. If you want to be great—wonderful. But, recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. That’s a new definition of greatness.”

King collectibles are difficult to come by even though he was a prolific writer, Turner said, because his widow, Coretta Scott King, and others “exerted direct control” over most of his documents.

Most King documents in institutions

More than two years after Mrs. King’s death, most of the large collections of King documents and personal effects are in institutional collections.

In 2006, Morehouse College—King’s alma mater—acquired 10,000 items from the King family for an undisclosed sum raised with the help of a private coalition of business and civic leaders. Sotheby’s, which had announced an auction date for the collection, estimated it would command up to $30 million.

The collection includes items ranging from canceled checks, to a term paper King wrote as a student at Morehouse, to a draft of his most famous speech, “I Have a Dream,” delivered at the 1963 March on Washington.

Anti-Vietnam speech outline withdrawn from auction

In December 2008, the King Center in Atlanta prevailed upon Sotheby’s to withdraw from auction three important King documents that singer Harry Belafonte sought to sell. Valued up to $1.3 million, they included an outline of King’s first speech opposing the Vietnam War and notes found in his pocket following his assassination.

“There’s not much out there for the average collector,” Turner said. “A handwritten letter is very difficult to find because most are in the hands of institutions.”

More commonly available are collectibles related to significant events in King’s life and items related to his family. Recently, Turner sold a 12-page program of installation services of King as Pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Ala., on Oct. 31, 1954. The church was the headquarters of the Montgomery bus boycott that propelled King into the national spotlight. The program was in excellent condition and commanded $3,500.

Turner has acquired several other examples of King-related items, often from parishioners at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta where King was co-pastor with his father.

For example, Turner is offering a rare eight-page Ebenezer Baptist Church bulletin dated June 30, 1974. During that service, King’s mother, Mrs. Alberta King, was shot and killed at the organ console by a deranged gunman as worshippers recited the Lord’s Prayer. Her husband, Martin Luther King Sr., was the pastor. The program has handwritten eyewitness notes of the murder, including the comment, “Worship began on Earth; completed in Heaven.”

Ebenezer Baptist Church program

Inside program

Another collectible related to King’s parents is a 1984 funeral program for Martin Luther King Sr. listed in near-mint condition. “It was in a lady’s Bible and looks like it came right off the press,” Turner said.

MLK Sr.'s funeral program

One of the larger collectibles is a limited-edition poster commemorating King’s life by artist Edie B. Eisenberg. The 40-by-30-inch poster is designed as an American flag and features famous King quotes. It is listed in excellent condition. “I don’t think it was ever circulated,”

Memorial flag poster

Also rare and unusual is a 20-page program for the Coretta Scott King Freedom Concert Program on May 23, 1965. The concert was presented by the Philadelphia Beauticians’ Association at the First African Baptist Church in Philadelphia.

Freedom concert program

Turner isn’t the only GoAntiques dealer with MLK collectibles available this month.

Alan Radwill of Guaranteed Autographs is offering an autographed copy of Dr. King’s 1964 book, “Why We Can’t Wait.” He used a fountain pen with blue ink to sign the title page.

"Why We Can't Wait"

Autographed page

Antique Goodies of New Zealand has a Martin Luther King, Negro Funeral Home advertising fan. Advertising fans were often distributed at funerals as a way to stave off the heat.

Funeral fan

Lake Murray Treasures has a gold-tone, filigree-metal double picture frame. On one side is a photo of Martin Luther and Coretta Scott King, on the other Robert Kennedy. Between them is an electric clock.

Clock

If you are interested in viewing Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, click here for a 17-minute video that includes it, or click here for a video with only the speech.

WorthPoint—Get the Most from Your Antiques & Collectibles

Hand drawn movie posters

By Allan Maurer

The magazine Architectural Digest has an interesting piece about the hand-drawn chalk and paint movie posters by staff artists Charles Reese Collier and Sid Smith for Loew’s Grand Theatre on Peachtree Street in Atlanta.

Lowe’s, which showed primarily MGM films, hosted one of grandest premieres in movie history, that of “Gone With the Wind,” on Dec. 15, 1939. With the theatre exterior transformed into a replica of Ashley Wilkes’ Twelve Oaks Plantation, 30,000 Atlanta citizens greeted star including Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable, Leslie Howard and others.

Herb Bridges, who collects memorabilia associated with both the book and the film, one day received a call from the owner of about 70 of the original handmade Lowe’s movie posters, which had been in storage for more than 60 years.

The collection include posters from “Lady of Burlesque,” the 1943 film based on stripper Gypsy Rose Lee’s novel, “G-String Murders,” from “The Outlaw,” the notorious Howard Hughes-produced western introducing Jane Russell and her equally notorious bosom, and from “The Yearling,” among others.

For art from the collection see, click here.

Experts Say James Bond Memorabilia Value is Rising

By Allan Maurer

Reuters reports that the value of James Bond memorabilia has “shot up.”

“There is a high level of collector interest in original Bond movie posters,” Astrid Zweynert writes.

While posters from the first James Bond film sold for around $100 British pounds ($164.47) a decade ago, now they sell for as much as 7,500 pounds (a whopping $12,336.76).

You can read the report here here.

If you are a collector of circus posters, like this 1922 Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey poster of a clown in white make-up, you'll want to be able to tell the authentic article from the reproductions.

So you’ve just found the most amazing circus poster online and want to bid on it. Or maybe you are thinking about buying one at an antique mall. How do you know it is real? Could it be a reproduction? You aren’t sure. What can you do?

Size is the first clue about whether or not a poster is original. The majority of collectible posters are one-sheet (28 inches by 42 inches) or half-sheet. But posters also came in larger sizes — three-sheet, six-sheet, nine-sheet, 16-sheet, 20-sheet, 28-sheet and many other sizes. One of the largest ever produced was for Buffalo Bill’s Wild West, a gigantic 108-sheet billboard.

The circus poster reproductions seen most often are the six printed in 1960 by Circus World Museum in Baraboo, Wisconsin and the vast assortment printed by Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey beginning in the early 1970s and continuing through the early 1980s. Those are the ones we will concentrate on in this article. Some of those posters are shown above.

Al G. Barnes Circus Tiger Riding Elephant

Circus World Museum posters

The posters printed by Circus World Museum measure 13 ¼ inches by 19 inches each. If they haven’t been altered it’s easy to identify them because in the lower left border it says “Copyright 1960 Circus World Museum.” But I have seen these in antique shows with that line trimmed off and being passed off as original. Sometimes they are neatly framed and matted. The posters were originally sold as a set in a folder that said “Old Time Circus Posters – Six Colorful, Authentic Reproductions – Each Resplendent and Spectacular Reproduction is an Eye Feast of Beauty That Captures All the Unparalleled Magnificence of the Original Poster.” The titles and images of the six posters are:

Ringling Bros. – Army of 50 Clowns
Barnum & Bailey – Peerless Prodigies of Physical Phenomena . . .
Barnum & Bailey – The Meers Sisters
Al G. Barnes Circus – Tiger riding on an elephant
Adam Forepaugh & Sells Bros. – Automobile Double Forward Somersault
Forepaugh & Sells Brothers – Hippopotamus & Rhinoceros

Ringling Bros. – Army of 50 Clowns

Barnum & Bailey – Peerless Prodigies ...

Barnum & Bailey – The Meers Sisters

Adam Forepaugh & Sells Bros. – Automobile

Forepaugh & Sells Brothers – Hippo & Rhino

Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey posters

In the early 1970s Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey began reproducing many of their historic posters. They were advertised as “The Only Antique Posters Authorized by The Greatest Show On Earth.” These reproductions were sold at the concessions stands on the traveling shows and by mail as advertised in the souvenir program book. They were also sold in the gift shops at their theme park, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus World, which opened in 1974 in central Florida near Disney World.

Beginning with the 100th Anniversary Program in 1970, some of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey programs had poster reproductions inserted in the program book. These varied in size, but were about 16 inches by 20 inches. It’s easy to identify them because they were folded in quarters and have staple holes where they were inserted into the program. They continued this for several years.

In 1970 the 100th Edition of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey souvenir program advertised a set of four posters measuring 26 inches x 17 inches for $3.98 per set. Those posters were:

Barnum & Bailey – Tiger Head – Blue Background
Barnum & Bailey – 1000 Skits by 50 Original Clowns
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey – Giraffe Neck Women from Burma
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey – Dainty Miss Leitzel

Barnum & Bailey – Tiger Head, Blue Background	Barnum & Bailey – 1000 Skits by 50 Original Clowns
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey – Giraffe Neck Women	Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey – Dainty Miss Leitzel

Individual Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey posters

Starting in 1971 individual posters could be ordered from the souvenir program book. They were advertised as approximately 24 inches by 17 inches. All of these posters had an order number printed in the lower corner which begins with the letter “P.” Here’s a list of these posters:

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey – Chariot Races, Blue Background

1897 – Ringling Bros., Three Famous Aerial Artists

P-103 – 1935 – Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey – Chariot Races – Blue Background
P-104 – 1897 – Ringling Bros. – Three Famous Aerial Artists
P-105 – 1904 – Barnum & Bailey – The Great Florenz Troupe
P-109 – 1921 – Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey – Polar Bear – Red Background
P-113 – 1938 – Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey – Gargantua the Great
P-114 – 1938 – Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey – Terrell Jacobs & Lions
P-116 – 1888 – Ringling Bros. – Portraits of the five brothers
P-117 – 1927 – Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey – May Wirth
P-118 – 1933 – Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey – Felix and 99 other Famous Clowns
P-123 – 1904 – Barnum & Bailey – Blue Ribbon Winners – High Jumpers
P-125 – 1917 – Barnum & Bailey – Clown Standing over Tents – Blue Background
P-127 – 1920 – Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey – Worlds Biggest Menagerie – Elephant Head & other Animals
P-128 – 1916 – Barnum & Bailey – By the Hair of their Heads
P-131 – 1900 – Barnum & Bailey – Clown Band – German Text
P-132 – 1915 – Barnum & Bailey – Great Groups of Trained Wild Beasts including Mlle. Adgie
P-136 – 1928 – Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey – Crouching Lion
P-137 – 1895 – Ringling Bros. Mlle Elena
P-141 – 1922 – Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey – White Face Clown on left
P-143 – 1916 – Barnum & Bailey – Pallenberg – Bears That Dance
P-144 – 1913 – Barnum & Bailey – Great Free Street Parade
P-146 – 1916 – Barnum & Bailey – Roaring Tiger Head
P-149 – 1936 – Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey – Seated Clowns with Circus on their backs
P-152 – 1900 – Ringling Bros. – Portraits of the five brothers
P-153 – 1897 – Barnum & Bailey – Portraits of Barnum & Bailey
P-155 – 1932 – Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey – 5 Big Herds of Performing Elephants
P-157 – 1903 – Barnum & Bailey – Miss Helen Girard
P-158 – 1906 – Barnum & Bailey – A Whole Horse Show
P-159 – 1925 – Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey – Chariot Races- Red Background
P-162 – Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey – Giraffe Neck Women
P-202 – 1883 – Buffalo Bill’s Wild West – Featuring Indians

1904 – Barnum & Bailey; The Great Florenz Troupe	1938 – Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey; Gargantua the Great
1938 – Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey; Terrell Jacobs & Lions	1888 – Ringling Bros. – Portraits of the five brothers

]]> http://www.worthpoint.com/blog-entry/circus-posters-%e2%80%94-authentic-or-reproduction/feed 166 http://www.worthpoint.com/blog-entry/100-horror-film-posters http://www.worthpoint.com/blog-entry/100-horror-film-posters#comments Thu, 30 Oct 2008 11:42:07 +0000 Allan Maurer http://blog.worthpoint.com/?p=2375530

100 Horror Film Posters

By Allan Maurer

Now here’s a treat. Andrew Lindstrom’s blog “Well Medicated” displays 100 horror film posters.

My favorites include “Tarantula,” “Planet of the Vampires,” “Day of the Dead,” “Nosferatu,” the rare “Dracula” poster, “Robinson Crusoe on Mars,” and the unusual “Invaders From Mars” poster. The 1950s original version of “Invaders From Mars” was consciously designed to reflect a child’s nightmare vision of the world. Sure did work on me. I had nightmares for months after seeing it, despite the clearly visible zippers on the costumes the Martians wore.

Lindstrom includes lots of other posters, classic and modern.

This is an unusual collection, not the run-of-the-mill posters usually seen from any of the films he includes. You’ll surely have your own favorites.

Go take a look, but don’t droll on your keyboard…

Universal Horror: The Bride of Frankenstein

By Allan Maurer

Beginning in the silent era with “Phantom of the Opera” and “Hunchback of Notre Dame” with Lon Chaney, Sr., Universal Pictures made a series of classic horror films starring the Frankenstein monster, Dracula, the Werewolf, the Mummy, and the Invisible Man that ran through the 1940s.

Posters, lobby cards, glossy stills, banners—just about any memorabilia from these films—pull top-of-the-line prices that range from hundreds to tens of thousands of dollars. While the original 1931 “Dracula” and “Frankenstein” are creaky, as well as creepy now, collectibles from either bring very high prices in good condition.

All of the Universal horror films featured excellent special effects for their time, relying solely on makeup, camera trickery and the occasional animation. All also had a certain spooky poetry that makes them standout even on repeated viewing today.

“Bride of Frankenstein,” (BOF) directed by James Whale and the first sequel to his “Frankenstein,” is considered by most critics and most fans, by far the best of these horror masterpieces. It’s the one in which the monster talks and meets the old blind man in the woods; a scene parodied to laugh-out-loud perfection in Mel Brooks “Young Frankenstein” in 1974.

BOF included a stirring score by Franz Waxman, memorable performances from Karloff as the monster and Elsa Lancaster as his scream queen bride.

Ernest Thesinger played a campy mad scientist who has created a tiny King, Queen, ballet dancer and other miniature people he keeps in jars. He shares a cigar with the monster saying, “It’s my only vice…”

The creation of the bride during a thunderstorm exceeds even the original monster-comes-alive scene in the original, Waxman’s music lending it all a grandeur seldom matched since.

Even stills in “lesser” condition from BOF sold for more than $70 each recently, and an insert sold for $33,000, while many other items ranged from a few hundred dollars to $3,000 or more for almost any poster or card in decent shape. A single lobby card sold for more than $12,000.

Abbott & Costello Meet the Monsters

By Allan Maurer

There are those who felt the series of Abbott & Costello meet the monsters films that began with “Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein” in 1948 and continuing through “Abbott & Costello Meet the Mummy” in 1955 were an inglorious end to the Universal Studios monster series.

The first, in which they encounter the Frankenstein monster (played again by Glenn Strange, who never quite gets the pathos Karloff brought to the part), Dracula (Bela Lugosi), the Wolf Man, (Lon Chaney, Jr.) and at the end, the Invisible Man, is the best. “Pulp Fiction” director Quentin Tarantino, has more than once expressed his admiration for it, and I agree that it’s both funny and scary.

There is nothing funny about the prices posters from their meet the monster films bring, though. Movie paper (posters, stills, etc.) from the series, which includes “Abbott & Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Boris Karloff); and “Abbott & Costello Meet the Invisible Man,” regularly draw auction prices in the hundreds of dollars or much more for single items.

A linen-backed 1-sheet from “Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein” sold for $5,400 at auction this year. An unbacked original sold for $3,700 and a Spanish version of the poster for $675.00. An 8×10 still form the film went for $275.

By way of contrast, 1-sheets from “Abbott & Costello Meet the Mummy” sold for from $1,300 to $546 from 2000 to 2005.

Curse of the B Horror Movie

By Allan Maurer

Back in the 1942, RKO studios gave producer Val Lewton a piddling $150,000 and a title, “The Cat People.” Lewton made up for the lack of a decent special effects budget by keeping all the suspense scenes wrapped in shadows.

“The Cat People” is famous for its creepy swimming pool scene, which stills sends shivers up my spine with its creative use of sound and suggestion. The film also introduced what would later be called “The Bus,” in which a woman who believes she is being followed by… something, is startled by the air brakes of a bus stopping at a corner. Even when you know it’s coming, if you watch it in the dark, you’ll jump.

Many horror film directors still use a version of “The Bus” today, making us jump at loud sounds that are red herrings.

Lewton would make nine more films for RKO, including “Curse of the Cat People,” which was really a sweet story about a little girl with an imaginary friend and not a horror story at all, and three films that gave Boris Karloff two of the best roles of his career in “Bedlam,” and “Body Snatcher,” which also starred Bela Lugosi.

The poster from “Curse of the Cat People” is often used as an example of how misleading film art can be regarding the actual content of a film.

Lewton’s other films included “The Ghost Ship,” “Isle of the Dead,” “The Seventh Victim,” “The Leopard Man,” and “I Walked With a Zombie,” all notable for their ability to conjure fear from shadows and sound and nearly nonexistent budgets.

Lewton hired directors who would later achieve fame and acclaim, including Jacques Tourneur, Mark Robson, and Robert Wise.

Always appreciated by critics such as James Agee, novelist, film critic and author of the script for John Huston’s “The African Queen,” Lewton was the topic of a recent new documentary narrated by Martin Scorsese, shown repeatedly on Turner Movie Channel and available as an extra in the Val Lewton DVD set.

Posters from the Lewton films took another leap in value the last few years, partly as a result of increased attention, but also just due to growing appreciation for how well these spooky films hold up today.

Many 1-sheets, half-sheets, and lobby cards from Lewton’s films sell for several hundred dollars each, and I noticed prices on the rise this year.

An insert from “The Cat People” sold for $1,250 in 2004 and a 1-sheet sold for $675 as far back as 1997. It’s still possible to pick up some less desirable (image-wise) lobby cards for under $50.

One-sheets from “Body Snatcher,” starring Karloff and Lugosi, sold for $1,200 to $1,500 this year. Almost anything with either Karloff or Lugosi generally brings higher prices for any type of movie paper, including original stills.

Universal Horror: The Wolf Man

By Allan Maurer

The “Wolf Man,” stars Lon Chaney, Jr. as doomed Larry Talbot, who, bitten by a werewolf, turns into a beast every full moon and kills. Chaney portrayed the tortured Talbot not only in the 1941 film that introduced the character, but also in the Frankenstein series, including “Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man,” “House of Frankenstein,” “House of Dracula,” and finally, “Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein.”

My favorite of all these sequels is “House of Frankenstein,” which starred Karloff as a mad scientist rather than the monster (who is played by Glenn Strange), the Wolf Man, played by Lon Chaney, Jr., a hunchback (J. Carrol Nash), and Dracula (John Carradine).

Touches of poetry run through the script, including this bit of verse about the Wolf Man: “Even a man who is pure at heart and says his prayers at night, can become a wolf, when the wolf bane blooms and the moon is full and bright.”

A set of lobby cards from “The Wolf Man,” sold for from $80 to $2,300 each (the later for a title card) in 2004. A set of eight went for $3,450 back in 1997. An insert sold for $3,000 in 2004. Prices have not gone down since then.

A single still from “House of Frankenstein” sold for $168 this year (2008), while a title card (lobby card) went for $4,000 four years ago, and an insert for more than $6,000 the same year.

A number of artists best known for their work in other fields also did at least some movie posters.

Today, Charles Addams is best known for creating the “Addams Family,” as familiar to us now through the two movies and the television show as through the dark humor of his weird New Yorker cartoons.

Addams’ bizarre sense of humor is perhaps best caught in his cartoon of the entire Addams’ Family on the roof of their Gothic home, getting ready to pour boiling oil on a group of Christmas carolers below. The characters never had names until the TV sitcom, when Addams fleshed them out a bit, so to speak and now we know them as Gomez, Morticia, Lurch, Pugsley, Wednesday and Uncle Fester.

Addams did movie poster art for “Murder by Death,” (1976) and “How to Murder a Rich Uncle,” (1957), among other films.

“Murder By Death,” written by Neil Simon, author of the “Odd Couple,” starred writer Truman Capote in a farce about five famous literary detectives and their sidekicks invited to a mansion bizarre enough to have appeared in one of Addams cartoons to solve a mystery.

The IMBD listing for “Murder by Death” is here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074937. Wikipedia’s entry on Addams is here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Addams

In a recent issue of a monthly newspaper dedicated to movie poster collecting, five of seven dealers used the one-sheet from 1957′s “Forbidden Planet” showing Robbie the Robot cradling sexy Anne Francis in his metallic arms as a prominent part of their ad.

The 1957 MGM film is often cited as a precursor to “Star Trek,” and featured, among other wonders, a Disney animated monster from the “ID.” It had all the MGM trimmings, stars, a big special effects budget, and a plot derived from Shakespeare’s “Tempest” set on the planet Altair IV.

About 25 years ago, I bought a “Forbidden Planet” 1-sheet at a science fiction convention for $30. It was perfect and I had it framed in my home for years.

Then during a time of financial need, I sold it at another science fiction convention. We were on the steps leading to the convention dealer’s room, which had not yet opened.

I should have known something was fishy when the dealer who bought it made sure it was original, then almost broke his hand reaching for his wallet.

He peeled off four bills and said, “I’ll give you $350 for it right now.”

At the time, I thought, great profit, took the money and handed over the poster.

Recently, I saw one offered at a fixed price from a dealer for $30,000.

That seems excessive to me, but it has regularly sold for $3,500 or more in recent years. All the movie paper from “Forbidden Planet” sells at high prices. Even single lobby cards can sell for hundreds of dollars.

But that one-sheet of Robbie the Robot holding Anne Francis (which he never does in the movie), has been described as the single most desired science fiction film movie poster.

It was a better investment than stocks and bonds, even with the profit I made then, let alone what it would bring now.

I say to myself, who knew?

But that’s part of the value of a site such as Worthpoint, I think.

You’ll know.

Some Tolkien fans never forgave Ralph Bakshi for his animated version of “The Lord of the Rings,” at least until Peter Jackson did the trilogy right in live action (and plenty of computer generated imagery).

Bakshi also directed the melancholy animated story based loosely on the doomed lives of all too many pop musicians in his “American Pop,” in 1981, which I can still watch with a mixture of pleasure and pain.

He did the posters for his version of “Lord of the Rings,” and “American Pop,” and while I’m not crazy about his version of LTR, I do really like his poster for “Cool World,” a film similar to “Who Killed Roger Rabbit” in its combination of live action and animation worlds.

Bakshi’s work still sells at reasonable prices. You could buy a one-sheet from “American Pop” last year for $14.00. A British Quad of “Fritz The Cat,” sold for $104.00 this year. Oddly enough, that is also exactly the high price for a 1-sheet from his 1978 version of “The Lord of the Rings.” Nothing from any of his films sold for much more than that.

I collect in a number of specific areas. Rather than randomly collecting movie art, I enjoy building wider collections that include toys, trading cards, ties, comix, magazines and books and so on.

I’ll collect anything from a movie or TV show in which aliens play a prominent role.
I’ll collect anything to do with any of the four films based on “The Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” for instance, or “Earth vs. the Flying Saucers,” or either version of “The Thing.”

Then little sub-collections develop. Somewhere along the line, I realized that I could probably collect everything to do with Saturday Night Live’s “The Coneheads,” for instance. Meep, meep…

At least five different posters advertised the film and I bought them all at reasonable prices ($20 or so). A poster from the TV show recently showed up on eBay and I bought that. I have the comic book version of the film, 50 35mm film cells (see the photos), all the trading cards based on the film, a Beldar tie, all the action figure toys, a TV guide with Beldar and Star Trek’s Captain Picard, a coffee mug showing the original threesome (Dan Akroyd, Jane Curtin, and in the Saturday Night Live sketches), a publicity book issued at the film’s release). There are a few more items, although none extremely rare and I’m sure I’ll eventually have anything ever connected with the Coneheads.

Do you think they somehow used their wily alien technology to make me CONSUME MASS QUANTITIES?

Pam Grier told an audience at Winston Salem’s 2008 Riverrun International Film Festival that when she went to meet director Quentin Tarantino, he told her he had written a movie with her in mind.

She also discovered that he “has the posters from all my movies,” she said. “I don’t even have them. They’re worth thousands of dollars.”

We don’t know how many Tarantino actually owns, but he would need a few for them to add up to thousands of dollars worth, not that the director of “Pulp Fiction,” would have a hard time coming up with the money. Tarantino is known to collect movies in just about every format and movie memorabilia such as posters as well (more about that in a coming post).

Grier starred in 1970s action films such as “Coffy,” (1973), in which she played nurse battling
drug dealers. She also played tough roles in black action films such as Foxy Brown (1974), Sheba, Baby (1975), Friday Foster (1975) and Greased Lightning (1975), among others. She appeared in many other genre films, from westerns to the Blackula sequel.

Since 2004, she has been a regular on Showtime’s “The L Word.”

Tarantino starred her in “Jackie Brown,” (1997), which he wrote because of his fondness for Grier’s work in those action films. Those, she said she did primarily for the money.

Her movie memorabilia does attract buyers.

One-sheets from “Coffy” in very good to fine condition sold at from $192 to $229 in 2006, according to one auction house listing of poster sales results, and from $227 to $36 in a variety of conditions more recently. Oddly enough, one lesser condition “Coffy” sold for $224, while one described as “good” sold for $36–which just goes to prove, you can find bargains or pay way too much in auctions.

A pressbook—the advertising book movie PR folks used to send to theaters with every film—went for $36 and an 8 by 10 gloss still for a bit over $30.

By comparison, a one-sheet from “Jackie Brown” (advance, showing Grier), sold for about $20 recently.

It’s not unusual to discover movie poster collectibles in unlikely locations. This time, the Phantom was hanging out in a sub shop.

Movie paper from Chaney’s films is rare and highly prized, regardless of type. The linen-backed six-sheet shown above from the original silent “Phantom of the Opera,” (1925) starring the legendary Lon Chaney, Sr. hung on the wall of an Italian restaurant, “The Classic Sub Shop,” in Philadelphia, PA, from 1963 to 1974. A Christie’s auction catalog from 1995 offered it for sale at $60,000 to $80,000. It sold at $57, 500.

Why the poster was valuable

Why was it so valuable? For one thing, it is the only known copy of the poster. A six-sheet is 81 inches by 81 inches. Linen-backing generally increases the value of movie posters, helping to preserve them and making them easier to frame properly. It is itself an expensive process and an exception to the general rule that collector’s want unrestored items.

Meanwhile, a one-sheet from Chaney’s “Phantom” in fine condition sold for $24,000 plus in 1993. A single still from the film sold for $290 in 2007.

Although Chaney is best remembered for his handful of horror films, he turned in numerous performances as a character actor in a variety of genres, including a role as a tough Marine drill sergeant and several turns as a gangster.

Chaney collectibles becoming more valuable

The Turner Classic Movie Channel has gone a long way to restoring recognition to this master of make-up known as “The Man of A Thousand Faces,” with its retrospective showing of his films and a documentary about him. Chaney’s work as a makeup artist led to him writing the article about it for the 11th Edition of the Encyclopedia Brittanica.

James Cagney starred in a biopic (a movie biography) about Chaney (“A Man of A Thousand Faces”) that took great liberties with his story. The poster, which of course sells for much less than originals from Lon’s films, includes sketches of Cagney re-enacting Lon’s most famous parts, such as the “Phantom” and “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.”

Years ago, in 1954, when I was 7 or 8, I saw a little film called “The Rocket Man,” at the Columbia Theatre in the small town where I grew up. I was about the same age as the young boy, played by George “Foghorn” Winslow, known for his gravelly voice.

Winslow’s most famous film is probably “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” in 1953. He made “The Rocket Man” a year later.

In “The Rocket Man,” Winslow, wearing a space suit and helmet I very much coveted, discovers a weapon accidentally left behind by a real spaceman. When pointed at someone, it makes them tell the truth.

Now if that existed, it really would be a weapon. Think about how much politicians would pay to keep it out of our hands. In the movie, Winslow uses it to defeat the wiles of local politicians and bad guys.

Although TCM has shown “The Rocket Man” on very rare occasions, I have yet to see a commercially released version in any format. Posters or other movie paper from the film shows up in auctions now and then. I paid a mere $20 for the Insert shown above.

The Lenny Bruce connection

“The Rocket Man” is the only movie scripted by the so-called “sick comic” of the 1960s, Lenny Bruce, who mentions it briefly in his autobiography. Bruce was a tragic figure, brilliant, but addicted to heroin and hounded by local law enforcement coast to coast for his act, which many thought obscene. Compared to what can be heard in many nightclubs or on cable TV today, his act would be considered relatively mild.

Later, Dustin Hoffman would play Bruce in “Lenny,” directed by Bob Fosse. I collect lobby cards and posters from Fosse’s movies, which include “Cabaret” and “All That Jazz.”

Cliff Gorman, who did Bruce in a play about Lenny on Broadway in the 1970s, portrays Hoffman playing Lenny in Fosse’s autobiographical “All That Jazz,” which is enough to make you dizzy if you think about it.

Prices are still reasonable on many Fosse items. I recently bought a set of 8 lobby cards from “All That Jazz” for under $50.

Let’s start with the absolute basics: all serious collectors desire items that are as near perfect as possible, and the closer to perfect an item is, the higher the price it can command.

On the other hand, movie paper in all conditions sells. Internet auctions of movie paper routinely sell (clearly labeled) lesser condition items with fading, tears, foxing, water stains, pin holes and a variety of other defects. Many of the worst defects on movie posters, lobby cards, inserts, and stills are along the edges where they can be hidden by mats or frames if desired primarily as a display item.Some dealers even note in their ads that they buy movie paper in “any condition.”

Factors affecting movie paper prices

It is important to note that factors other than condition affect movie paper prices. Many films were reissued with new art over the years. A serious collector checks to make sure whether the art is from the first run or a reissue.

Reissue movie paper may still bring considerable prices for very popular films. The easiest way to tell a reissue from an original is by comparing the copyright date of the paper to the initial release date. We’ll cover that in more detail in another paper.

Reproductions are usually worthless as collector’s items, although they may dress up a wall display of movie art.

The older movie paper is, the more you should expect some defects, particularly with photographs.

Common movie paper defects

Here’s a list of common movie paper defects:

Bleed-throughs – Writing, stamps, tape, stains or other marks on the back of the paper visible on the front. Such marks on borders do not affect value so much as those on prominent parts of the item.

Creases – Lines from folding, crumpling, or crimping the item. Their affect on value depends on how many creases exist and where they are. Creases, which may be deep enough to damage the item enough to crack through the color, leaving a white space, should not be confused with wrinkles, which are surface defects.

Fading – Loss of color and detail caused by exposure to sunlight or age leades to considerable loss of value in movie paper. It is less of a problem on the edges than on principal artwork.

Pin holes, drill holes, staple holes – All holes in movie paper affect its value, but those on edges and not torn generally won’t lower value nearly as much as those more visible. Drill holes were used to “mark” posters once used on building walls by placing them on a stack and drilling a hole top center.

Writing marks – Many exhibitors marked up movie paper for a variety of reasons, but not a few bored movie staffers handling the art occasionally doodled mustaches on stars, among other defacements. Obviously, the extent and type of marking will seriously affect a poster’s value. Actual marks off the art by exhibitors (With Bugs Bunny Cartoon Saturday!) bother some collectors less.

Quite a few movies about invading aliens scared us during the collision of the Atomic Era with the Space Age in the 1950s.

Only one, however, transforms like some space creature to fit the zeitgeist of each new generation. Several of those original 50s films about aliens have been remade once.

The original 1956 “Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” directed by Don Seigel, who would later do the first Dirty Harry film with Clint Eastwood, demonstrated a certain plastic ability to fit the viewers perceptions right away. Some saw the unfeeling pod people as commentary on the regimented thinking expected of communists, while others saw it as commentary on the regimented thinking of McCarthyism.

Many film buffs still think this is the best of the films. Its collectibles certainly bring the highest prices, with lobby cards in good condition selling for $150 and more each and one-sheets going for more than $1,000. I bought one 20 years ago for $30 and a couple of lobby cards I still have in absolutely perfect condition for about $5 each then.

Phil Kauffman’s “Body Snatchers”

In 1978, Phil Kauffman, who also directed “The Right Stuff,” another film I like quite a lot, helmed the second version of “Invasion of the Body Snatchers.” It parodied the psycho-babble of the era, San Francisco acceptance of wonkiness, and political paranoia left over from the Nixon years .

Personally, I think this version is the best (so far). Its collectibles sell for decent if not excessive prices. I recently bought a French set of lobby cards from this version for under $30. I buy almost anything from this version and have American color stills, a German lobby card set, a pressbook and the one-sheet. Altogether they did not cost more than about $100.

”Body Snatchers” for the 90s and beyond

The 1993 version takes on the Army and paranoia about environmental pollution. It’s well directed by Abel Ferrara and delivers more than a few chills. I picked up the one-sheet from this version for $20 plus postage.

The latest version, starring the Queen of the Remakes, Nicole Kidman (who is often the best thing about them), is, Roger Ebert correctly opines, least of the lot. It focuses on paranoia about an out-of-control epidemic. The one-sheet, a nice shot of Kidman, remains inexpensive.

Tbe going rate for most recent posters such as this one still hover in the $20 to $25 range for really desirable items.You won’t get a poster from the most recent version of “Blade Runner” at that price, though.