appstore google play

Fabulous Finds: Amazing Lithograph Poster Discovery in a Maine Outhouse!

On a dreary and cold January Saturday morning with not a lot to do for fun here in Maine, I decided to head to an indoor weekly flea market held in a dingy building basement a couple of towns over from here.

As I made my rounds, my antennae ears were up, and I overheard a guy talking to his wife about some antique bottles he had dug from underneath the crawl space of the house they had just bought. Bottles are what I collect, so I butted in, and offered to appraise what he had and to let him know if he had any winners.

This Lorna Doone Biscuit advertising poster was the first poster I saw as I entered the outhouse. It measured about 18 inches by 24 inches. A colorful iconic poster, but not a rare one.

I followed them to their house, and looked over the two boxes of bottles he had. They were from the late 1800s and in rough shape. Overall, there was nothing of value, really, but as I was looking them over, he said he also had a few “calendars” on the walls of the outhouse attached to the garage, and they were dated 1903. So, of course, I had to check them out as well.

I followed him out to the barn, where he opened a huge rolling door, and we trekked over the dusty floorboards to a back room, through two more doors, and finally arrived at the back corner of the barn, where he opened the door of the privy. Sure enough, it was an old, attached two-seater outhouse, with enough room for both of us to stand inside.

These two E.M. Lyman & Son Seed Co advertising posters show some racial signs of the times, to put it politely, dating back about 110 years. These are larger posters, about 24 inches by 36 inches.

To my surprise, however, he had understated what was there. Hanging on one wall was indeed, a 1903 calendar for a local ice company that featured black and white photos. But what caught my eye was that three of the four walls were covered in 130-year-old lithographed advertising posters! They were dirty and tattered, but the color was strong and the graphics were vivid. Two of them were advertising posters for the Lyman Seed Co. from Massachusetts, measuring about 24 inches by 36 inches.

The one that was in the best condition was a somewhat smaller Lorna Doone advertising poster, about 18 inches square, which I recognized as being not too rare. But the real kicker was when I turned and looked at the wall behind me, and was greeted with a larger movie poster for “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”!

To quickly jump to the end of the story, the posters are still there stuck to the walls of his outhouse. I’ve made him a humble offer for them, and we are still in negotiations. I’ve become obsessed with them, and every night when I get home, I click on my computer to research what realistic value they may have.  I’ve come to the conclusion that I have to stick with the salty old adage: “It’s worth whatever you can get someone to pay for it.”

I guess that is what the rest of this article is about. Depending on the item, it can be a huge task to figure out when to pull the trigger on a purchase, dependent on how many conditions and variables there can be.  Over the years, I have met many an antiques dealer who is cash poor—and is buried in stuff that they thought they could sell. They can go item by item, telling you what their thinking was when they bought it, and why they bought it when they did. And they will shake their head and say, “I should just cut my losses and get rid of it, but I’m just hanging on for the right buyer to walk through the door.”

The last wall that I turned to see had this amazing advertising poster for a performance of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” It measures about 42 inches wide! There are dozens of versions of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” posters in the Worthopedia, but this one is not shown. Some of those posters have sold for upwards of $3,600.

So, I didn’t offer to buy… yet. I went home and, of course, tried to hunt down the values of the specific posters that were on the outhouse wall. Of course, I couldn’t find a one of them. So, I found a bunch of “comparables” and tried to make an evaluation.

When I went on eBay, the price range on “antique lithograph advertising posters” was anywhere from $20 to $2,000. The biggest variable here was size, with the $20-range posters usually being not much bigger than a manila folder, and the high end ones being up around 42 inches by 32 inches, which is actually in the ball park of where mine are (“mine” … notice how I slipped that in there? I haven’t even made an offer yet).

Then there was the issue of condition. These posters are in poor condition, and by the time I would get them off the wall, who knows what condition they would be in. The very highest prices I could find anywhere were in a couple of auction house catalogs in New York, where some larger posters brought $10,000 or more. Now we’re talking! But these were in excellent condition, and most were French art lithograph posters.

There were a few I hunted down that were similar to the “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” poster—same size and it looked like the same artist—and they sold for $1,000 to $3,000. Again, in excellent condition.

Now, to be honest, the most information I could find on “restoring antique lithograph posters” comes from a YouTube video of the same title. It didn’t talk about the costs involved, and I’m guessing there isn’t a price list, per se. I’m sure they quote each job individually. But judging by the work, materials and equipment involved, I am sure it is a costly process!

If you get a chance, look at the YouTube video above and watch the process. It is meticulous work, and is a process that I’m sure has taken years to perfect. They show a before-and-after of a rare Second World War Uncle Sam poster that is torn to shreds at the start. By the time they are done, it looks like new. They piece together all the pieces, and lay them out on a special damp looking paper stretched out on a special wide table, like you would see in a canvas or awning work shop. Then they use brushes and sponges, and apply a highly specialized paper pulp liquid which they use to create a new backing. This new backing eventually matches so well, you can’t tell where the new paper begins and the original paper begins. It’s quite amazing!

So, I’ve got more figuring to do. Luckily, the posters aren’t going anywhere. I’ll keep searching for the exact posters, or maybe send in a query to an appraiser. The greedy part of me wants one of them to be a one of a kind, worth $30,000. But I’m not holding my breath! In the meantime, in one way, the posters may have the most value where they are now, still mounted on the walls of an outhouse in Maine, like they have been for more than a hundred years.

To be continued!


Bram Hepburn collects 19th-century New England bottles and glass, having spent the last 30 years digging and diving for bottles in New England and upstate New York. He has just founded an estate liquidation company and auction house, Hepburn and Co. Antiques in Eliot, Maine.
WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

Stay up to date - Subscribe to Newsletter!

Keeping you informed, connected, and involved in the antiques and collectibles industry