NOT
ALL MOVIE POSTERS ARE CONSIDERED COLLECTABLE!
Just because
something is referred to as a "movie poster," it does not
mean that it falls into the arena of "collectable movie art."
The first thing a collector needs to know is WHAT IS and WHAT IS NOT
collectable movie art.
Let’s take a look at the difference in our section:
HOW DO YOU KNOW IT’S A COLLECTABLE?
NOT
ALL COLLECTABLE MOVIE POSTERS ARE ASSESSED EQUALLY.
Collectable movie art comes in a variety of shapes, sizes, paper types,
and uses, all of which have direct impact on its collectibility and
value. Certain types/sizes are considered more collectable than others.
For example, a "one sheet" is generally considered more
collectable than a "window card" for the same movie. This
is simply because, as a general rule, fewer "one sheets"
were printed than "window cards." Understanding these differences
is extremely important when purchasing movie art. Let’s look at the
wide variety of movie art in our section:
DIFFERENT
TYPES OF MOVIE ART
WHAT
YEAR WAS THE MATERIAL RELEASED?
Not all original
one-sheets for a particular movie, such as Gone With the Wind,
are valued equally. In this case, Gone With the Wind, which
was initially released in 1939, was re-released to theatres in 1940,
1941, 1947, 1953, 1954, 1961, 1967, 1968, 1970, 1974, 1980 and 1998.
Each time it was released, the studios issued newer versions of the
movie poster and related paper items. All of these issues are ORIGINALS
and are legitimate movie art, but their value as collectables differ
with each issue. In this case, the earlier releases are much more
collectable and consequently more valuable than the later releases.
The year of the release of the "paper" and not the initial
release of the movie is the key factor and should be considered when
assessing a poster’s collectibility and value. Let’s look at how to
assess the vintage of a poster in our section:
ORIGINAL
AND RE-RELEASED/REISSUED MOVIE ART
WHAT
IS THE CONDITION OF THE POSTER?
What
does it mean if a poster, for example, is listed in "Good"
condition? How good is ‘GOOD’? Does this place it in the "high
end" or "low end" of its value range? There are several
"grading" scales that are used throughout the movie art
collectable industry and a collector has to be familiar with these
systems. Let’s take a look at these systems in our section:
GRADING
MOVIE ART
WHAT
IS AN ADVANCE?
WHAT IS A DOUBLE-SIDED POSTER?
WHAT
DOES "NSS" MEAN?
In
addition to the four categories above, there are other factors that
will affect the value and collectibility of a particular poster. All
collectors need to know these terms and understand how they impact
the value of movie art. These are addressed in our section: MISCELLANEOUS
FACTORS THAT AFFECT VALUE AND COLLECTIBILITY
HOW
TO ASSESS THE MARKET VALUE OF A POSTER?
The last factor
to consider in assessing movie art is the current market value for
a particular poster. This determination is best made by researching
the collector’s market. To learn how to conduct reliable research,
see our section:
DETERMINING
MARKET VALUE
