LONDON.- Spink announced their inaugural Vintage Film Posters auction on the 25th October, 2023. The auction will include one hundred lots of original film posters, lobby cards and photographic production stills. A popular collecting area for a number of years, the poster world has seen some remarkable realisations over recent years with the famous original German poster for Fritz Lang’s 1927 silent film Metropolis sold for $690,000, and over $1,300,000 within the last year and in 2009 Karloff and Lugosi’s ‘The Black Cat’, Style B sold for $334,600.
However, iconic designs and memorable classics can be acquired for far less, who can forget the imagery of the Breakfast at Tiffany’s poster for example which is offered here with an estimate of £700 – 900.
People often first purchase a piece because they have an emotional link to it, whether it goes back to one of the first films they saw as a child or a first date film night out. This sometimes develops into a passion for collecting on a broader scale. Normally by actor, director or genre. Horror and sci-fi are two of the largest areas for collecting. Some of cinema’s most popular franchises, such as James Bond and Star Wars now have multi-generational collectors.
The key factors that determine the value of a piece are the film’s title, rarity, artwork and condition. The most famous films from each genre are the most sought-after. In many cases only a handful of a specific piece are known to have survived, thus increasing its demand and value. Pre 1980s the artwork created was often unique to the country of release. This enables collectors to explore pieces produced for the same film from different countries. There can be a huge difference in the way that a film was portrayed on the poster.
Major film titles have held their value over time, and in many cases have shown huge increases in value. In the last five years there has been an increase in the value of key titles from the 1970s and 1980s. Original posters from the Star Wars trilogy, together with early Sean Connery and Roger Moore James Bond posters have really seen dramatic increases in value over the past ten years. There is no reason why this may not continue as the franchises continue to make new films, engaging younger collectors to the market.
We all have our favourite films; owning an original film poster from that film brings you closer to the moment you first watched it than imaginable.
Highlights in the auction include:
• A superb James Bond section with titles: Goldfinger, Dr. No, From Russia With Love, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, Diamonds are Forever, Live and Let Die, The Man with the Golden Gun
• Titles from the Star Wars Franchise
• The Ipcress, The Outlaw, Casablanca, Ben-Hur, It Happened One Night and so many more!
